STANDARDIZED WORK - Equalizing Child Support

 

Date/Version: 09/08/2025 v.1

Process Owner: Establishment/ Modification

Review Cadence: Annually
Purpose- To standardize the equalization process for cases where a Support Payor (SP) has additional children to support outside of the children on the case being reviewed for modification, and the Support Payor falls below the Self-Support Reserve test (SSRT) for income. Credit for children not shared between the Support Recipient (SR) and the Support Payor (SP) applies only to verified biological or adopted children.
Step (1,2,3..) Process Step (list of the critical process steps) Dialogue (clear and simple descriptions, appropriate level of detail for the task)
1.

Calculating the SP’s income and Self-Support Reserve amount
  1. Take the SP income and subtract the Self-Support Reserve amount. This amount will be the remaining amount for child support for all children.
  2. Example: The SP makes $2,487 per month, subtracting $1990 (Self-Support)=$497
  3. Take the amount after the Self-Support Reserve deduction and divide it by the number of children the SP is to support, and not related to the case. The new amount will be the credit per child.
  4. Example: The SP has 1 child from another relationship and 2 mutual with the SR. $497 divided by 3 kids = $166.00 credit per child.
  5.  
  6. NOTE: When attributing minimum wage to the SP’s income, ensure that the correct minimum wage amount used corresponds to the location where the SP resides. Various counties in Arizona have differing minimum wages.
2.

Child Support Worksheet
  1. Under the Adjustments to Child Support Income:[Mandatory} section within the worksheet, take the following actions:
  2. Next to the appropriate Parent A’s_or Parent B’s__, indicate the quantity of children being calculated for.
  3. On the blue line next to “Other Child[ren] Deduction Of:”, input the credit amount per child. Next to the appropriate Parent A’s__ or Parent B’s__, indicate the quantity of children being calculated for.
  4. On the blue line next to “Other Child[ren] Deduction Of:”, input the credit amount per child.
  5. Example: Since the SP has one child in their household not related to the case, only the amount of $166 for one child would be entered on the worksheet.
3.

Additional Resources
  1. For the equalization among the SP's additional children:
  2. Calculate the income and subtract the Self-Support Reserve amount. The remaining amount is then divided among all of the SP children.
  3.  
  4. For additional examples, please refer to the child support guidelines linked below.
  5. 2022 Arizona Child Support Guidelines
  6.  
  7. NOTE: A group mod would be a little different since the SP may have children at home, and in other cases. However, the basic math is essential to determine the amount needed per child. Following that, it's important to identify the household in which each child resides.

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