It is a crime to willfully fail to make child support payments. The Child Support Recovery Act of 1992 regulates delinquent child support payments that involve persons in more than one state. Cases considered for prosecution generally involve the following criteria:

• Parents are shown to willfully withhold child support payments—the court must show that the parent was able to pay but chose not to
• The parent owes at least $5,000 in unpaid child support
• The parent has not made payments for more than one year
• The parent has moved from state to state to avoid payment
• There is a pattern of deception through the use of a false name or by other means to avoid payment
• The parent failed to make payments after having been held in contempt of court

Individuals who want to learn whether the federal law applies to their case, should check with the Illinois Department of Public Aid.

Note: This information was prepared as a public service by the Illinois State Bar Association and is a joint project with the Illinois Press Association. Its purpose is to inform citizens of their legal rights and obligations.