Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability
Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability

Florida is Generally Following Statutory Child Support Guidelines; Deviations are Limited

Report 17-11, November 2017




Report Summary

  • OPPAGA found that statutory child supportguidelines are generally being followed for the TitleIV-D and private cases that we were able to review.Specifically, our review of administrative and TitleIV-D judicial cases and private cases found that theguidelines and guideline schedule were used toestablish the child support obligation amount.
  • Child support guideline worksheet calculationswere generally correct for Title IV-D administrativeand private cases. However, the quality and typeof data available varied across the Title IV-D andprivate systems. Specifically, inconsistent andunreliable data made it difficult to confirm theaccuracy of guideline calculations for Title IV-Djudicial cases. The Department of Revenue maywish to collaborate with the state court system toresolve variation in worksheets used and theinterpretation of data elements on the worksheets.
  • Deviations from the guidelines were limited in TitleIV-D and private child support cases and whendeviations occurred, they were mostly below theguideline amounts. For Title IV-D administrativecases, only 2.6% of cases deviated from guidelinecalculations. Similarly, the deviation rate for TitleIV-D judicial cases was low, at 4.9%. In addition,we found that only 5.5% of cases showed clearevidence of deviating from child support guidelinesin private cases.

Copies of this report in print or alternate accessible format may be obtained by email OPPAGA@oppaga.fl.gov, telephone (850) 488-0021, or mail 111 W. Madison St., Room 312 Tallahassee, FL 32399-1475.
Copies of this report in print or alternate accessible format may be obtained by email OPPAGA@oppaga.fl.gov, telephone (850) 488-0021, or mail 111 W. Madison St., Room 312 Tallahassee, FL 32399-1475.
child support, obligation, guidelines, deviation, Department of Revenue, clerks, court, parent, Title IV-D, cases, judicial, CAMS, CCIS, worksheet, child, marriage, support orders