Copyright 2006 The Divorce Center P.A.

There are three things you can count on as a divorced parent: death, taxes, and child support. If you are the custodial parent of your children, support is in the form of buying clothes, food, medicine, and the ten thousand other items children need. If you are the non-custodial parent, child support is in the form of cash. And with the latest web of laws in each state, the payment of child support is something you can count on paying.

In the not-too-distant past, rumors of deadbeat parents were common. Most people have heard tales from friends, family, or relatives about a mother or father that got away without paying support. Even in cases where child support was ordered by a divorce court, the parent simply escaped the obligation by moving to another state. Eventually, some went to jail. Some ended up paying. But a significant number of deadbeat parents never paid a dime in child support.

In 1975, the Federal Government entered the child support picture. Lawmakers created a Federal/State partnership that would facilitate the collection of child support. Part D, Title IV of the Social Security Act was created to encourage and fund state programs for the collection of child support. The program is administered by the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement, part of the Dept. of Health and Human Services.

The most visible effect of the federal program is the designation of child support enforcement agencies in each state. They are referred to as Title IV-D agencies, named after the federal statute created in 1975. Each state has a Title IV-D agency but the specific state agency that takes on this responsibility is different in each state. In Florida, the Florida Department of Revenue was declared the Title IV-D agency. To accomplish their goals, the Florida Dept. of Revenue opened up a child support enforcement branch, dedicated to carrying out the federal mandate.

The Florida Dept. of Revenue Child Support Enforcement Division initiates a new case upon the occurrence of one of several triggering events. The most common event is when a single or separated parent applies for state Medicaid benefits for their child. It could be subsidized food, medicine, housing, or other misc. benefits. When the parent first applies, they are required to sign a form authorizing the state to initiate child support proceedings. The public policy behind this mechanism is to minimize taxpayer support for children and to place child support responsibility where it belongs on the mother and father of the child. After a parent applies for benefits, it is only a short matter of time before the Title IV-D agency initiates a child support lawsuit against the non-custodial parent.

Each state has a similar Title IV-D agency that establishes, collects, and enforces child support. The underlying federal law that authorizes the state agencies also requires nationwide coordination of child support efforts. The bottom line: an order for child support in Florida will be enforce by Ohio, California, New York, or any other state where the parent resides. The name of the specific agency is different in every state but the purpose is the same: to collect child support for the custodial parent. The enforcement options can be harsh on a parent who refuses to pay. The Long Arm of the Law is a well-named term for child support enforcement. Parents who get behind on child support can face the following sanctions: suspension of driver license, suspension of professional and trade licenses, forced sale of personal assets, and imprisonment. Frequently, a seriously delinquent payer of child support is sent to jail by the courts.

The system is efficient, wide reaching, and inevitable. The states have an efficient method for coordinating efforts and the parent who moves across the country can no longer avoid child support obligations. But like many laws, the web of rules, requirements, and harsh penalties ultimately benefit society. In this case the people who benefit are deserving: children of single parent households. Death and taxes are not longer the only inevitable thing in life. Now, parents in every state of the US can count on doing the right thing: paying child support to their children.