The New Mexico Human Services Department (HSD) has unveiled amendments to the basic child support schedule for 2024, an initiative spearheaded by HSD’s child support services division. The adjustments reflect current economic data pertaining to the costs of raising children and establish a new self-support reserve for parents responsible for support payments.
The revised schedule incorporates a self-support reserve for paying parents that exceeds the 2022 federal poverty guidelines. Current regulations now recommend using labor market data when calculating income for child support, addressing the reality of low-wage jobs with less than full-time hours. Furthermore, HSD has officially ended the $5 per month cash medical support practice for children covered by public entities, as stated in a press release by HSD.
"Our goal is to ensure that child support payments are both reliable for families and realistically manageable for paying parents," said Katherine Slater-Huff, HSD deputy secretary, according to an HSD press release. "Life is more expensive, and the updated guidelines take into consideration the economy, inflation, and the increased federal poverty guidelines to strike a balance when determining monthly obligation based on the income of the parents."
"The self-support reserve is designed to ensure that paying parents, particularly those near or below poverty, face a manageable financial obligation," McCracken said in an HSD press release. "Research indicates that when child support payments are within their financial reach, parents are more likely to consistently meet their responsibilities, benefiting both the child and the custodial party."
HSD manages a budget of approximately $7 billion, overseeing state and federal funds to deliver essential services to low-income residents in New Mexico. Programs under its supervision include behavioral health services, child support, community services, assistance for individuals with disabilities, energy assistance, meals for homeless people, Medicaid, refugee resettlement programs, school commodity foods provision programs among others according to information provided on HSD's About webpage.