After more than a year of study and six public hearings, the Utah Child Support Task Force, created by the Utah Judicial Council, recommended new guidelines for child support. Those went into effect Nov. 1. They may be superseded, however, by a bill being proposed by Rep. Kelly Atkinson, D-West Jordan, during the upcoming legislative session. Lawmakers are suggesting lower amounts than those recommended by the task force. Utah, and all states, must soon have uniform, presumptive child support standards for judges to follow in order to continue to qualify for $10 million in federal funds. Most of the federal funds go to support children who live in low-income, single-parent households.
