Many families who go through divorce and have children will face the issue of child support. These payments are meant to assist the custodial parent to provide the child with an adequate upbringing and ensure their wellbeing. These payments are not meant to be a bonus check for the custodial parent but are crucial in making sure children have a fair chance to have a successful future.

Sometimes Massachusetts noncustodial parents neglect to pay the custodial parent the child support that they are owed. Now, the Office of Inspector General, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has launched a new federal website to help track down the most notorious child support payment violators in the country.

This website will include pictures of the people who are delinquent, the amount that they owe and other details that might help lead to their capture. Although the federal government leaves child support enforcement primarily up to the states, they can step in during certain circumstances.

The violation must meet one of the following criteria for the federal government to intervene:

•· The noncustodial parent must owe more than $5,000 and live in another state from the child

•· The violator must have missed payments for one year

•· The violator has fled the state or country to avoid payment

The OIG says that so far, they have helped recover over $33 million from parents who've violated their child support. This new website will be a positive step in helping Massachusetts parents and other parents across the country recover the support they are owed.

Source: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services News Release, "OIG Launches Child Support Enforcement Web Page: Introduces 'most wanted' list of deadbeat parents," Jan. 17, 2012