R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-23.1-301: Proceedings under this chapter.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, this article applies to all proceedings under this chapter.

(b) An individual petitioner or a support enforcement agency may initiate a proceeding authorized under this chapter by filing a petition in an initiating tribunal for forwarding to a responding tribunal, or by filing a petition or a comparable pleading directly in a tribunal of another state or a foreign country which has or can obtain personal jurisdiction over the respondent.