Child Support Guidelines for Arkansas
Child support can be important to both the custodial parent as well as the child in question. It helps the custodial parent provide for the child the food, clothing, and other items needed to not only survive but also live a healthy life.
If you are a resident of Arkansas, the child support office is under the jurisdiction of the Division of Revenue, which is a part of the Department of Finance and Administration. The Office of Child Support and Enforcement (OCSE) can help custodial parents in many ways. As a child’s parent, legal guardian or caretaker, they can help establish paternity of a child, help locate a missing parent, help you apply for child support, enforce child support orders, and collect as well as disburse your child support payments.
If you are receiving some type of assistance already, such as Transitional Employment Assistance (TEA) or Foster Care, you will be automatically referred to the Office of Child Support and Enforcement to begin getting child support. If you are not in the TEA program, you will have to contribute to both establishing the paternity of your child and collecting child support. Payments for these services are used to offset the costs of attorneys, paternity tests, and an expenses incurred by searching for a missing parent.
If you are not receiving any type of state or federal assistance, OCSE will still be happy to assist you in receiving child support. However, you must pay an initial fee of $25 to process the application and open the child support case. You can call your local child support enforcement office to receive an application for child support. You will need to know the non-custodial parent’s full name, address, employer, social security number, and any information you know about their income or assets. Have your child’s birth certificate(s), your child support order, divorce decree, and any previous records you may have of previously paid support.
The amount of child support awarded is based on guidelines set by the Arkansas Supreme Court guidelines at the Arkansas Child Support Judiciary. This will be based on the needs of the child as well as which parent has custody and financial status of each of the child’s parents.
The state of Arkansas has many tools at its disposal to ensure that child support payments are enforced. This can included deductions from wages or unemployment claims, property liens, suspension of driver’s license, seizing vehicles, seizing of income tax returns or lottery winnings, and even reporting the debt to credit bureaus. If an individual fails to make child support payments for at least six months or owes at least $5,000, a child support arrest warrant will be issued for that individual.
The child support order can be reviewed every three years or when there is a substantial change in income or circumstances per request of either parent. The court will expect the non-custodial parent to pay child support until the child turns 18 or until he or she graduates from high school.
You can obtain information about child support payments by calling 1-800-264-2445. This service can also be accessed online at Child Support Services.