Child Support Guidelines Review 2022
7/09/2022
I want to thank the committee and the Legislature of Ohio,
for allowing Ohio Family Rights to submit testimony and address some of the
numerous problems that are present within the current child support law,
problems that have existed for years and solutions that are simple for the
legislature and ODJFS to address.
Our perspective comes from reading the Ohio Revised Code,
the Ohio Administrative Code, and information that has been gathered from
obligors and obliges across the State of Ohio.
89
Different Agencies
No, that is not a mistake; there are 89 different child
support agencies in the State of Ohio. Ohio Jobs and Family Services run the
state version and each county runs its version under the Jobs and Family
Services division of their county Health and Human services.
We have to question the redundancy and the inconsistency
that this causes as well as an added expense to all taxpayers in the state.
The State of Ohio has a policy manual for child support and
each county has its own which may or may not mimic the state manual, most do
not.
There is no consistency from one county to another across
the state. Even the portals that allegedly have up-to-date information on
payment histories will show different information between the counties and the
state. While this has been well known for years it has grown exponentially
since the child support law changed in 2018.
The attempt to dump old databases that were created with
systems that go back to the 1990s into a new system and software that is
incompatible has proven a disaster at many levels. When I say disaster, it has
resulted in cases where there has been a complete loss of information or in
others a reverting to old and outdated case information.
As an example, there is a young man in Cuyahoga County that
currently has sole custody of his son. A change took place in his orders before
the change in the law in 2018 that included the mother paying him child
support. The father got an automated letter one day telling him that he was in
arrears on his support order. When he called to inquire about the letter he was
told, after a tap dance with the caseworker that his case file had disappeared
from the system and had to be reloaded. It is doubtful that this was an
isolated incident since others have complained about similar problems in other
counties from obligors and obliges alike.
Inconsistencies
Between the Counties and State
We have found inconsistencies
between State policies and individual county policies.
The State’s Child Support Manual is
on line for public viewing.
The manuals for each of the counties
are not.
The Bias
of County Workers
We have found inconsistencies
between State policies and individual county policies.
Failure
of Counties to Aggressively Pursue Mothers in Arrears
We have found inconsistencies
between State policies and individual county policies.
2% Poundage
Fee
Has the time come and gone for the 2% poundage fee?
Has it outlived its original purpose and need?
We believe that it has.
The original purpose was to cover the expense of credit and
debit card processing fees that were charged the agencies across the state. With
garnishment orders the majority of direct payments by “plastic” have gone away
and ACH transfers have become common place.
There been inconsistency in that at least one known county
is charging a “credit card fee” of 3.5% on top of the poundage fee. That is a
5.5% “tax” for simply being an obligor.
Language
Within the Forms
We have found inconsistencies
between State policies and individual county policies.
The Child
Support Administrative Review Process
The Administrative Review process takes place automatically
when a child that is part of an order graduates from high school and has turned
18 or 19 at the latest.
It is offered to parties automatically every three years and
may be turned down if both parties wish, or will go through if both or only one
party thinks it should be reviewed for changes because of increased income. It
can be requested if one party believes that there has been a substantial change
of income which is generally accepted to be 30%.
Problems
The current allowable time, by rule, is 180 days. That is
far too long for a process that is nothing more than taking new numbers and
punching them into a computer program that is in use by every agency and the
Courts (courts are not involved in the review unless the decision is appealed).
This allowable time should be reduced to 45-60 days which provides more than
ample time for mailing necessary documents and gathering documents by both
involved parties. The agencies are not comfortable with this shorter timeline
I would suggest that their timeline to return the documents be stated clearly
in the offer letter that the parties return the necessary documents within 10
days.
Child
Support Review
1. Members
2. Announcements
to public
3. Data
and passed info shall be made public
4. All
economic information used shall be specific to the State of Ohio.
Council
Members from the State Legislature are:
5.
Rep Rodney Creech
6.
Rep Darrell Kick
7.
Rep Catherine Ingram
8.
Senator Tina Maharath
9.
Senator Tim Schaffer
10. Senator
Theresa Gavarone
The Distributed
Information
To make sure that we are up to date with all discussions
taking place, we have looked at all the information distributed to the review
committee and reviewed the agenda that they were to discuss at each meeting.
