Mom and Dad do not live together. They have joint custody of their children, Alyssa and Alex. Dad is under a court order to pay child support because the children spend most of their time with Mom. So, what happens to the child support payments if Dad commits a crime and is sentenced to prison?
What used to happen was that the unpaid child support kept accumulating. Dad might serve his time and leave prison with no income and $20,000 or more in child support debt. The University of Maryland School of Social Work Family Research and Training Group found in 2005 that 100 percent of parents incarcerated at the time, and 98 percent of previously incarcerated parents, owed arrears on their child support obligations. Those in prison owed an average of $22,000. Former prisoners owed an average of $17,255.
What happens now, because of a change in Maryland law, is that the unpaid child support will not accumulate. Payments are suspended for anyone incarcerated for 18 months or more, unless the prisoner is on work release or has other assets that could be tapped to continue the payments. The statute also provides that child support will not be suspended for a parent who committed the crime with the intent of being imprisoned or impoverished as a way of ducking child support payments.
The University of Maryland study found that parents with a history of incarceration are significantly less likely to pay support and will pay less support than parents who have not been imprisoned. Nearly four-fifths of parents with no history of incarceration paid at least some child support in the previous year, compared to only three-fifths of ex-offenders.
Where does that leave the kids? Alyssa and Alex are going to need food and clothing, whether Dad is sunning in Aruba or in the Maryland Correctional Institution. The Washington Times reported that child welfare advocates supported the law change, saying it would have minimal effect on payments or revenue because inmates would generally be unable to pay in any case (http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/apr/4/bill-to-relieve-maryland-inmates-of-child-support-/.
If the Child Support Enforcement Administration is providing state-funded support for the children and attempting to collect from Dad, the administration must notify Mom of the suspension of Dad's obligation to pay support. Mom has the right to file an objection.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Child Support Enforcement has favored modifying child support orders for incarcerated, re-entering or unemployed parents.
"Not only is [child support] debt unlikely to ever be collected, but it adds to the barriers formerly incarcerated parents face in reentering their communities and may interfere with their ability to obtain housing and employment in order to support their child. Child support debt increases the likelihood that noncustodial parents released from incarceration will enter the underground economy," an HHS fact sheet issued in 2007 said.
Donna Engle is a retired Westminster attorney. Reach her with questions or feedback at 410-840-2354 or denglelaw@gmail.com. Her column, which provides legal information but not legal advice, appears on the second and fourth Sunday each month in Life & Times.
