# Exposing Child Support Arrears Amounts

- Link: https://thechildsupporthustle.com/exposing-child-support-arrears-amounts-2/
- Published: 2024-05-06T14:23:36+00:00
- Author: MsRockMon

![\"\"](\"https://www.https://thechildsupporthustle.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/
08/IMG_1174-2.jpegwp-content/uploads/2025/08/IMG_1174-2-1.jpegwp-content/uploads/
2024/04/two-housholds-child-support.jpg.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Screenshot-
2023-09-09-095902.png\")

Kenya N. Rahmaan

While exposing the true purpose of the child support system in America, which is
arguably collecting money to be retained by the state, there may be confusion between
child support and child support arrears. The Free Dictionary defines child support
as a payment that a non-custodial parent makes as a contribution to the costs of
raising their child. There is minimal disagreement about the need for financial 
support when raising children. When the custodial parent does not receive public
assistance, and the parents have a mutual agreement void of government involvement,
child support arrears never enter the realm of their families.

Child support arrears occur when the courts get involved by voluntary or involuntary
enrollment and can be extremely expensive, in many ways, to the non-custodial parents.
Anna Assad of Demand Media defines arrears as past-due child support owed to a custodial
parent. Unfortunately, the monies are not due to the custodial parents because the
government owns the payments in public assistance cases. The money, when collected
in most cases, is retained in full by the state. Child support arrears consist of
unpaid child support that the state includes, such as interest, late fees, penalties,
and any fines added to the total amount.

These additional costs can include medical bills, daycare expenses, or other expenses
that have not been included in the child support order but have been deemed a financial
responsibility by the custodial parent and the court system. The interest charged
on late child support payments is one of the leading causes of huge child support
arrears, or debt, accumulating so rapidly in such a short amount of time. More than
half of the states in the US charge interest on child support debt. Based on the
National Conference of State Legislatures or NCSL (2013) report, interest rates 
range from 4% in Mississippi and New Mexico to 12% in states such as Kentucky and
Colorado.

Even though the government acknowledges that parents owe most child support arrears
with low or no income, the system is a trap for parents charged interest when they
cannot afford the regular payments. One study conducted by Sorensen, Sousa, and 
Schaner of The Urban Institute (2007) showed that 40% of the current obligors have
no or low reported income, but they generated 60% of the unpaid current support.
The government should not expect parents struggling to pay support to pay even more
money for the imaginary debt created by thin air in interest. Public officials have
made it nearly impossible to forgive child support debt no matter the circumstances,
thanks to the enactment of the Bradley Amendment.

This amendment mandated that child support arrears be considered a judgment by law(
Sorensen et al., 2007). This law permitted states to keep people in debt for indefinite
amounts of time. According to Douglas Reid Wiener of the American Law Division, 
the Bradley Amendment prohibits the retroactive State modification of child support
arrearages. Even in situations where paternity fraud has occurred, the man named
as the father is still responsible for child support arrears. Child support arrears
are why states report such vast amounts of arrears compared to documented support
allegedly owed by non-custodial parents.

When looking at the child support collections in Alabama, the open 230,000 open 
child support cases demand an alarming amount of arrears. According to NCSL (2014),
the current support due in 2013 was $431,286,947 while the arrears owed was $3,143,992,093.
Alabama charges 7.5% interest on late payments and only offers one debt forgiveness
program to its parents who have fallen behind on child support payments. The program
is offered on a case-by-case basis and has strict criteria before the agency grants
approval to the applicant. An interest rebate law allows the forgiveness of interest
owed to the state and the custodial parents in cases where current support is paid
consistently for at least 12 months (NCSL, 2014).

An eye-opening catch to this and many debt forgiveness programs is that the custodial
parent must agree with the terms of the program. Because many child support cases
are bitter, the discretion of any decisions made falls to the agency, and they can
decide against granting relief. Besides that, the government will not forgive because
of The Bradley Amendment. Like so many others, this program only offers an illusion
of possible debt forgiveness, but in reality, the state will never forgive the debt.

