How a new bill in Kentucky erases the child support reforms that passed in 2021: Opinion

By Matt Hancock

Opinion Contributor

Last year, Kentucky passed a much-needed child support reform bill making it was just one of four states earning an A- or higher grade from the National Parents Organization.  The new law removed a 1.5 multiplier, which is often called the “Shared Parenting Penalty Multiplier,” that randomly inflated shared parenting child support.

Other changes included adding a self-support reserve, which assures low-income parents enough resources for themselves. Better yet, the law finally established a straight percentage credit for shared parenting overnight stays. The bill passed the House 93-0 in bipartisan fashion and 33-0 vote in the Senate. These new changes just went into effect on March 1, 2022.

But while these new reforms were being enacted, the Kentucky House has inexplicably just passed House Bill 501, a new bill that dissolves a big piece of the new law. Instead of crediting shared parenting overnight stays with a straight line, the latest proposed system would use a complicated cliff system that is unfair to the payor parent.