New law requiring DHR to collect $25 per $500???

[anniewalker]

I must have been under a rock in October, because I just got wind of this over the weekend!  Is there any way to get my child support without giving 5% of it to DHR???  Can I switch to having my case go through the AOC?  If so, how do I go about that?  THANKS!

Here's the press release from DHR on it:

A new law enacted by the U.S. Congress and signed into law February 8, 2006 requires all state child support offices to collect an annual fee of $25 from non-welfare clients, effective October 1, 2006.


This mandatory fee is intended to reduce federal costs of child support collection and only applies to those individuals who have never received Family Assistance. All states will be required to pay these fees to the federal government.


Some important facts about this new law:
U.S. Congress passed the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.


The bill became law on February 8, 2006 and went into effect October 1, 2006.


All states must collect an annual fee from non-welfare individuals who receive $500 or more in child support through DHR.


A letter was mailed to 107,000 affected persons to notify them of this new federal law.


This fee will not be charged until the individual has received $500 or more in child support payments through DHR.


Billing for the $25 fee will begin in January of 2007.


If an individual receives one of these notices in error, they are asked to contact their local DHR Child Support office.

[Lee Borden]

I'm not aware of the 5% provision; that must be something relevant to your state only. As I read the notice, it prescribes the minimum the state must charge but doesn't make a 5% charge illegal. Do you read it differently?

[anniewalker]

It says $25 per $500 collected.  It is on AL DHR website and I got a letter in the mail.  The link is:

https://www.dhr.state.al.us/page.asp?pageid=885


The short of it (that i got) is that if you aren't on welfare and DHR collects your child support, they'll take $25 per $500 collected.

[anniewalker]

ok, now that I have read and re-read, I think that perhaps I have misunderstood!  I thought it was $25 out of every $500 they collect!  Which would be 5%.  But it is $25 per year, but only if you get over $500!  I get it, sorry!  Thanks    

[Dallas]

A new law enacted by the U.S. Congress and signed into law February 8, 2006 requires all state child support offices to collect an annual fee of $25 from non-welfare clients, effective October 1, 2006.

Yet another example of the federal government sticking its nose in where it doesn't belong.

Dallas