(a) Except as otherwise provided in sections 454.1500 to 454.1728, this article, sections 454.1548 to 454.1602, applies to all proceedings under sections 454.1500 to 454.1728.
(b) An individual petitioner or a support enforcement agency may initiate a proceeding authorized under sections 454.1500 to 454.1728 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 foreign country which has or can obtain personal jurisdiction over the respondent.