California Child Support Recovery System | Justice Foundation
When a child support obligor disappears — stops paying, changes contact information, and becomes unreachable through normal channels — social media has become one of the most effective location tools available to custodial parents and their attorneys. Used correctly and within legal boundaries, social media research can locate a missing obligor faster and at lower cost than traditional skip-tracing services.
What You Can Legally Do
Reviewing publicly accessible social media profiles is fully legal. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X (Twitter), TikTok, and other platforms contain vast amounts of location information voluntarily shared by users. Current city of residence, employer name and location, check-ins at specific locations, vacation photos with geotags, and tagged posts from friends and family can all establish current location, employment, and financial status.
What to Look For
Location data: current city listed in profile, check-ins at local businesses, posts referencing specific neighborhoods or local events. Employment: LinkedIn current employer listing, posts about work, employer tags. Assets: photos of vehicles, property, boats, or equipment — all potential enforcement targets. Income evidence: photos or posts suggesting a lifestyle inconsistent with claimed poverty (vacations, new purchases, restaurant meals, events). Business activity: posts advertising services, business pages, client testimonials.
Preserving What You Find
Social media content can be deleted quickly when an obligor realizes they’re being investigated. Screenshot and timestamp everything you find — full-page screenshots with the URL and date visible are the most defensible format. Store screenshots in your documentation file alongside a brief description of what each shows and why it’s relevant. Courts have accepted social media evidence in child support proceedings when properly authenticated.
Working With DCSS and the Federal Parent Locator Service
Social media findings that establish approximate location can inform DCSS’s use of the Federal Parent Locator Service, which can access government databases to narrow down specific addresses and employers. Providing DCSS with the city or state where social media evidence suggests the obligor is located accelerates the FPLS search. The Justice Foundation kit includes a social media investigation guide and documentation templates for preserving social media evidence.
California Child Support Recovery System 
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