Ontario’s Family Responsibility Office (FRO) is a division of the Ministry of Community and Social Services and operates under the authority of the Family Responsibility and Support Arrears Enforcement Act, 1996. The FRO receives every support order made by the Ontario courts and enforces the amounts owed under the support order.
The FRO also works with enforcement programs in other jurisdictions that have a reciprocating agreement with Ontario to collect and distribute support payments in situations where one parent lives outside of Ontario.
Our Role
Our role is to enforce court orders for child and spousal support by ensuring that support payments flow properly from payors (people who make support payments) to recipients (people who receive them). The FRO has the legal authority to take enforcement action against those who do not meet their family responsibilities. The FRO also enforces private written agreements such as separation agreements, domestic contracts and paternity agreements.
It’s important to note that the FRO only enforces those provisions of an order or agreement dealing with support. The FRO does not become involved in child custody or access issues.
Our Vision
Our Vision is to work together with our clients and partners to ensure support responsibilities are met. We do this by developing constructive relationships, addressing challenges and treating everyone with fairness and respect.
Our Mission
Our mission is to help families meet their support obligations.
Guiding Principles
In fulfilling our mission, we are guided by the following principles:
- We are a community helping the community.
- We respect our clients and treat them fairly.
- We provide our clients with professional and timely services.
- We are dedicated to the work we do.
- We take responsibility for our actions.
- We foster an environment where staff respect each other.
- We embrace change and learn new things every day.