Reaching Across Borders: Understanding Long-Arm Jurisdiction in Child Support Cases
Wednesday, August 20, 2025
2:00 p.m – 3:15 p.m. Eastern
This was a FREE webinar!
Description
Navigating child support enforcement across state lines can be a complex challenge—but long-arm jurisdiction makes it possible to establish and enforce child support orders no matter where a party lives. This webinar will unpack how child support can extend their reach beyond state boundaries under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) and federal law to establish and enforce child support obligations.
What You’ll Learn:
- The legal foundation and purpose of long-arm jurisdiction in child support cases
- Key provisions of UIFSA and how they enable cross-state enforcement and establishment of orders
- Practical strategies for initiating or responding to actions involving out-of-state parties
Whether you’re new to intergovernmental cases, or you want a refresher on multistate jurisdiction mechanics—this session delivers both clarity and practical guidance.
Materials
Thank You to Our Sponsor!
Speakers
Lara Fors
Family Support Trial Team Leader
Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office
Lara Webb Fors is a passionate child support professional, attorney, mediator, and facilitator with over thirty years of experience in the IV-D program. She returned to Kansas City, Missouri, in August 2023 to serve in the Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office where she is the Family Support Trial Team Leader and manages the judicial IV-D unit of assistant prosecutors and legal staff. She started her IV-D career in that office in 1994 as an intern and then assistant prosecutor. In between, she worked as a staff attorney for MAXIMUS in Kansas City, Kansas, served in several assistant prosecutor roles in the Greene County Prosecutor’s Office in Springfield, MO, and served as the deputy director of the Missouri IV-D Agency in Jefferson City, MO. Lara also worked with CSF/SLI/ Public Knowledge® from 2019 to 2023 as a contractor for OCSS and a consultant to various state and local governments.
Lara is a past president of the Eastern Regional Interstate Child Support Association (ERICSA) (2014) and of the Missouri child support professional association, MCSEA (2007). Lara currently serves on several ERICSA committees and is a member of the ERICSA Honorary Board. Lara has presented to numerous conferences and events including ERICSA, National Child Support Engagement Association (NCSEA), National Tribal Child Support Association (NTCSA), Western Intergovernmental Child Support Engagement Council (WICSEC), and MCSEA. Lara also served on the steering committee for the New Pathways to Good Dads® council and then the Board of Directors of Good Dads® in Springfield, Missouri, for several years while working as an assistant prosecutor and consultant in the IV-D program.
Lara was awarded the Springfield Business Journal’s 40 under 40 Award (2009), the MCSEA Honorary Life Member (2014), the Missouri Lawyer’s Weekly Women’s Justice Award for Public Service Practitioner of the Year (2016), the ERICSA Honorary Life Member (2019), and the inaugural ERICSA Patrick W. Quinn Intergovernmental Scholarship Award in 2022. Lara received her undergraduate degree at Central Methodist (College) University and received her J.D. from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She is a member of both the Missouri and Kansas Bars.
Heather Lutz
Senior Staff Attorney – Legal Department Supervisor
Wayne County Friend of the Court
Heather Lutz is the Senior Staff Attorney – Legal Department Supervisor for the Wayne County Friend of the Court in Detroit, Michigan. She has always had a passion for family law and has had a lifelong goal of assisting families. Her public service career began in 2008, as Judicial Advisory Assistant to the Honorable Duncan M. Beagle in Genesee County, Michigan with a focus on family law, including juvenile, and neglect law. After a brief hiatus in private practice, where she practiced civil law from 2011 to 2014, she reclaimed her passion for public service and joined the Friend of the Court in 2014 as a Domestic Relations Specialist. She joined the Friend of the Court Legal Department in 2017 as an Associate Attorney. Heather works as a Special Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for all state-initiated paternity and support cases. She has a focus on child support enforcement and intergovernmental support. Heather graduated from Grand Valley State University in 2004 and from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 2007. In law school she was Co-President of the Women’s Law Alliance in 2007 and focused her studies on litigation, family law, and domestic violence. She lives in Livonia, Michigan with her daughter.
Stephanie Struthers
Child Support Supervisor
Ramsey County Attorney’s Office
Stephanie is currently a Child Support Supervisor in the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office. Prior to her current role, she was a trainer for five years and a case worker before that. She has 25 years of child support experience and is passionate about helping case workers learn about and understand the child support program.
Petrina Travers, Moderator
Assistant Director
Ramsey County Attorney’s Office
Petrina Travers has a BA in Sociology from the University of Minnesota with an emphasis on Criminology and Law. She has been with Ramsey County for 20 years, and currently serves on the ERICSA Board of Directors.