New Rules for Child Support

Changes are on the way for Ohio’s child support laws as part of Governor Kasich’s recently passed state budget.

Deputy director for child support enforcement Vince Durant said the new rules affect the suspension of licenses.

"The person who owes child support has to have paid less than half of what they owe in the previous 90 days," said Durant.  "If they’ve paid more than half, we are not able to suspend the license."

Currently, a parent who is more than 30 days behind in child support payments could lose driving privileges.  Durant said suspending licenses can be unproductive sometimes.

"The best way to get child support is for the person to be employed," said Durant.  "It’s difficult for them to be employed if they don’t have a driver’s license."

Another provision of the law will clear past child support related suspensions from parents’ driving records.  Durant said there are other tools that will still be used after the changes take effect.

"We intercept income tax returns, both state and federal, we can freeze and seize savings and checking accounts," said Durant.  "We can file actions in court as well."

The law will help standardize the system so the same rules apply to every county in Ohio.  The changes will begin on October 1st.