Alabama Child Support Laws

Alabama child support offers services to parents who need to establish, collect, and distribute child support payments.

These guidelines take into account the monthly gross income for both parents, day care expenses, health insurance costs, and the number of children to be provided for.

Applying For Alabama Child Support
The state of Alabama will automatically provide services of child support to anyone who is currently enrolled for some type of assistance such as T.A.N.F.,(Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), Medicaid, or Foster Care. If you are receiving assistance from one of these programs, you will be referred to your local Child Support Office where an appointment will be scheduled for you to meet with a child support officer and fill out a child support application.

If you are not currently receiving federal or state assistance, you can apply for child support by making an appointment with your local Department of Human Resources (DHR) office in the state of Alabama. The website for Alabama’s Department of Human Resources Alabama Child Support Services lists the address and telephone number of your DHR office. Call the number for the office near you to request an appointment to apply for child support.

At your appointment, you will meet with your caseworker and he or she will go over your application with you and inform you if additional information is needed. Applications for child support services are charged a sliding scale fee. Depending upon your income, a fee of five dollars or twenty-five dollars will be charged at the time of the application.

Locating A Non-Custodial Parent
In the event that your child’s other parent cannot be easily found, your local child support agency assist you in locating the individual and ensuring that a child support order is enforced. The child support agency can perform a check with the State Parent Locator.

This system will review information other state departments such as taxation, social security, and the bureau of employment. If you are unsure of the state in which the non-custodial parent lives, your local child support agency can perform a Federal Parent Locator check that reviews information from the IRS, Social Security Administration, Department of Labor, and other such agencies for all fifty states.

Collecting and Distributing Child Support Payments
The state of Alabama collects and distributes child support payments using a system called the Alabama Location Enforcement Collection System (ALECS). Payments are received at the Alabama Child Support Payment Center and entered into a computer system. They are then distributed to the payee.

Monthly statements are prepared for non-custodial parents who have not opted to use the income withholding method of payment. If a non-custodial parent has more than one family that qualifies for child support payments, the funds will be distributed on a pro rata basis among each family due support.

Alabama Child Support Payment Center
Alabama’s Voice Response System provides automated information on child support payments and distributions for both custodial and non-custodial parents. The service is available twenty-four hours a day. You can also speak with a Hotline operator during the hours of 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM., Monday through Friday. The numbers to call are as follows:

In order to use this system, you will need to ensure that your correct Social Security number is entered into the state’s child support database.

Enforcing Alabama Child Support Payments
Alabama’s Child Support offices can take a number of actions to collect court ordered child support and medical payments. These include income withholding, credit reporting, tax refund deductions, passport revocation or restriction, property and/or bank account liens, license (driver’s, professional, and recreational) denial, and federal prosecution. Alabama child support law also allows the state to charge interest on past due child support payments at a rate of twelve percent per year.

Reviewing Your Child Support Case
Alabama’s Department of Human Resources will periodically review child support orders to ensure that the amount of child support and medical support payments are assigned in accordance with Alabama’s child support guidelines.

However, the department will only review a child support order once every thirty-six months, unless there has been a significant change in the financial or custodial status of either parent (such as the loss of employment or a change in custody from one parent to the other.) You can request a review of your case by submitting a written letter that asks for a review and states why you believe the Alabama child support order should be changed.

If both parents cannot come to an agreement on the status of the order, a judge will make the final decision about child support order modifications.

Get Your Child Support-Get The Child Support That you and your Child/Children Deserve.