• Child support insures that children are cared for financially after a divorce or separation.dreaming child image by Frenk_Danielle Kaufmann from Fotolia.com
  
  A non-custodial parent has a responsibility to pay child support to provide for the child's needs. In Washington, the Department of Social and Health Services established the Division of Child Support (DCS), a branch dedicated to enforcing child support orders. DCS can take several actions against a parent if he is in default on child support payments.
  
  

Child Support

• The child support amount is determined based on the non-custodial parent's income. Child support is paid to provide for a child's expenses, including food, clothing, shelter, medical care and education. The amount owed is adjusted according to the number of children requiring support, the children's ages and whether there are any special needs. The custodial parent's income is also considered to ensure that she can also contribute to the child's expenses, as well as to determine if she is financially stronger than the parent owing support. Washington law states that a child support award cannot be set at more than 45 percent of the parent's income and cannot reduce the parent's remaining income to less than $800 per month.
  
  

Default

• As of 2010, only half of the non-custodial parents owing support in Washington state are current on their support orders. For the other half, 25 percent pay part of the child support order and the rest pay no support at all. Because of the high default rate, DCS is permitted to issue immediate payroll deduction notices to employers of non-custodial parents owing child support. These deductions can go into effect as soon as a support order is issued, even before a parent falls behind.
  
  

Enforcement

• Washington's DCS has several enforcement mechanisms in place, to collect unpaid child support and also to punish the parent in default until the child support payments are current. For example, DCS will place a lien on any property the owing parent owns. Any property with a lien attached, including real estate, automobiles and other vehicles, can be seized and sold, with proceedings up to the amount of back support being paid to the custodial parent. Also, if the parent receives unemployment, worker's compensation payments or is entitled to a tax refund, a default notice is attached and all or part of those funds are seized and paid to the custodial parent.
  
  DCS will also report the non-custodial parent's default to credit reporting agencies and can order that a passport not be renewed and various licenses be suspended. Licenses include driver's licenses, recreational licenses (like boating or fishing) and professional licenses (like business, law or medical licenses). These enforcement mechanisms serve to punish the non-custodial parent for non-payment and can remain in place until support is current.
  
  Child support is due until the child is 18, but DCS is permitted to pursue a parent for back child support until the full amount of the order (the total support award as calculated from the date of issuance to the child's 18 birthday), is paid.