First
Meeting
February 28,
2022 Meeting Agenda
Ohio Child Support Guidelines Advisory Council
Meeting
Monday, February
28, 2022 Microsoft Teams Meeting 2:00 – 3:00 PM
Agenda
Ohio Child Support Guidelines Advisory Council
Meeting
Monday, February
28, 2022 Microsoft Teams Meeting 2:00 – 3:00 PM
Agenda
·
Welcome and Introductions
·
Technical Troubleshooting
·
Discuss
Future Meeting Dates
·
Tentative future meetings:
§ 4/14/2022, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
§ 5/26/2022, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
§ 7/7/2022, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
§ 8/18/2022, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
§ 9/29/2022, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
§ 11/10/2022, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
·
Adjournment
Second Meeting
April 14, 2022 Meeting Agenda
Attachment
Ohio Child Support Guidelines Advisory Council
Meeting
Thursday, May 26,
2022 Microsoft Teams Meeting 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Agenda
·
Call to order
·
Roll call
·
Minutes from previous meeting
·
Minor fixes/concerns with current guidelines
·
Mandatory work related deductions
·
Processing fees on the worksheets
·
Derivative benefits credit
·
Support termination/proration for
other minor children
·
Childcare credit for expenses in
excess of income share
·
Adjustment for other minor children
·
Calculations/worksheet for
caretaker cases
·
Other
·
Proposed plan for public input
·
Future Meeting Dates
§ 7/7/2022, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
§ 8/18/2022, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
§ 9/29/2022, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
§ 11/10/2022, 10:00 AM –
12:00 PM
·
Next steps
·
Adjournment
§ Welcome! The meeting will begin meeting shortly.
§ If you experience any technical issues,
please try leaving the
meeting and rejoining.
§
Members and alternates if you are joining
the meeting from a phone, please
let us know so that we
can match you to the phone number.
§
To minimize technical issues,
please mute your
microphone/phone and turn
your camera off when not speaking or presenting.
§
If you are observing the
meeting as a member of the public,
thank you for
joining today’s
meeting! There will be an opportunity in the coming
months to provide
public input on the child
support guidelines. For today’s meeting, please keep your microphone/phone muted.
CHILD
SUPPORT GUIDELINES ADVISORY
COUNCIL
§ Guidelines Overview
§
What
are the child support
guidelines?
§ Income shares methodology
§ Guidelines Council Overview
§ 2019 Guidelines Changes
§ Guidelines Materials
§ Manual
§ Schedule
§ Worksheets
§ Scope of the Council Review
§ Tentative Timeline and Agendas
3
What are the Child Support
Guidelines?
§ Income Shares Methodology
§ Guidelines Council Overview
§ 2019 Guidelines Changes
The Ohio child support
program performs
a critical role promoting economic self-sufficiency for Ohio's
families.
WHAT ARE THE CHILD SUPPORT GUIDELINES?
•
All
parents owe their children
a duty of support
•
Guideline
calculations establish a statewide “schedule” of obligations
and worksheets used
by courts and child support
agencies to calculate child support orders
•
Each order
is based on income shares
Income
of both parents is determined and combined
A
basic child support obligation is determined based on a statutory table or
schedule
A
presumptive child support
obligation is determined by adding other
expenses such as childcare
and health insurance to the basic child support obligation
The
presumptive child support
obligation is prorated between
the parents based
on their percentage of the
combined income
The worksheet allocates each parent’s
financial responsibility
6
|
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GUIDELINES COUNCIL
OVERVIEW
|
|
§ Federal and state law mandates that ODJFS convene a "Guidelines Advisory
Council" every four years.
§ Council reviews the state's basic
child support guidelines to determine if child
support orders issued
in accordance with the guidelines adequately provide for the
needs of children.
§
For
each review, an advisory council of
stakeholders is assembled to review
the guidelines and provide input.
§ ODJFS uses input from the council
to prepare a report that is submitted to the general assembly.
8 previous councils (1993, 1997,
2001, 2005,
2009,
2013, 2017).
§ 
Who serves on the Guidelines Council?
§ Current
child support payors and
recipients
§ State
and county child
support professionals
§ Judges/magistrates
§ Attorneys
§ Legislators: 3 members each of Senate
and House of Representatives
§ Other
persons interested in welfare
of children
Actual and consistent collections for Ohio’s families are
valued over substantial, but
often uncollectable obligations.
