Child Support Guidelines Review

Description

The Texas Child Support Guidelines project is being conducted by the Ray Marshall Center under an agreement with the Office of the Attorney General of Texas (OAG).  Federal and state laws require the OAG to establish guidelines for child support, and to review these guidelines every four years to ensure their adequacy in determining appropriate child support award amounts in divorce cases and other suits affecting parent-child relations (SAPCR).  The review will utilize up to date, detailed economic analysis of the cost of raising children in Texas to 1) determine whether the existing guidelines result in fair child support award amounts, and to 2) propose a workable income-shares model to develop new guidelines that take into account both parents’ income levels.  Additional topics to be addressed include how to handle parenting-time adjustments, child care costs, and whether a true limit to child support exists, and at what level it should be set.