How to Complete the California CW 2.1 Child Support Form and Questionnaire

The CW 2.1 child support form in California is the Notice and Agreement for Child, Spousal and Medical Support that your county welfare worker gives you when you apply for CalWORKs cash aid or Medi-Cal. By signing it, you assign your right to collect child, spousal, and medical support to the county for as long as you receive benefits, and you agree to help the Local Child Support Agency (LCSA) locate the other parent, establish paternity if needed, and enforce a support order.¹ A companion questionnaire, the CW 2.1Q, collects the detailed facts the agency needs to work the case.

The Four Choices on the CW 2.1 N&A

The form is short. It explains your rights and obligations, then asks you to check one of four boxes and sign:¹

Agree to cooperate with the county and LCSA in pursuing support from the noncustodial parent.
Claim good cause and refuse to cooperate at this time, so the county evaluates your safety concerns before any referral goes out.
Refuse to assign your child or spousal support rights.
Refuse to assign medical support rights for cash aid and Medi-Cal.

Either refusal option makes you personally ineligible for cash aid and Medi-Cal, though your children may still qualify. The assignment is not optional; it is a condition of eligibility under California Welfare and Institutions Code Section 11477.² Most applicants check “agree to cooperate” and move on to the questionnaire.

You also write in the name of the noncustodial parent, the case number and name, your signature, and the date. The county worker signs a certification confirming they explained your rights and responsibilities to you, in writing and orally if needed.¹

Filling Out the CW 2.1Q Questionnaire

The CW 2.1Q is where the real work happens. Complete one questionnaire for each noncustodial parent or alleged father in your case, print your answers in ink, and provide:³

Your full legal name, Social Security number, date of birth, and current address.
The noncustodial parent’s full name, Social Security number, date and place of birth, last known address, and current or last known employer.
Employment details, union membership, unemployment benefits, and any other income sources for the noncustodial parent.
Whether the noncustodial parent carries health insurance that could cover the child, with policy number and provider.
Names, birth dates, birthplaces, and Social Security numbers of all children linked to that parent.
Any existing support orders, divorce decrees, or paternity determinations.
Contact information for friends or relatives who might help the LCSA locate the other parent.

If you don’t know a specific detail, write that you don’t have it rather than leaving the field blank. A blank field looks skipped; a written explanation shows you tried. The more location information you provide, the faster the LCSA can find the other parent and start enforcement. You don’t need to deliver the forms to the child support office yourself. The county transmits the referral electronically once your absent-parent information is entered.⁴

Claiming a Good Cause Exception

If cooperating would put you or your child at risk, check the good cause box on the CW 2.1 N&A instead of the cooperation box. The county welfare department, not the child support agency, evaluates the claim before any referral goes out.⁵

Good cause exists under any of these circumstances:⁵

Pursuing support would increase the risk of physical, sexual, or emotional harm to the child.
Pursuing support would increase the risk of abuse to the parent or caretaker the child lives with.
The child was conceived as a result of rape or incest, with no conviction required.
Adoption proceedings are pending before a court.
A public or licensed private adoption agency is helping you decide whether to keep the child or place them for adoption.
You are cooperating in good faith but genuinely cannot identify or locate the other parent.
Any other reason enforcement would be contrary to the child’s best interests.

Evidence to Attach

California accepts a broad range of documentation:⁶

Police reports, court records, or child protective services records showing violence or threats.
Records from a domestic violence program, medical professional, or mental health provider.
Birth certificates or medical records indicating the child was conceived through rape or incest.
Court documents showing pending adoption proceedings.
Written statements under penalty of perjury from people with direct knowledge of the circumstances.

A county supervisor reviews the determination.⁶ If good cause is found, the LCSA suspends child support services on your case until you ask them to resume, and your CalWORKs grant is not reduced while the exception is in effect.⁷

What Cooperation Looks Like After You Sign

Signing the CW 2.1 N&A creates an ongoing obligation, not a one-time task. For as long as you receive CalWORKs or Medi-Cal, you are expected to:¹

Help identify and locate any noncustodial parent or alleged father in the case.
Tell the county or LCSA whenever you learn new facts about the other parent, such as a new address or workplace.
Attend scheduled interviews, genetic testing appointments, and court hearings.
Turn over to the county any support payments the other parent gives you directly.
Provide additional documents when the agency asks, such as bank statements, marriage certificates, or birth records.

Keep your own contact information current with the agency. If you move, change phones, or start a new job, tell the county right away. An agency that cannot reach you may treat the silence as failure to cooperate.

What Happens If You Don’t Cooperate

The penalty depends on which obligation you refuse. Refusing to sign the assignment at all makes you ineligible for cash aid and Medi-Cal. Your children may still receive benefits, and the case will be referred to the LCSA anyway.¹

If you signed but later fail to cooperate, by skipping interviews, ignoring information requests, or not showing up at court, your family’s CalWORKs grant is cut by 25 percent. The reduction stays in place until you cooperate, and it lifts on the first day of the month you begin cooperating again.¹ You may also lose Medi-Cal during the noncooperation period.

The Pass-Through: Money That Still Reaches You

Assigning your support rights does not mean every dollar collected disappears into a government account. California passes through a portion of collected child support directly to CalWORKs families. Since January 2022, that pass-through is $100 per month for a family with one child and $200 per month for families with two or more children.⁸ The county also disregards that money when calculating your grant, so receiving it doesn’t reduce your CalWORKs benefits.⁹

Anything collected above the pass-through goes to the state to reimburse the cost of your CalWORKs benefits. Once your family leaves CalWORKs, all current support collections go directly to you. The state can still keep a share of arrears that built up while you were on aid, up to what it spent on your case; excess collections after that belong to your family.

Where to Get the Forms

You will usually receive the CW 2.1 N&A and CW 2.1Q from your county welfare worker during your CalWORKs application or eligibility interview. The worker is required to give you the CW 2.1 N&A, explain it, and image the signed copy for your case file.¹⁰ If you want to review the forms first, blank PDFs of the CW 2.1 N&A and CW 2.1Q are available on the California Department of Social Services website.¹ Gathering the noncustodial parent’s information before your interview saves real time.

1
California Department of Social Services. CW 2.1 Notice and Agreement for Child, Spousal and Medical Support
2
California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 11477
3
California Department of Social Services. CW 2.1Q Support Questionnaire
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County of Santa Clara Social Services Agency. Child/Medical Support Overview
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California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 11477.04
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Legal Information Institute. Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 22, 50771.5 – Determination of Good Cause
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California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 11477.02
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California Department of Child Support Services. Child Support Services to Give More Money to Families
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CalSAWS. CA-217945 Increase Child Support Pass-Through and Disregard for CalWORKs Families
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County of Santa Clara Social Services Agency. Required Forms