Establishing Realistic Orders Workshop

Course Description

This workshop is appropriate for conference officers, hearing officers, attorneys, and judges responsible for establishing support orders.

This workshop builds upon the Earning Capacity Workshop, in that the foundation of a realistic and enforceable support order is the use of the actual incomes or realistic earning capacities (ECs) of the parties to the support case. In addition to the determination of the basic support amount, a number of factors affect whether a support order will result in a reliable source of family income. These factors fall into three categories:

• Operational procedures that establish realistic support orders
• Pennsylvania Support Guideline options that customize the support order to the parties’ case-specific circumstances
• Proactive, outreach, and follow-up efforts that maximize the collectability of the support order

This workshop will focus on:

• Operational factors impacting the establishment of realistic orders, such as default order, retroactivity, modification, and payment practices
• Custom features of the Pennsylvania Support Guideline that enhance realistic order establishment, including:
  • Low-income, shared/split custody, and multiple family provisions
  • Nuances associated with adjustments to the basic child support amount (child care, health insurance premiums, unreimbursed medical expenses, additional expenses, and mortgage adjustment)
  • Application of deviation factors
• Strategies for customer service, outreach, and early intervention to secure compliance with the support order, including those focused on:
  • Client participation and involvement
  • Educational and community outreach
  • Job search and training programs
  • Prevention of arrears

Findings of national studies relating to outstanding arrears and the use of debt compromise as one solution to this growing concern will be shared.

3 hours

Course Level

Workshop These brief intensive educational programs are designed for a relatively small group of people and focus on techniques and skills in a particular field.