Supreme Court seeks comment on updates to child support guidelines

TOPEKA—The Supreme Court is accepting public comment on proposed updates to Kansas Child Support Guidelines that could increase child support obligations by almost 9% across all income groups beginning January 2024.

The court will accept comment through an online survey until 5 p.m. Sunday, October 29.

The strikethrough version of the guidelines shows proposed changes. The document also includes a table of changes, an economist’s report, and a comparison of the child support schedules.

Every four years, a 13-member advisory committee reviews the guidelines to ensure the roughly $35 million parents pay in support each month is fair and appropriate for the day-to-day essential needs of the children they support.

Child support pays for housing, clothing, transportation, recreation, health care, childcare, and other expenses.

The committee started its most recent review of the guidelines in June 2022. Guidelines in place now took effect January 1, 2020.