Font ResizeThe economic downturn is working a double whammy on child support in Utah: Payments drawn from unemployment checks are up dramatically and so are requests to modify support orders overseen by the state.
Data provided by the state Office of Recovery Services shows the amount it collected from unemployment checks increased 135 percent in the first quarter and 185 percent in the second quarter of 2009, compared with last year.
"What we are seeing is a recent large impact of unemployment compensation collections for child support, which is a larger impact than we had really expected to see," said spokeswoman Catherine Taylor.
Since unemployment compensation does not match previous earnings, the garnishments may not
That is leaving some custodial parents, who may have their own financial difficulties, without full support, as noncustodial parents struggle to meet their obligations and accrue back-due support payments.
In addition, requests to modify support orders have doubled since 2007, coinciding with a downturn that began in December 2007.
"It is a tough situation for everybody involved," said Tracy Graham, state director of Child Support Services. "It's huge."
As of May, Utah's unemployment rate was 5.4 percent -- well below the nation's rate of 9.4 percent, which is a 25-year high. Unemployment claims, while still high, are easing in Utah and elsewhere, economists said this week.
But a brighter outlook is not yet reflected in the child support data.
USA Today reported this week that child support is being crunched across the country, with some states reporting lower collections alongside increases in modification requests and amounts from unemployment checks.
In Utah, collections appear to be flat, Graham said. The state Office of Recovery Services will collect about $173 million in child support this year, about the same amount it took in last year.
As for requests to modify child support orders, they've risen from 2,262 in fiscal 2007 to 4,209 as of Wednesday.
The biggest change is the amount coming from unemployment. Curt Stewart, spokesman for the Utah Department of Workforce Services, confirmed the dramatic shift in money being garnished for child support.
He said that as of June 17, the state had collected about $5 million on behalf of 5,361 claimants. That's up from $3 million in 2008 and $1.4 million in 2007.
It's not only job losses that are making the situation tough for parents who pay or depend on child support. Many have seen their wealth -- in homes and business values -- diminished, said Kelly A. Williams, a family law attorney in Salt Lake City.
In May, Williams helped organize a panel discussion for the family law section of the Utah State Bar that focused on the conundrum. The event drew about 130 attorneys and featured two district court judges from Salt Lake County and domestic relations commissioners from Utah and Weber counties.
"We brought the panel together to try to help family practitioners understand how courts were going to handle the current economic mess our clients find themselves in," Williams said. "It was clear they weren't going to make a lot of changes based on the fact the economy is in a downturn we haven't seen in our lifetime.... That doesn't mean they are heartless, it just means they are not going to make a blanket [pre-decision] to do things differently that they did five years ago.
"The difficulty is there are no answers," she said. "Attorneys are always trying to find ways of fixing the mess. This is a mess we can't seem to fix."
One state, however, has taken steps to address changing financial situations due to the downturn in the economy.
In May, Oregon Attorney General John Kroger created, and the state Legislature approved, a Recession Response Program. It allows the state's child support division to quickly review and temporarily modify support for parents who have had an employment-related change of income.
Utah hasn't pursued that approach, Taylor said.
"What we're all dealing with now is trying to do the best with the resources we have," she said. "That's the case for custodial parents and noncustodial parents who are ordered to pay."