In keeping up with the other 49 states, Florida reports a disproportionate amount
of current support owed compared to the amount of arrears owed in approximately 
855,000 open child support cases. The amount of current support owed in 2013 was
$2,087,249,201, while child support arrears totaled $7,407,508,809 (NCSL, 2014).
There is no set interest amount in Florida for late payments; however, officials
evaluate the interest because the child support order is a judgment in a court of
law. According to NCSL (2013), interest charges are assessed by the clerk of court
in the county that issued the order or otherwise maintained the official payment
record.

The process explains why the arrears are so much higher than the money that parents
owe on paper.  Florida does not offer any specific debt forgiveness opportunities,
nor are the limited programs offered regularly.   Debt continues to accumulate with
no chance to waive the money owed to the state or the arrears. Overcharging parents
creates a disservice to children.

Finally, in Michigan, the difference between the support owed and arrears is astronomical.
The NCSL (2014) reported that the current amount of support due was $1,430,429,570
in 2013, yet the arrears owed were $8,406,415,371. Legislators prohibit the state
from charging interest on child support debt; however, they have found a loophole
to charge a penalty on late payments anyway. The penalty surcharge is calculated
at six-month intervals at a five-year US Treasury bill rate plus one percent per
annum (NCSL, 2013). This law explains the considerable difference between the support
owed and the huge arrears amount.

Michigan offers a few programs to reduce arrears, but the parent must meet strict
criteria before a caseworker considers a waiver. One of the laws allows non-custodial
parents who cannot pay the arrearage in full, presently or in the foreseeable future,
to request a payment plan (for a minimum of 24 months) (NCSL, 2013). The problem,
of course, is that most parents who owe child support debt are under or unemployed.
The majority of parents would not owe any obligation if they had money to pay child
support. The law violates equal protections that are supposed to protect low-income
citizens.

Most working and wealthy people never face the severe punishments that directly 
result from not paying extremely high arrearage amounts. Although some states offer
some form of a debt forgiveness program, the sheer volume of the arrearages across
the country proves that the programs are ineffective in reducing child support debt.
The debt continues to grow while the chances of the children collecting any of the
money shrink. The arrears are mainly state-owed, and the arrears are state property
because of the mandatory assignment of rights to child support.

The Bradley Amendment prohibits retroactive debt forgiveness on child support arrears
in any situation. The child support system guarantees that parents will always be
in debt if, for whatever reason, they cannot afford the child support payments. 
The money owed to the state could be better spent on the children, especially since
the program is supposed to be operating in the children\’s best interest. It is 
time to force the government to change the child support laws because they legally
rob children, parents, and families across the nation.

References:

_Assad, A. (n.d.). Definition of Unassigned Arrears in Child Support | LegalZoom:
Legal Info. Retrieved from http://info.legalzoom.com/definition-unassigned-arrears-
child-support-24736.html_

_The Free Dictionary. (n.d.). Child Support legal definition of Child Support. Retrieved
from http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Child+Support_

_National Conference of State Legislatures. (2013, May). Interest on Child Support
Arrears. Retrieved January 22, 2014, from http://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/
interest-on-child-support-arrears.aspx_

_National Conference of State Legislatures. (2014, May 20). 2013 State by State 
Data on Child Support Collections. Retrieved from http://www.ncsl.org/research/human-
services/2013-state-by-state-data-on-child-support-collections.aspx_

_Sorensen, E., Sousa, L., & Schaner, S. (2007, July 11). Assessing child support
arrears in nine large states and the nation. Retrieved from http://aspe.hhs.gov/
hsp/07/assessing-cs-debt/report.pdf_

_Wiemer, D. R. (n.d.).  The bradley amendment: Prohibition against retroactive modification
of child support arrearages. Retrieved from http://congressionalresearch.com/RS20642/
document.php?study=THE+BRADLEY+AMENDMENT+PROHIBITION+AGAINST+RETROACTIVE+MODIFICATION
+OF+CHILD+SUPPORT+ARREARAGES_