2012 Maine Child Support Guidelines: Review and Recommendations

Ward, S., Daley, J., Fraumeni, B., Shaler, G., Griffin, E., Knox, M., Hallett, L., & Mandeville, L. (2012, July). 2012 Maine child support guidelines: Review and recommendations. Portland, ME: University of Southern Maine, Muskie School of Public Service, Cutler Institute for Health and Social Policy.

Prepared for the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Family Independence, Division of Child Support Enforcement. This report summarizes the quadrennial review of Maine's child support guidelines conducted by the USM Muskie School , which complies with federal law requiring each state's child support guidelines be reviewed at least once every four years. Principle findings of the extensive review by the Muskie School show that many aspects of Maine's child support system work well. Maine's low deviation rate reflects a reasonably high level of consistency in apply the guidelines, and in large part, protect the needs and interests of the children. The report provides background and overview of child support modes and the Maine guidelines, and describes the elements of the review: Literature Review, Policy Analysis, Economic Analysis, Deviation Study, Stakeholder Input, Interviews with other State Child Support Officials, and concludes with several findings and recommendations. For additional information about the report or the study, contact Janice Daley at the Muskie School (jdaley@usm.maine.edu).