When a parent receives certain types of public assistance, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) in the state may automatically open a child support case to identify the father (or other absent parent) of the child and enforce child support obligations. States have the option to require recipients of child care subsidies and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to cooperate with child support agencies seeking to establish paternity and support orders; and to enforce child support obligations as a condition of eligibility (child support cooperation requirements).

In Louisiana, when a parent applies for or receives certain types of public assistance, such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or Medicaid, the state's Office of the Attorney General (OAG) may automatically initiate a child support case. This action is taken to establish paternity and enforce child support obligations from the non-custodial parent. The state may also require cooperation with child support enforcement as a condition for receiving child care subsidies and SNAP benefits. This means that recipients of these benefits may be obligated to assist the OAG in locating the absent parent, establishing paternity, and setting up child support orders. Failure to cooperate with these requirements can result in the loss of benefits. The goal of these regulations is to ensure that parents who are able to contribute financially to their children's upbringing do so, thereby offsetting the cost to the public assistance programs.