How Child Support Is Calculated in Rhode Island

Child support is set by a formula and guidelines adopted by Family Court administrative order; the court may deviate with written findings if the result would be inequitable. The court's Child Support Guideline Worksheet (form FC-78) combines both parents' adjusted gross income, finds the basic obligation from the child support table, and divides it by each parent's percentage share of income (an income shares approach). The worksheet must be filed with divorce complaints and related filings.

To open a case with the Rhode Island Office of Child Support Services (OCSS, part of the Department of Human Services), a parent completes the paper Application for Child Support Services and sends it with the required documents: a separate application for each non-custodial parent, a copy of each child's birth certificate, any divorce decree, and all current and previous child support orders. The application fee is $20 (personal check or money order), with no fee for families receiving Medicaid, RI Works or CCAP. Incomplete applications are returned. OCSS is at 77 Dorrance Street, Providence, RI 02903, (401) 458-4400.

Child support generally runs until a child turns 18. If the child is still attending high school at 18, the Family Court may order support and education costs to continue until 90 days after graduation, but never past the child's 19th birthday. The court may also order support beyond these limits for a child with a severe physical or mental impairment who still lives with or is cared for by a parent, if the disability began before the child would otherwise have been emancipated.

After a support order is entered, either parent (or the state, on cases it handles) can file a petition asking the Family Court to review and change it. The court may change the amount only if it finds a substantial change in circumstances and must state the specific facts showing that change. A change can be made retroactive, at the court's discretion, only back to the date the other party was given notice of the petition. OCSS notes that an order keeps running, and arrears keep building, until it is modified or suspended by the Family Court.

OCSS enforcement is automated. Tools include: federal tax refund offset ($150 past-due, full-service cases); federal administrative offset of payments such as federal retirement ($25 and 30 days late); lottery intercept for winnings of $600 or more ($500 past-due); insurance intercept on settlements of $3,000 or more ($500 past-due); bank account matches and liens ($500 past-due); administrative liens on real and personal property; credit bureau reporting (with 10 days' notice); passport denial ($2,500 past-due); license suspension or revocation after 90 days' worth of unpaid support; motions to adjudge in contempt for willful nonpayment; body attachments (arrest) for failing to appear in court; and felony prosecution for owing $10,000 or more and willfully not paying for over three years (up to five years in prison). Past-due support accrues interest at 12% a year (1% a month).

Rhode Island does not show an interactive online calculator on the Office of Child Support Services (OCSS) page; instead OCSS explains how support is calculated under the income shares model using the Child Support Guideline Worksheet and the guideline schedule (Administrative Order 23-02, effective July 1, 2023). The court looks at both parents' gross income, subtracts mandatory deductions (health insurance premiums, pre-existing child support, support of additional children, child care) and may consider discretionary deductions, uses the guideline chart for the number of children, and assigns each parent a percentage share; the non-custodial parent's monthly amount is converted to a weekly order (dividing by 4.3333) and is generally paid by wage withholding.