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One thing that many individuals don't realize when they apply for medical assistance, food stamps, or other benefits is that the county will file a child support case against the other parent. This will happen regardless of whether you want the county to do it or not; the county is an independent party. What that looks like depends on the situation. 

For example, if a mother applies for assistance for herself or the parties' child, the County will first determine whether or not the father signed a Recognition of Parentage. If he did, the County will initiate a child support action against him to help recoup the cost of benefits they are providing to the mother and/or child. The mother cannot stop this action, and any agreement the parents reach will have to be approved by the county. 

Often, the County initiating the action prompts the father to seek equal parenting time in order to reduce his support obligation, regardless of whether he had any involvement with the child prior to the support case. This can be extremely frustrating for both parents, and present a danger to children when they are suddenly expected to have a relationship with a parent who previously had no interest. Parents can always try to negotiate; for instance, they could agree that the father will pay the amount he would pay if he had equal time, but decide parenting time will be substantially less than equal. Keep in mind when negotiating that the County cares about getting paid, not what's best for your children. 

If the father did not sign a Recognition of Parentage, the County must first initiate a paternity action before it can seek child support. Because paternity is considered a quasi criminal proceeding, the father is entitled to a lawyer, and one will be appointed to him if he cannot afford one. Both parents and the child will have to undergo a DNA test. While this can be an excellent boon for fathers who genuinely want to have a relationship with their children, it can also create a large power imbalance, as the mother is not similarly entitled to counsel and thus may feel pressured into custody or parenting time arrangements she does not feel are in the child's best interests. 

What happens when there's domestic abuse? Unfortunately, not much of anything. Even if a mother asks the County to forego seeking support because there was abuse perpetrated upon her or the child by the father, the County typically still plows ahead. Once the county knows who the father is, it will seek recompense. 

You may have noticed that most of this discussion centers around the mother. That's because in Minnesota, when parents are unwed and there is no recognition of parentage, the mother has sole legal and physical custody and all parenting time. Signing a recognition of parentage gives the father the right to seek custody and parenting time, but until the Court orders that he has shared custody or a parenting time schedule, he has no rights to the child. Therefore, a situation where a father has the child and is applying for benefits is quite rare and it's likely that the father would have already needed to retain counsel to reduce his rights to a court order. If a father does have sole custody, however, and applies for benefits, the County can absolutely seek a contribution from the mother.