Child Support

The federal Child Support Recovery Act, amended and renamed the Deadbeat Parents Punishment Act in 1998, criminalizes, in certain circumstances, the wilful failure to pay a past due child support obligation. See 18 U.S.C. § 228. Federal jurisdiction over child support is limited in both Acts. Where a person has been ordered by a court to pay child support for a child who lives in another state, it is a federal crime if that person wilfully fails to pay a past due amount for more than 1 year or that exceeds $5,000. See 18 U.S.C. § 228(a)(1). The penalty for this offense is a fine and a maximum prison sentence of 6 months. If the deadbeat parent fails to pay a past due amount for more than 2 years or that exceeds $10,000, the penalty is increased to a fine and a maximum prison sentence of 2 years. See 18 U.S.C. § 228(a)(3) Federal law also prohibits a person obligated to pay child support from crossing state lines or fleeing the country with the intent to avoid paying child support that has either been past due for more than 1 year or exceeds $5,000, the penalty for which is a fine and maximum prison sentence of 2 years. See 18 U.S.C. § 228(a)(2).

All other child support issues, including those that relate to the amount of the support or a failure to pay, are matters of state law and should be inquired of with the relevant state agency and law enforcement authority. [Add links for all state health and human service agencies.]

Similarly, matters of child custody and visitation are matters of state law, not federal law, and are governed by the relevant state family court system and human services agency. With the exception of international parental kidnapping (discussed in a separate section), interference with custody or visitation should be addressed to state or local law enforcement authorities or a state judicial officer.

www.justice.gov/criminal/ceos/citizensguide_childsupport.html