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    Wisconsin Lawyer
    December 01, 1998

    Wisconsin Lawyer December 1998: Department of Workforce Development Means to Collect Past-due Child Support

    Department of Workforce Development Means to Collect Past-due Child Support

    By Constance M. Chesnik

    The new legislation sends the message that parents must take responsibility for their children: Child support is an obligation, not a choice.

    P.L. 104-93, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), made major changes to the child support enforcement program, placing many new conditions on states regarding the operation of their programs. Wisconsin complied with these requirements by enacting 1997 Wisconsin Act 191 .

    Wisconsin always has been a national leader in establishing and enforcing child support. However, much more needs to be done. Of the support payments owed to our children, currently only 38 percent are actually collected. That means an overwhelming $1.2 billion in outstanding child support is owed to Wisconsin's children. The new enforcement tools in Wis. Act 191 are not aimed at the responsible parents who regularly make their child support payments; rather, they are aimed at the parents who consistently fail to pay child support. The new legislation sends the message that parents must take responsibility for their children: Child support is an obligation, not a choice.

    Wisconsin's W-2 program emphasizes personal responsibility. Now more than ever, regular and adequate child support payments are necessary to help Wisconsin families escape welfare dependency. The administrative procedures under Act 191 will provide more frequent and timely enforcement mechanisms for child support without unduly burdening the state's court systems. Obligors are kept apprised of their payment status through monthly billing notices and will receive additional notices of any planned enforcement actions. They will have an opportunity for a review of their payment records and an opportunity to establish a payment plan, reviewable by the court, that will stay any threatened enforcement action.

    Addressing child support delinquencies early on can prevent parents from amassing arrearages too large to ever pay off. Hopefully, encouraging both parents to contribute to the financial well being of their children also will encourage the involvement of both parents in the lives of their children.

    The Department of Workforce Development (DWD) is in the process of developing administrative rules to establish the procedures to administer these new enforcement tools. The DWD has worked with many organizations and groups that have an interest in the new legislation, including the State Bar and the judiciary. It has worked diligently to comply with federal requirements while also addressing concerns related to due process and the protection of privacy.

    It is the goal of the DWD to maintain Wisconsin's role as a national leader in promoting parental responsibility and ending welfare dependency. Act 191 will help the department to reinforce those values.

    Constance M. Chesnik, U.W. 1986, is an attorney with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. She has advised the child support program for 13 years and is a frequent lecturer and author on child support-related issues. She is a member of the state and national Child Support Enforcement associations.

    Wisconsin Lawyer


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