February 22, 2022

WAC 388-14A-3140, 8100, 8130

The establishment of a joint and several administrative child support order does not work well when the goal of family reunification and the fluid nature of reunification plans are taken into account. Married parents often choose to separate (or are required to separate) so that the child can return to the home of one of them. The obligation of the parent with physical custody is suspended by WAC 388-14A-3810, leaving the parent out of the home bearing the full brunt of the joint and several administrative order, further impacting reunification efforts. When the parent out of the home seeks to modify the joint and several order, it is sometimes modified only as to that particular parent, leaving the first parent still subject to the joint and several order if the child ever leaves the first parent’s custody. This result does not align with DCS’s efforts to establish and enforce right size orders and can result in harm to families. To resolve this, DCS is changing its policy and will no longer be setting up joint obligations for married parents living together where the child is not living in the home.