The Federal Parent Locator Service

Publication Date: January 9, 2015
Current as of:

The Federal Parent Locator Service

The Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS), a service operated by the Office of Child Support Services (OCSS), may be accessed by state child welfare agencies to locate and notify parents and other relatives of a child placed in foster care. The FPLS may also be used to locate youth who have exited foster care to provide services or for purposes of completing the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD) survey. CB and OCSE jointly published an Information Memorandum (ACYF-CB-IM-12-06) that discusses the FPLS, child support information available to state child welfare agencies, and related topics.

State child welfare agencies may request FPLS information several ways including:

  • Through an electronic request submitted from the state child welfare information system to the state child support information system. For example, a state's child welfare agency may coordinate with the state's child support agency to enhance the mandatory interface between their systems to request and receive FPLS information automatically. Please contact your Division of State Systems (DSS) analyst for more information about enhancing a Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System (CCWIS) or other child welfare information system.
  • Through the OCSS Child Support Portal (Portal), authorized child welfare workers may directly submit requests to, and receive results from, the FPLS. OCSS assesses state child welfare agencies a fee for using the Portal. Please see the FPLS Frequently Asked Questions for more information, including OCSS contact information.
  • Through direct requests for state child support staff to submit FPLS requests on behalf of the child welfare agency. State child welfare agencies using this option should contact their state child support agency to establish procedures for this manual process.

OCSS Resources