By law, all Title IV-D child-support payments and non-Title IV-D child-support payments made through income withholding must be processed through a central payment center. [The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PL 104-193) and §30-3-195, Alabama Code 1975]. In response to the legislation, the State of Alabama established The Alabama Child Support Payment Center (ACSPC) in August 2000.

It is imperative that all obligors, employers, and recipients of support understand the route payments take from ACSPC to final disbursement to the recipients of support. ACSPC transmits all Title IV-D payments to the Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR). For information regarding Title IV-D payments, please visit the DHR website, (https://dhr.alabama.gov). Conversely, all non-Title IV-D payments are transmitted to the Alabama Central Disbursement Division (ACDD). The information in the following paragraph is provided to assist you concerning payments directed through ACDD.

ACDD was established to handle disbursements of non-Title IV-D payments. Disbursements are made on the same day they are received from ACSPC. ACDD disburses child support payments by direct deposit. ACDD customer service representatives are available to answer questions and perform indepth research regarding payments. The ACDD website provides helpful information including forms and a payment account history.

Alabama's Child-Support Guidelines were adopted in response to requirements set forth in the Child Support Enforcement Amendments of 1984 (P.L. 98-378) and the Family Support Act of 1988 (P.L. 100-485). The Guidelines provide an adequate standard support for children, subject to the ability of their parents to pay, and make awards more equitable by ensuring more consistent treatment of persons in similar circumstances. These Guidelines are based on the income shares model developed by the National Center for State Courts and are founded on the premise that children should continue to receive the same level of support that would have been available to them had the family unit remained intact.

The Schedule of Basic Child-Support Obligations was developed through research sponsored by the National Center for State Courts and is based on the latest extensive economic research on the cost of supporting children at various income levels. This Schedule is based on gross income and has been adjusted for Alabama's income distribution relative to the U. S. income distribution.

The Alabama Child-Support Guidelines provide an adjustment for work-related child-care costs, provided such costs do not exceed those on this schedule of guidelines for licensed child care costs published by the Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR).