• Alabama child support laws are designed to help children thrive.family image by Mat Hayward from Fotolia.com
  
  Alabama’s Department of Human Resources (DHR) has authority to enforce child support laws in the state. Staff at the Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR) review child support claims and payment agreements to ensure that children in the state receive the financial support that they need to thrive. The department works with local attorneys to enforce payment arrangements between custodial and non-custodial parents. Never married and divorced parents who have custody of their children are eligible to apply to receive child support.
  
  

Applying for Support

• DHR automatically contacts custodial parents who receive public assistance (i.e., Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Medicaid) so that they complete child support applications. If you do not receive public assistance, contact DHR to open a child support claim. Details that you must provide to open a claim include your first and last name, the name of the child that you seek support for and the child's date of birth. Also complete a Case Information Worksheet and an Affidavit of Income form. Finances that you receive from work must be included on the Affidavit of Income form. Include your contact information, marital status, date of birth and employer information on the Case Information Worksheet. You can apply to receive child support at any time before the child turns 19 years old. Child support payments are made to custodial parents monthly.
  
  

Establishing Paternity

• Complete the Acknowledgement of Paternity form at the hospital to establish paternity. You can also contact DHR before the child turns 18 years old to fill out the Acknowledgement of Paternity form. Should the non-custodial parent's location be unknown, DHR will work with attorneys to locate the non-custodial parent and order them to submit to a paternity test. The Social Security Administration, Department of Defense and the Internal Revenue Service are other agencies that DHR works with to locate non-custodial parents. Established paternity is required before child support payments are set.
  
  

Medical Support

• A non-custodial parent who works at a company that offers its employees health insurance coverage is required to include their child on their plan if the child is not able to get coverage via the custodial parent. If a non-custodial parent works at a company that does not offer health insurance, DHR can mandate that the non-custodial parent contribute to the child's medical support needs via cash. For example, the non-custodial parent could write a check out for $100 for the child’s doctor bill to cover the cost of an annual medical check-up.
  
  

Penalties for Failing to Pay Child Support

• Paychecks are garnished after a non-custodial parent falls behind by 30 or more days in their support payments. Non-custodial parents can have child support payments deducted from their unemployment checks, retirement pay and worker's compensation checks. Federal, state and local income tax returns are intercepted to cover the costs of late child support payments. DHR can report late child support payments to credit bureaus. Liens are placed upon the non-custodial parent's property after payments are $1,000 or more in arrears. Additionally, late payments are assessed with up to 12 percent interest.
  
  

Child Support Order Reviews

• DHR reviews child support orders every 36 months. Custodial and non-custodial parents are permitted to contact DHR to request that their case receive an earlier review if a situation warrants (e.g., loss of job, long-term illness). Both parents must appear before a judge at a court hearing to review the agreement and possibly adjust child support payment levels.