For parents in Pennsylvania dealing with a former partner who is not paying child support, the state system can be complicated and difficult to understand. The story is often the same for parents in other states as well. In response to this, a federal system is being developed to network child support enforcement throughout the United States.
The Child Support Enforcement Fund project of the federal Department of Health and Human Services goes in a different direction from many Trump administration projects, which have generally steered clear of federal centralization and in the direction of state autonomy. In this case, the $63-million fund would develop a new database and network that could be used to enforce and monitor child support payments across the states.
The advantage of the federalized system is economic. States have spent a great deal of money on efforts to modernize their child support enforcement systems. On average, the modernization efforts cost $120 million per state. Over the next five years, the federal government estimates that using the centralized system could save $800 million. Despite a 1995 federal law mandating the creation of up-to-date systems for child support enforcement, many states continue to struggle with obsolete technology.
Parents who are dealing with former partners failing to pay child support may often find the bureaucracy of child support overwhelming and confusing. A family law attorney can help a client enforce a child support order against a former partner. In addition, lawyers could help parents collect unpaid child support or seek an order modification.
