From: "Miles, Patricia"
Patricia.Miles@pacourts.us
To: "Gary Bremer" garyb7000@yahoo.com
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 16:04:24 -0500
Subject: RE: Child support guidelines
Dear Mr. Bremer:
Thank you for your comments. I will share them with the committee which
reviews all comments submitted.
Pennsylvania is one of 33 states that uses the income shares model as the
basis for its child support guidelines. That model was developed in the
early 1980s under funding from the federal government specifically for use by
states in developing their child support guidelines. I am not aware of any
successful constitutional challenge to the income shares model. However, those
states that base their guidelines only on the income of the obligor have come
under constitutional attack.
The committee did study the cost shares model in connection with the review
of the guidelines which state and federal laws require be undertaken at least
once every four years. Ultimately, the committee decided to continue to
recommend the current model. To the committee's knowledge, no state has
adopted the cost shares model for its child support guidelines.
You are correct that the income shares model is based upon expenditures in
intact households. The model is based upon average child-rearing costs as a
percentage of income. When expressed as a percentage of income, the percentage
spent on children in one-parent homes is actually higher than that of two-parent
homes because one-parent homes are likely to have less income.
The underlying economic data are derived from the Consumer Expenditure
Surveys of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Those surveys track actual
spending and income. But that is only the raw data. Various economic estimators
are applied to the data to derive the basic support amounts in the child support
schedule. Interestingly, the basic support amounts in Recommendation 67 are
lower at most income levels than in the current schedule. The same methodology
was used, but the underlying economic data support the reductions.
Because the income shares model is based upon data from intact families,
Recommendation 67 also proposes reductions in the obligor's support obligation
for shared parenting time beginning with 4 days per year. The reductions are
gradual and result in an almost 50% reduction as the schedule approaches 50-50.
This is a substantial change from the current rules which reduce the obligation
only if the obligor has the children 40% of the time. However, the committee
believes the proposal more accurately reflects the realities of separated
families in 2004.
Thank you for taking the time to write.
Sincerely,
Patricia A. Miles
