This handbook presents a course developed to provide a national perspective for attorneys who represent state and local child support enforcement agencies operating under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act. The introduction provides an overview of the child support problem in the United States, citing causes and effects of the problem and explaining the current status of the Child Support Enforcement Program. Chapter 1 explores the federal role in the Child Support Enforcement Program and examines the functions of the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement. Chapter 2 focuses on state and local roles in the Child Support Enforcement Program. Chapter 3 looks at the role of the attorney in child support enforcement and addresses several specific ethical problems. Chapter 4 concerns the pretrial activities of interviewing witnesses, negotiation, and discovery. The establishment of support obligations is discussed in chapter 5 and enforcing those obligations is considered in chapter 6. Chapter 7 presents defenses to enforcement and chapter 8 looks at expedited processes. Chapter 9 addresses the problems associated with interstate cases. Chapter 10 is concerned with the establishment of paternity. Appendices contain information related to the legislative history of child support enforcement, scientific testing for a paternity establishment, and paternity probabilities: attack and rebuttal. (NB)