LESSONS LEARNED FROM 1993-2017
GUIDELINES COUNCILS
§
Economic
methodology & mandatory updates
§
Self-Sufficiency
Reserve (SSR)
§ Calculation policies
Behind the scenes
§
Moved to Ohio Administrative Code
§ Updated Basic
Schedule using current economic data for child- rearing expenditures
§ Mandates periodic
updates to guideline materials based on updated economic
data
Family policy updates
•
Standard
parenting time adjustment
•
Standard credit
for other children
• Childcare expenses cap
• Simplified deviation factors
• $80 minimum orders
•
Expanded
schedule for maximum annual income to $336,000
10
• Medical support changes
§
Medical support provisions required to be included
as part a of child
support order
§ Medical support includes order provisions:
§
To provide health
care coverage for the child(ren)
§ To provide cash medical support
§ For the
shared responsibility of uncovered health
care expenses
§
For payment of a specified amount
for medical expenses
incurred on behalf
of the individual subject to
the order.
§ 2019
changes to health
care coverage and cash
medical support
2007-2019
§
“Reasonable cost”
- difference between family coverage and self-only does not exceed 5% of annual
income.
§
No presumption of appropriate parent
to provide health insurance.
§
Parent(s)
ordered to provide health insurance if available and reasonable in cost
or to report when it becomes available.
2019
§
“Reasonable
cost” total actual out-of- pocket cost for health insurance premiums does not exceed
5% of annual income (see ORC 3119.29).
§
Child
support obligee rebuttably presumed to be the appropriate parent
to provide health insurance (see ORC 3119.30(B)(1)).
§
Child support
obligee required to provide
health care coverage when neither parent has health insurance available at a reasonable cost
(see ORC 3119.30(B)(2)).
2007-2019
§
Changing amount based on whether private
insurance provided
§ For cost
of insurance and/or
expenses not covered by
insurance
§ Based on USDA health care expenditure estimates
2019
§ Static
amount
§ For ordinary medical
expenses
§ Based on Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data
§ Child Support Guideline
Manual
§ Basic Child Support Schedule
§ Child
Support Calculation Worksheets
§ JFS 07766 Child
Support Guideline Manual
(3/2019)
§
Provides guidance for performing support calculations
§ Required by ORC 3119.021; adopted in OAC 5101:12-1-17
§ Implemented with 2019 guidelines revisions
§
8 main sections: overview, definitions, worksheet overview,
general worksheet instructions, Sole/Shared Worksheet line-by line instructions, Split-Parenting Worksheet line-by-line instructions, tables,
and appendix.
§ Tables
§ Obligation multipliers for seven or more children
§ Childcare maximum allowable costs
§ Cash medical amounts
Tables:
Obligation Multiplier for Seven
or More Children (see Table 1, p.
27 & ORC 3119.05(C)(4))
§
Tables:
§ Contains Childcare Maximum Table (see Table 2, p. 27)
§ Required by ORC
3119.05(P)(1)(d))
§ 
Caps childcare expenditures to be allocated
§ Based on statewide cost averages
§ Amounts
vary based on age of the child
§
Tables:
§ Contains Cash Medical Amount
Table (see Table 3, p. 27)
§ For ordinary medical
expenses (see ORC 3119.01(C)(1))
§ Required by ORC 3119.30(C)
§ Rates
determined based on federal medical
expenditure survey data (see ORC 3119.302(B))
JFS 07767 (3/2019)
§ Required by ORC 3119.021; adopted in OAC 5101:12-1-17
§
Grid used to identify baseline child support
obligation based on income (left
column) and number of children (top row)
§ Income:
Begins at income
of $8,400 through
$336,000/year in $600
increments
§ Children: 1-6 children (7 or more children use multiplier table
1 in JFS 07766)
§
Obligation amounts:
§
Unadjusted
amounts derived using Betson-Rothbarth child rearing expenditure methodology (BR4), which
utilizes expenditures data
from the Consumer Expenditure Survey from the
U.S. Department of Labor
§ Applies
a self-support reserve
adjustment (gray shaded area)
§
Gray shaded area of the table
§ Required by ORC 3119.021(B)(2)
§ Implements federal requirements in 45 CFR 302.56(c)(1)(ii)
§ Based
on 116% of federal poverty
level (FPL) for one-person
§ Sliding scale minimum order ($960/year)
§ Phase-Out (30%)
§
JFS
07768 Sole/Shared Worksheet (Rev. 3/2019)
§ JFS 07769 Split Parenting Worksheet (Rev. 3/2019)
§ Required by ORC 3119.021; adopted in OAC 5101:12-1-17
§ Operate similar to tax worksheets
§ Six sections:
§ I. Gross Income
§ II.
Adjustments to Income
§ III. Income Shares
§ IV. Support
Calculations
§ V. Cash
Medical
§ VI.
