By Dwan Burton
The longest-standing critique of the Child Support Enforcement Program is its glaring inability to differentiate between parents who cannot pay their child support orders and those who choose not to do so. For years, Out for Justice (OFJ) has worked to reform this system through legislative efforts and to assist parents struggling to make payments, particularly those living in poverty in Maryland.
An Abell Foundation report revealed that across Maryland, 50 percent of noncustodial parents in the state child support program caseload were employed, and 43 percent of these earned minimum wage or less while owing an average of $10,000 in unpaid arrears. In Baltimore, 57 percent of noncustodial parents were employed, and 47 percent earned minimum wage or less but owed an average of $13,300 in unpaid arrears. They may never pay this debt, especially when current laws exacerbate the problem by limiting mobility.
Maryland Code Ann., Fam. Law § 10-119 states that after 60 days of nonpayment of child support, an obligor’s license or privilege to drive will be suspended. Each month, the Child Support Administration’s automated system sends a notice to the Motor Vehicle Administration for the suspension of the driver’s license, regardless of their ability to pay or the circumstances surrounding their arrears. A report cited by the Abell Foundation found that 42 percent of individuals whose licenses were suspended lost their jobs as a result; 45 percent of those who lost jobs could not find new employment, and 88 percent of those who managed to find another job reported a decrease in income (Voorhees, 2006).
Aprille Hamilton is a single mother of two who joined Out for Justice to reform the child support system’s broken and often harmful enforcement practices. She has the unique experience of receiving child support payments for her youngest child while owing over $20,000 in arrears for her eldest, whose father she left after surviving multiple instances of domestic violence. Her driver’s license has been suspended numerous times, and she has been arrested and held in contempt on several occasions due to her inability to make payments. Since her initial suspension, she has struggled to maintain her visitation schedule with her daughter, which has irreparably harmed their relationship. Even worse, her access to stable employment is severely limited by her lack of a valid driver’s license, further crippling her ability to pay child support or provide for her two-year-old son.
Federal Code 42 U.S.C.A. § 666 (a) mandates that all states enact laws to “increase the effectiveness of the program administered by the state” and allows the state to withhold, suspend or restrict the licenses of individuals who owe child support in “appropriate cases” (16). There is no evidence that suspending an individual’s driver’s license improves arrears collection for low-income parents. However, Maryland suspends obligors such as Aprille Hamilton without proper notification, justification or due process. For nine years, Aprille has struggled to survive under her child support order, but this legislative session, she retains hope.
The Maryland General Assembly has introduced two pieces of legislation to reform Maryland’s punitive driver’s license suspension mechanism. House Bill 681 exempts parents earning less than 250 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines ($37,650) from having their driver’s licenses suspended due to child support arrears. This policy was recommended by the former Federal Child Support Commissioner, who authored the aforementioned Abell Foundation report (pg.39). The bill is a legislative priority for Maryland’s Legislative Black Caucus and has passed the Maryland Senate unanimously for three consecutive years.
House Bill 110, as amended, ensures that the Child Support Administration provides due process and determines that the suspension is “appropriate” based on various factors before a license is suspended. A 2024 version of this bill allowed the courts, which already handle custody, contempt and child support modifications, to assess whether a driver’s license suspension is appropriate for the non-custodial parent when it is in the child’s best interest. That bill version also passed out of the Senate unanimously last year.
Both bills are stalled in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, pending a hearing and committee vote. As the Legislative Session nears its conclusion on Monday, April 7th, time is limited to address this issue for the thousands of Marylanders unable to secure employment and support their families. Out for Justice urges committee members to vote on these essential bills to provide meaningful relief to parents and families statewide.