Also known as: Child Support Recovery Act · CSRA
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A federal criminal statute that prohibits any person from willfully failing to pay a child support obligation with respect to a child residing in another state when the obligation has remained unpaid for longer than one year or exceeds five thousand dollars.
Christopher Collins resides in State A and earns wages there after separating from his former spouse. Their child now lives with the former spouse in State C. Collins has made no payments on a support order for over two years. Prosecutors file charges in the District of State C. The court denies his motion to dismiss because the continuing failure to pay extends the offense to the district where the child resides and the obligation is owed.
Cecilia Cabrera lives in State X and receives her salary there while her child resides in State Y under a support order. She has ignored all payment demands for several years. Federal prosecutors charge her under the statute. The interstate residence of the child supplies the necessary connection that allows Congress to address the nonpayment through this criminal provision.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Connor Clark maintains his home and bank account in State P after his divorce. His child lives with the former spouse in State Q. Clark receives regular wages yet refuses to arrange any transfers for support over multiple years. The government brings a prosecution under the statute in federal court. The multi-year interstate failure satisfies the elements for criminal liability.
Venue lies in any district where the offense was begun, continued, or completed. Because the statute addresses a continuing failure to pay support owed to a child in another state, the district where the child resides and feels the ongoing harm qualifies as a proper venue even if the defendant never entered that district.
Liability arises when a person willfully fails to pay a support obligation for a child living in another state and the unpaid amount exceeds five thousand dollars or has remained unpaid for more than one year. The statute focuses on the interstate character of the nonpayment and the willful nature of the omission.
Supporting sources
The statute criminalizes willful nonpayment precisely when the child resides in a different state from the obligated parent. This interstate element allows federal prosecution of cases that state enforcement mechanisms often cannot reach effectively.
Supporting sources
…movement of some relevant object, thereby regulating local criminal activity or, for that matter, family affairs. See, e. g. , Child Support Recovery Act of 1992, 18 U. S. C. § 228. Although this possibility does not give the Federal Government the power to regulate everything, it means that any substantive limitation will apply randomly in terms of…