Child support & aid/benefit programs

Questions asked by the parent who pays support

I have an order to pay child support for my child who lives with the other parent. However, my child with another partner lives with me. I now get W-2 services. Will the child support be taken out of my check?
Child support may not be taken out of benefits you receive from a W-2 agency, such as taking care of a newborn, participating in W-2 Transition, working in a Community Service Job, or for child care costs. These benefits, as well as SSI, are not considered income for child support purposes.

Child support may be taken out of paychecks received directly from an employer -- such as a check for a W-2 Trial Job or a W-2 Unsubsidized Employment job. These payments are considered income for child support purposes.

The other parent was on AFDC years ago. My child support payments include paying on past-due support. Why is my family not getting all the support that I pay?
Unlike the W-2 program, all assigned past-due support owed for AFDC is used to repay the AFDC benefits your family received.

The amount of “assigned support” you owe is the total amount of child support due but not paid while your child was on an AFDC grant. If the other parent and children received AFDC in the past, support you still owe during that time will be used to repay AFDC costs.

Payments you make on past-due support will first be used to pay past-due support owed to the family. When the entire debt to the family is paid, the remaining payments will be used to pay past-due support that was assigned. The only exception is intercepted tax refunds. Your federal tax refund is first used to pay assigned past-due support. For more information, please see Intercepting Tax Refunds.

Although we were never married, I was giving money to the other parent to help support my child. Now that the other parent gets W-2 services, money is taken from my paycheck. Why can’t I just pay the money as I did before?
Parents who get W-2 services must cooperate with their child support agency. In these cases, an order for child support is set, and the child support must be paid by income withholding. Your employer will send the amount withheld to the Wisconsin Support Collections Trust Fund. The Trust Fund will pay out the support to all your child support cases as required by federal and state laws. Click here for more information about paying support.

Does the W-2 program offer help to parents who pay child support?
Yes, click here for information about W-2 services for the paying parent (non-custodial parent program). To get W-2 services, you must pay your support in full and on time. If you owe past-due support, you will need to agree to a payment plan.

My children are in Kinship Care and live with their grandparents. Who gets the support?
If your children are now in or were in the Kinship Care program or in another placement outside the home, payments on current and past-due support might be used to repay the program costs.

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