The establishment of a child support order is important for the well-being of a child. A child support order determines the financial and medical support responsibilities of the parents. A support order may be established administratively, where the parties appear before a hearing officer at the CSEA, or judicially, where the parties go through the court process.

At an administrative support establishment hearing, the hearing officer listens to any testimony and completes the Ohio Child Support Guidelines to determine the amount of child support and cash medical support that the non-residential parent (obligor) will be ordered to pay, and to determine who will be ordered to provide health insurance coverage for the children. Once the administrative child support order is issued, both parties have a right to file with the court to object to the order.