CHILD SUPPORT IN KENTUCKY

Calculation of Child Support Obligations
Modification of Child Support (Increases and Decreases)
Enforcement and Collection of Child Support
In Kentucky                 Federal Resources

Calculation of Child Support Obligations:

Child support in Kentucky is calculated pursuant to the Kentucky Revised Statute 403.212.

In Kentucky, child support obligations are established and/or modified using a statutorily established set of guidelines. According to KRS 403.211, obligations are to be set in accordance with the guidelines table unless extraordinary circumstances exist. Extraordinary situations are to be handled at the discretion of the court.

The Kentucky Attorney General's Office provides all the information and forms you need to do a rough calculation of child support obligations in your situation.  See http://ag.ky.gov/childsupport/support.htm for forms, worksheets and help with calculations.

To determine the amount of child support obligations, Kentucky uses a worksheet, based on the Kentucky Child Support Guidelines, to calculate the proposed obligation. The worksheet (42kb PDF) uses the income of both the custodial parent and the non-custodial parent and considers other factors such as medical insurance, maintenance payments, child care, and support for prior born children.

The Child Support Guidelines TABLE is then used to complete child support calculations, applying the parties' combined joint monthly incomes (adjusted by their contributions toward health insurance, maintenance payments, child care expenses, support for older children from other relationships, etc.).  See http://ag.ky.gov/childsupport/support.htm for that Table.

Modification of Child Support (Increases and Decreases):

Once an obligation has been established by the Court or the parties' agreement has incorporated into a Court Order, child support can later be modified. However, there are certain minimum requirements for making such changes.

As explained in KRS 403.213, the reduced or increased child support obligation must reflect at least a 15% change (plus or minus) in order to be modified and the changes in circumstances must be "substantial and continuing".  A lay-off or job termination, for instance, is not considered "continuing" as the parent is expected to seek and obtain other employment or to return from lay-off.  Retirement or a permanent health condition which prevents a parent from working (long-term disability) may be justification for modifying the parties' respective child support obligations.

Enforcement and Collection of Child Support:

For information about enforcement and collection of child support obligations owed to you, visit the website of the Kentucky Child Support Enforcement Commission.

If you live in Jefferson County, Kentucky, and someone owes you back child support, you need to contact:

Child Support Division
Jefferson County Attorney
315 W. Muhammad Ali Blvd
Louisville, Kentucky  40202
   Phone:  502-574-8300

English/Spanish Voice Response System:  (502) 574-8599
Website:  www.louisvilleky.gov/CountyAttorney/childsupport

The Jefferson County Attorney administers the largest child support division in Kentucky, with approximately 64,000 active case, $65 million annually in collections (one-quarter of the state’s total), eight full-time Child Support Detectives, and the state’s first Multilingual Voice Response Information System to serve clients.

Services Available from the Jefferson County Attorney's Child Support Division:

• location of non-custodial parents

• establishment of paternity*

• establishment of financial and medical support

• enforcement and collection of support payments

• enforcement of medical support

• review and modification of support orders *

*either parent may request

Click here to download the latest Child
Support Wanted poster from the
KY Attorney General's office. (507kb PDF)

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has an Administration for Children and Families <http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cse>.  The mission of this agency is to "enhance the well-being of children by assuring that assistance in obtaining support, including financial and medical, is available to children through locating parents, establishing paternity, establishing support obligations, and monitoring and enforcing those obligations."  Among the resources available from the ACF are:

Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS)
CSENet 2000
Data Standards Registry New
Federal and Administrative Offset
Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS)
CSENet 2000
Data Standards Registry New
Federal and Administrative Offset
Federal Case Registry
Information for Employers
Multistate Financial Institution Data Match (FIDM)
National Directory of New Hires
Passport Denial