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Entry bubble Child Support

By: Nancy | August 07, 2008 | Category: Money

I had lunch with a special friend recently. She's a little over three and a half feet tall, loves French fries, recess and all things pink. She also loves her mom, who hasn't seen her in a long time. Her mom's not just been absent physically though. Her dad, who's struggling to pay the afterschool program bills, hasn't seen a child support payment from Mom in a long time either.

child and parent holding handsIf your child's other parent isn't paying child support, there are things that the government can do to help try to make the situation right. USA.gov's section on child support features links to basic information sources for frequently asked questions about child support enforcement and has contact information for your state's child support enforcement program.

The Handbook on Child Support Enforcement (CSE) details the process you'll go through with your state CSE program if you're beginning the process of seeking child support. If your child's other parent is missing, your state CSE program can use the resources of the US Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Child Support Enforcement to trace that parent, whether he or she is across the country or outside the US, incarcerated or deployed in the military.

Once the parent has been found and paternity has been proven, a support order will be established, spelling out exactly how much the non-custodial parent is to pay each month for healthcare and other support for your child. The way this dollar amount is calculated varies from state to state.

The biggest challenge a lot of single parents run into is getting those monthly support payments in the right amount and on schedule. If your child's other parent has stopped paying or skips payments, CSE programs have a variety of ways to enforce the support order and get that money for your child. This could include garnishing the non-paying parent's wages, freezing bank accounts, offsetting federal income tax refunds or economic stimulus payments, denying a passport, contacting credit bureaus, suspending a driver's license, and putting liens on or seizing and selling personal property. Non-payment could also result in jail time for that parent.

Of course, not every non-custodial parent is trying to get out of supporting his or her children. If you're the parent ordered to pay child support, there are also guidelines to help you know your role, rights and responsibilities in caring for your child financially.

| Post a Comment | View Comments [4] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: child   kids   nancy   support  

Comments (4):

blue comment bubble Posted by Anonymous on August 07, 2008 at 05:56 PM EDT

This is an important aspect of supporting your children. It is hard to track where the money is heading, however, it is going to your child. Ultimately that is the most important part of this program. Divorce is hard enough for your children. You should make sure that you take care of him/her in the event of a situation that may occur. I look at what happens to divorced parents and it is just depressing.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Norahs on August 07, 2008 at 07:52 PM EDT

While dad is waiting for mom to help here are some TN tips. Our after school SAC has a income based program. Lottery money allows schools to provide a free before & after school program. There are also federally supplemented daycares that may be based on income.YMCA are another option depending on children's ages.Good Luck I hope your area has some programs to help.

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blue comment bubble Posted by zoky on August 14, 2008 at 01:55 AM EDT

blue comment bubble Posted by David on April 14, 2009 at 03:27 PM EDT

What about services that protect the rights of the non-custodial parent? What about forcing these "money hungry" winches to account for their expenditures? Why should men be forced to pay for a child when he finds out it's not his? At what pont in time is there any accountability on the part of the custodial parents? The fact is all you people care about is getting money while using the kids as an excuse to get it. The reason why these agencies could care less how the custodial parent spends the support is because it would cut into their budget. God forbid we ever have some sense of equality in this entire process.

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