Recommended Monthly Orders
for Decree
§
Online Ohio Child Support Calculator
§ https://ohiochildsupportcalculator.ohio.gov
§
Calculates
estimated support obligations that may be
included in a court or administrative child support
order
§ Available to the public 24/7
§ Provides results in real-time
§ Does not create a support order
|
Number of
Children Subject to
Order: One Child
(16 Month-Old) Father is Ordered
to Maintain Health Care Coverage
|
|
Father’s
Information (Obligee)
|
Mother’s Information (Obligor)
|
|
Number of
Other Minor Children: One Annual Income: $17,000 Salary Overtime,
Bonuses, Commissions: $0
Annual Health Insurance Costs: $0 Annual Childcare Costs:
$750 for Child of Order
|
Number of
Other Minor Children:Two
Annual Income: $28,000 Salary Overtime, Bonuses, Commissions: $0
Annual Health Insurance Costs: $0 Annual Childcare Costs:
$0
Parenting Time
Order: N/A
|
Father’s Annual Gross Income: $17,000 Total Children:Two
Mother’s Annual Gross Income: $28,000
Total
Children:Three
Father’s Adjusted Income:
$16,090 Mother’s Adjusted Income: $25,156
Annual Cash Medical Per Child: $388.70
|
Number of Children Subject to Order: Three Children (5, 10, & 13 Years-Old)
Father is Ordered to Provide Private Health Insurance
|
|
Mother’s
Information (Obligee)
|
Father’s Information (Obligor)
|
|
Number of Other Minor
Children: None Annual
Income: $32,000 Salary Overtime, Bonuses,
Commissions: $0
Annual Health Insurance Costs: $0 Annual Childcare Costs:
$4,000 for 5 Year-Old
$2,000 for 10 Year-Old
$500 for 13 Year-Old
|
Number of
Other Minor Children: One Annual Income: $60,000 Salary Overtime,
Bonuses, Commissions:
$2,000 3 Years Ago
$3,000 2 Years Ago
$4,000
1 Year Ago Annual Health
Insurance Costs: $3,000 Annual Childcare Costs: $0
Parenting Time
Order:Yes
|
Father’s Annual Gross Income:
$63,000 Total Children: Four
Mother’s
Adjusted Income:
$32,000
Father’s Adjusted Income:
$56,308.50
Annual Cash
Medical Per Child: $388.70
$388.70 x 3 Children = $1,166.10
§ What Factors Does
the Council Consider?
§ Data,
Feedback, and Input
§ Out of Scope Items
§
What factors does the council consider?
§
Economic data on the cost of raising children
§ Labor market data
(unemployment rates, earnings, etc.)
§ Impact
of guidelines on low-income families
§ Factors that influence compliance with child support orders
§ Deviations from the
basic obligations
§ Comparison of
payments/compliance by case characteristics
§ Public
input
48
§
What
will the 2022/23 Guidelines Council review?
§
Data prepared by an economist
§
Economic and
labor market data
§ Deviation study
§ Case performance comparison
§ Member feedback
§ Public input
|
|
GUIDELINES COUNCIL
REVIEW
49
§
Mandatory adjustments to the basic schedule required in ORC 3119.021(C)
§
Base
figures
§ Self-Sufficiency Reserve
§ Mandatory adjustments to childcare maximums in ORC
3119.05(P)(1)(d)
§ Mandatory adjustments to cash
medical support amount
in ORC
3119.302(B)
|
Date
|
Items
|
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2/28/2022
|
Introductions, technical troubleshooting, future meeting dates
|
|
4/14/2022
|
Guidelines
overview
|
|
5/26/2022
|
Discuss technical and member issues with current guidelines
|
|
7/7/2022
|
Review
performance data
|
|
8/18/2022
|
Review
public input
|
|
9/29/2022
|
Discuss
parenting time
|
|
11/10/2022
|
Discuss
economic data & deviation study
|
|
2/28/2023
|
Report due
to General Assembly
|
S?
Ohio Child Support Guidelines Advisory Council
Meeting
Thursday, July 7,
2022 Microsoft Teams Meeting 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Agenda
·
Call to order
·
Roll call
·
Minutes from previous meeting
·
Previous discussion items: Orders
below $80 per month under ORC 3119.06
·
Current discussion items:
Performance data
·
Future Meeting Dates
§ 8/18/2022, 10:00 AM –
12:00 PM
§ 9/29/2022, 10:00 AM –
12:00 PM
§ 11/10/2022, 10:00 AM
– 12:00 PM
·
Adjournment
