Child support is defined as the obligation a parent has regarding the care and financial support of children of a relationship that has ended.

Most state child support enforcement agencies do not have the resources to track down parents who evade their support obligations. However, if you locate the deadbeat, the state will close in right away and collect the money for you.  Our investigators at E.P.I.S. are not here to judge those that have left town, but to locate them.  E.P.I.S. will conduct a locate search and bring them to justice before the judge!  We will use every means accessible to us by law to locate these parents that have abandoned wives / husbands and children in need of support.

Are you dealing with a child custody issue?  Is child support difficult?  Are you being denied visitation or is paternity in dispute?  Or most urgently, are you just now starting this process and needing to get it done right?  Is he or she preventing you from seeing your child and he or she lacks a court order for that?

At Empire Pacific Investigative Child Support Team, we can help you with issues of prenuptials, dissolution, other property matters, locate property records and vehicle registrations, and can aid in collecting child support owed to you.  You can turn this information discovered over to child support enforcement agencies, who in turn will attach those assets.  Wages are considered assets and can be garnished.

We have clients that call our toll free number of 888.404.EPIS daily from all over the US. California, Florida, Oklahoma, Washington, Virginia, with problems they are having with dead beat parents that owe them money or have fled.

• Services that E.P.I.S. provides for Child support investigations are
• Secure evidence for prosecution
• Serve outstanding arrest warrants on non-support cases
• Provide courtroom testimony
• Serve Subpoenas
• Determine the location of parent for process service
• Serve body attachments to ensure a party's appearance in court

 Other services that we offer for Child support investigation are

• Locate search on deadbeat parents
• Background Check
• Employment Locate and research
• Criminal Records
• Asset Research

 What is a Child Custody Surveillance?

In child custody surveillance, the investigator conducts surveillance of the activities of a parent, baby sitter, or nanny, while with the client's child or children, to determine what happens when a parent is with the child.  

E.P.I.S. investigators can document or videotape any mistreatment, or neglect that they see and they can gather other evidence that suggests whether the child is being treated well or not.  E.P.I.S. investigators will conduct statements from witnesses, and obtain any additional information from an activity check conducted for the court on behalf of the parents. 

We do this by surveillance or fixed surveillance cameras, as allowed by law.  Call us for a confidential consultation.  We can help you formulate a strategy that achieves your goals in the most cost effective manner at 1888.404.EPIS or email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

California Department of Child Support SERVICES

Child Custody Surveillance FAQ'S 

• What is child custody surveillance?
• Is child custody surveillance legal
• What if I am wrong?
• How are the fees charged for child custody surveillance?
• How is child custody surveillance plan established?
• How many investigators are used on a child custody surveillance case?
• What do I do once the surveillance is set up?
• How do you follow someone?
• Will the subject find out that they are being watched?
• What evidence will I receive at the conclusion?

What is child custody surveillance?
The word surveillance is French, literally means "watching over", the term is often used for "Close observation or monitoring of a person or group, especially one under suspicion.  Domestic surveillance is the monitoring the behavior of people.  Monitoring could involve wives, husbands, boyfriends or girlfriends.  Following an individual or tailing someone or subject is the techniques, where investigators are assigned to infidelity cases to follow suspected cheater to document their activity and to determine the nature or location of that activity.  These activities are usually documented on videotapes.

Is child custody surveillance legal?
The law does not prohibit surveillance.  There is no general right to privacy from observations.  An agent sitting in a car outside a home watching others and video recording or photographing their activities is not committing an offence, even if the subject is on their own private land.  In fact any citizen may conduct surveillance, provided they do not charge for their services, as charging requires an investigator's license.  Similarly there is no law to prohibit mobile surveillance where a subject is followed via foot, car or public transport, unless one has conducted the "Invasion of Privacy".  Invasion of Privacy is a crime usually involving video monitoring and / or recording of bedroom, bathroom, or clothes changing areas (i.e. locker rooms).  EPIS investigator's do not condone the potential misuse or abuse the system, which we proudly carry to help people. We conduct surveillance and covert video because it's often the only way to capture evidence of serious wrong doing. In a day and age where even eyewitness testimony is often unreliable, video evidence is the often the ONLY recourse to hold people responsible for their misdeeds against others.

What if I am wrong?
While conducting surveillance and there is no wrong doing on the subject behave or the cheater, you the client have gained peace of mind about the person being investigated.

How are the fees charged for child custody surveillance?
Domestic surveillance is billed on an hourly basis plus a mileage charge and any other charges that might come up.  Fees are primarily charged as time and mileage travelled.  It is usually a mobile activity, and investigators will charge by distance, including from the office to the job, as well as for any movement that occurs during the surveillance.  EPIS has a minimum of five hour on site for any domestic surveillance, regardless of activity that occurs.  The clock starts for surveillance job when the agent leaves the office, and finishes when the investigator returns to the office.  Surveillance is charged by the miles, from door to door.

How many investigators are used on a child custody surveillance case?
On a daily normal case, we use one agent to conduct surveillance.  On more difficult and complicated cases, such as high profile individuals, difficult situations such as multiple exits or being in a high congested traffic and signal areas, or having an aggressive driving behavior and being extra cautious who always watch the rear view mirror and makes sudden u-turns, we will use two or more agents.

What do I do once the surveillance is set up?
Once the surveillance has started, you the client must continue your daily routine activity.  It is important that you do no act differently, ask any questions regarding his activity, or to alert the subject.

How do you follow someone?
Conducting mobile surveillance is an art.  It all depends on the area and the circumstances.  There are cases that the agent most follow few cars or sometimes directly behind the subject without any suspicion and not getting burned.  There are cases, that mobile surveillance is conducted from a long distance away.

Will the subject find out that they are being watched?
All of our investigation is 100% confidential.  If at any point, the investigation is threatened, or the subject has become more suspicious, we back off and re-evaluate with your input. One important point: Never threaten to hire an investigator. This will make the suspected cheater even more difficult to watch. If you have done this, be sure to tell us ahead of time so we can prepare.

What evidence will I receive at the conclusion?
While conducting a domestic surveillance consists of the videotape of the activities and surveillance report which details all the activity in writing. Both are submitted to you, or if you wish we can maintain them for you.