NEWS RELEASE
Ministry of Attorney General, British Columbia, June 13, 2006, 2006AG0027-000801
CHILD SUPPORT INITIATIVE TO HELP CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
VICTORIA Separated parents will be better able to manage the financial demands of raising children through a new pilot program launched this month in Kelowna, Attorney General Wally Oppal announced today.
Every parent knows that raising children requires years of dedication and care, no matter whether the familys income level rises or falls while they are growing up, said Oppal. This innovative Child Support Recalculation Service will, for the first time, allow many child support payments to be automatically changed to reflect changes in a payors income on an annual basis without having to return to court.
The program involves parents who pay child support following separation or divorce. They are asked to provide updated financial information, such as income tax returns, which is then used to recalculate and update the child support amount. There is no charge for the recalculation.
Payor parents whose income has changed will have their support amount adjusted, based on an increase or decrease in income, to more accurately reflect their current ability to pay. However, if financial information requested is not provided, maintenance will be recalculated based on an assumed 10 per cent increase in the payors income.
Kelowna families will be the first in the province to benefit from this progressive program designed to stabilize relationships between separated parents and their children, said Kelowna-Lake Country MLA Al Horning. Too often, changes in a payors income level result in a permanent breakdown of relationships that negatively affects the whole family.
This is a positive step in supporting children and providing families with a practical means to resolve financial issues surrounding separation and divorce without involving an onerous and sometimes adversarial court process, said Okanagan-Westside MLA Rick Thorpe.
This new approach has strong support from the Office of the Chief Judge because it is better for families, said Kelowna-Mission MLA Sindi Hawkins. In addition, it frees court time to focus on matters that need the full support of the court system
The pilot program applies to provincial court support orders issued on or after June 1, 2006 in Kelowna. Some exemptions under the Family Relations Act may apply. Staff from the Family Justice Services Division of the Ministry of Attorney General will contact parents to inform them of their obligations and timeframes for an annual review of income and support payments.
The pilot project will be extended to Vancouver and Surrey. Following evaluation of all three sites, it may be extended to other areas of the province.
For more information about other family justice programs, please visit www.gov.bc.ca/ag
Media contact:
Carol Carman
Communications Director
250 387-4965
250 889-1121 (cell)
These Federal Support Guidelines for child support came into effect in 1997. In the planning stages of the bill, they included an annual adjustment by the federal government based on income tax returns filed federally. The guidelines already include an automatic increase in payments to adjust for inflation without consideration of the payer's income has increase or decreased.
Note that the payment recipient's income isn't mentioned because it generally isn't considered in the calculation of child financial support. Generally, parents must parent their child at least 40% of the time in order to have their parenting time considered in the child support equation.
Example:
Generally, under the Federal Support Guidelines, parents living in poverty at an annual income of $10,000 which have 35% of the parenting time are required to pay child financial support to a parent with 65% of the parenting time earning $150,000 per year.
Obviously a parent living well below the poverty line on $10,000 per year can't afford to pay for even have an extra bedroom for their child to stay overnight. They also can't afford any other costs for their child during their parenting time such as food.
The 1998 Special Joint Committee on Custody and Access, a federal committee comprising members of The Senate of Canada and The House of Commons, held hearings across Canada and heard from over 500 witnesses. They concluded in their report that child support laws should consider the income and child raising expenses of both parents.