Bill > S110

This bill makes several important changes to child support laws in Massachusetts, aimed at supporting families receiving public assistance. First, it modifies the conditions under which public assistance recipients can be sanctioned for not cooperating with child support enforcement, expanding the "good cause" exceptions to include scenarios where cooperation might discourage parental relationships, risk emotional or physical harm, or not be in the child's best interest. Second, the bill requires that child support collected on behalf of public assistance recipients be paid directly to the family, and mandates that child support payments below the monthly federal poverty level will not be counted as income when determining benefits eligibility. Third, for families who are no longer receiving public assistance, the bill requires that all child support payments, including arrears and payments collected through federal tax refund offset, be paid directly to the family rather than being retained by the state. These provisions are designed to provide more financial support and flexibility for families dealing with child support issues, while also protecting vulnerable individuals from potential harm in the child support enforcement process.

Budget and Finance, Health and Social Services

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S110