Child Support Collection Best Practices
Child support means a fixed amount of money that one parent pays to another parent after the couple is divorced to help cover the cost of raising their dependent children. The timely receipt of child support payments is crucial to family self-sufficiency and child well being. The primary purpose of child support program is to collect from absent parents, support payments for custodial parents and their children. |
For many low income families, the only assistance they receive from non-custodial parents is through the state’s child support program. Local child support offices provide services such as locating absent parents, obtaining, implementing and modifying child support orders and collecting and distribution of payments. Here are some of the ideas and practices that will improve the outcomes and would bring transparency in the entire collection and distribution process.
Most common method adopted by states now days for recovering child collection is income withholding. Income withholding and freezing bank accounts are preferred method of child support collection. This method allows the non-custodial parents to automatically deduct child support payments from his or her paychecks. These funds are then directly sent to the state child support collection agency for disbursement to the custodial parents.
Collecting past due child support payments: In addition to income withholding, most states can also utilize other methods for enforcing a court order for child support and collecting pending child support payments. These methods include credit bureau reporting, confiscating personal property and assets, sealing bank accounts, suspension of driving license, seizing passports and strict enforcement through court orders.
If the non-custodial parent is unemployed or bankrupt then providing employment, life skills training, job readiness training and placement to unemployed and underemployed non- custodial parents and thereby increase child support payments.
Judicial actions: In severe cases, when the state is unsuccessful in recovering child support payments from non-custodial parents by the methods mention above then the child support agency may ask court to take action against the defaulter. If the non-custodial parent is found guilty, he may be prosecuted and can be sent to prison for at least six months.
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Child support means a fixed amount of money that one parent pays to another parent after the couple is divorced to help cover the cost of raising their dependent children. Child support is believed to be an obligation people incur when they become fathers. When you are married and are living with your wife and children, then it is not difficult to see the needs of your children as they grow up in front of your eyes.