RCW 26.09.320
Reviser's note: For the purposes of this section, "department" appears to refer to the department of social and health services, division of child support.
Effective date- 2020 c 227 s s 3-13: "Sections 3 through 13 of this act take effect February 1, 2021." [2020 c 227 s 16.]
Findings-Intent- 2020 c 227 : "(1) The legislature finds that a large number of justice-involved individuals owe significant child support debts when they are released from incarceration.
(2) The legislature finds that these child support debts are often uncollectible and unduly burdensome on a recently released justice-involved individual, and that such debts severely impact the ability of the person required to pay support to have a successful reentry and reintegration into society.
(3) The legislature finds that there is case law in Washington, In re Marriage of Blickenstaff, 71 Wn. App. 489, 859 P.2d 646 (1993), providing that incarceration does not equate to voluntary unemployment or voluntary underemployment.
(4) The legislature finds that there is a statewide movement to assist justice-involved individuals reenter and reintegrate into society, and to reduce state-caused pressures which tend to lead to recidivism and a return to jail or prison.
(5) The legislature finds that, although there is currently a statutory process for modification of child support orders, it is in the best interests of the children of the state of Washington to create a process of abatement instead of making it the sole responsibility of the justice-involved person to take action to deal with his or her child support obligation while incarcerated.
(6) The legislature intends, therefore, to create a remedy whereby court or administrative orders for child support entered in Washington state may be abated when the person required to pay support is incarcerated for at least six months and has no income or assets available to pay support.
(7) The goal of this act is to ensure that the person required to pay support makes the maximum child support monthly payment amount appropriate to comply with an order for child support, notwithstanding other provisions related to abatement herein." [2020 c 227 s 3.]