Arizona parents may be interested to learn that state lawmakers in Idaho finally conceded, passing a federal child support mandate that is a part of an international treaty signed by numerous countries. Idaho legislators had initially rejected the bill by one vote, putting in jeopardy the U.S.’s participation in the treaty and potentially making it difficult for parents everywhere to collect child support owed to them.
Federal funding for child support programs at the state level is attached to mandates. The mandates in the treaty mean participating countries will help enforce the child support orders issued in other countries. Idaho lawmakers had expressed concerns that this meant the U.S. would effectively be enforcing Shariah law, a concern the Department of Health and Human Services called baseless. The law already contains language that allows American courts to refuse to enforce orders that run counter to American laws.
With the passage of the law and the treaty, parents in all states will be able to utilize automatic payment systems in order to garnish child support directly from the other parents’ paychecks. The federal government is providing $46 million in funding so states can use automated payment systems in order to make the collection of owed child support much easier and more streamlined.
Parents who are owed child support payments may want to seek help from a family law attorney. An attorney may help to find where the delinquent parent works, then file a motion requesting wage garnishment. Those who are needing to modify their obligations because of a change in financial circumstances may also find legal representation to be helpful.
Source: FOX News, “Legislators pass child support bill that had been nixed over Islamic law,” Associated Press, May 18, 2015.