Child Support

Office of Child Support Enforcement

Location:
95 Franklin Street
Rath Building - 7th Floor
Buffalo, New York 14202

Hours of Operation: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.  [Monday - Friday]
Appointments Recommended

General Information

The Office of Child Support was created in 1975 as part of Federal Legislation amending the Social Security Act. The Erie County Office of Child Support Enforcement [OCSE] is part of a Federal, State and Local effort to establish and collect child support from legally responsible individuals.

Purpose:

The purposes of the Office of Child Support Enforcement are:

• Locate absent parents and establish paternity of children born out of wedlock.
• Establish, enforce and collect child support from legally responsible individuals.
• Reduce the cost of public assistance for taxpayers.

Goal:

By fulfilling its mandates, OCSE also helps to strengthen families and reduce welfare spending by placing the responsibility for supporting children on those parents with the financial resources to provide such support. For families receiving Temporary Assistance, the establishment and enforcement of support obligations provide a step toward self-sufficiency. If the child support collected is high enough, the family is able to leave the public assistance rolls. Furthermore, by providing child support enforcement services to families not in receipt of public assistance; further dependence on public assistance is avoided.

Legal Advocacy for the Disabled

The Legal Advocacy for the Disabled [LAD] Unit of the Erie County Department of Social Services is dedicated solely to assisting low-income persons with the Social Security Administration’s Disability application process.

• LAD receives referrals from within the Department of Social Services and from community agencies.
• Persons referred to LAD have their cases assigned to a paralegal for investigation by the directing attorney.
• Paralegals schedule and conduct detailed interviews to determine if an application for SSI and/or SSD is appropriate.
• If a case is opened, the paralegal works in conjunction with the applicant and the Social Security Administration, assisting at all steps of the application and appeals processes.

LAD re-reviews all submitted applications at every level of the decision making process in order to determine the merits of the claim for future appeals. 

Contact LAD - Community Agency Referrals

Legal Advocacy For the Disabled
95 Franklin St. - 11th Floor, room 1130
Buffalo, New York 14202

[716] 858-2270

 

Hours of Operation: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.  [Monday - Friday]

Questions can be addressed by emailing the unit at LAD@erie.gov

Community Agency Request For Referral Link

You can get additional information regarding disability at www.ssa.gov