A more thorough explanation:

The Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS) is a program created by the federal government to help enforce child-support obligations. Its purpose is to locate absent, delinquent child-support obligors and increase the collection of child support.

Initially, information could only be released if the family was receiving public assistance. However, any judgment obligee can now apply to receive the last known address of a delinquent child-support obligor.

For example, if a parent is not paying child support, the other parent can apply to the FPLS to locate the delinquent parent's address. This information can then be used to enforce the child-support obligation.

The FPLS uses information from various federal databases to locate delinquent child-support obligors. This includes information from the Internal Revenue Service, Social Security Administration, and the Department of Defense.