As soon as the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) receives a support order or agreement filed with an Ontario court, we register a case. The FRO contacts both the support payor and support recipient and gives them a case number and personal identification number (PIN). We also explain their responsibilities and how the program works. Payors and recipients must use their case number whenever they contact the FRO.
Once a case is registered, the FRO starts the process of collecting support payments. The payor has a legal obligation to pay support to the recipient. In most cases, an employer or income source deducts payments from a payor’s income and sends them to the FRO. Employers or income sources are legally obligated to deduct the support payment from the payor’s income and send it to the FRO. In other cases, where there is no income source, payors send payments directly to the FRO.
When the FRO receives the payment, we send it to the recipient via direct deposit usually within 24-48 hours.
The FRO recognizes that many of its clients pay their support fully and on time. In such cases, the FRO’s role is to simply monitor and maintain payment records.
When payors do not pay on time or in full, the FRO has the authority under the Family Support Arrears Enforcement Act, 1996 to take enforcement action. Before taking action, the FRO will try to contact the payor using the address that is on record.