Thousands of prisoners across the state work within the prisons, preparing meals, doing laundry, or making products used on the outside, such as furniture and clothing.[1] As of 2020, Maryland data shows that for skilled work, inmates are paid around 90 cents to $2.75 a day.[2] For “unskilled” labor, inmates are paid 17 cents an hour.[3] Even with limited means to make money, upon release, former incarcerated individual find themselves in a mountain of child support debt that accumulated while serving their sentence.[4] However, on October 1, 2024, this predicament changed.[5]

On May 9, 2024, Governor Wes Moore signed into law that a court may determine that a the incarceration of a parent is a material change of circumstance warranting modification of child support.[6] However, the party must show that his or her ability to pay child support is sufficiently reduced due to incarceration.[7] A child support payment is not considered past due, and arrearages may not accrue during the period of incarceration and for sixty days after release if: (1) the party was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 180 consecutive days or more; (2) the party is not on work release and has insufficient funds to make payment; and (3) the party did not commit the crime to become incarcerated to provide payment.[8]

In addition, the new law holds that a parent who is incarcerated may not be considered “voluntarily impoverished.”[9] The law defines “voluntarily impoverished” as a “parent has made the free and conscious choice, not compelled by factors beyond the parent’s control, to render the parent without adequate resources.”[10] Since an incarcerated parent is not considered voluntarily impoverished, the court may not determine child support based on a determination of potential income.[11]

The Maryland Legal Aid provided written testimony supporting the law stating that the burden of child support debt is a huge detriment to a formerly incarcerated individual’s reentrance to society.[12] Child support debt can not only be a financial burden but can lead to driver’s license suspension, appear on a credit score report when applying for an apartment, or interfere with tax refunds.[13]

In its testimony, Maryland Legal Aid encouraged the Child Support Administration to work with the judiciary and community advocacy organizations to ensure that child support order are suspended at the start of the sentence and not after the incarcerated parent is released.[14] With this in mind, the Department of Human Services published an informational flyer to appear with the application to address child support while incarcerated.[15] The flyer explains the new law and the qualifications and disqualifications for the relief.[16] It details how an incarcerated parent can apply, including fill out the attached application and mailing it to the appropriate child support office listed.[17] The flyer explains that after contacting the local child support office, the office will adjust the incarcerated parent’s account to reflect that child support is not currently due, arrearages will not increase, and payments will not be due until sixty days after the parent is released.[18]

This law on child support for incarcerated obligors reflects the financial realities of incarcerated parents, recognizing that their means to earn money is very limited while in the state’s custody. The pause on payments and accrual of arrears during incarceration helps reduce the burden on formerly incarcerated parents. Hopefully, upon release, they may experience a smoother reintegration into society and begin supporting their child(ren) again.

Evagevelly (Eva) Posadas is a third-year student at the University of Baltimore School of Law and an associate editor for Law Forum. She received her bachelor’s degree in Law and American Civilization from Towson University. Eva has experience in family law and immigration law, having interned at multiple family law firms and served as a student attorney at the school’s Immigrant Rights Clinic. She is also the secretary for the school’s Latin American Law Student Association. After graduation, she will clerk for the Honorable Mary Kramer in the Circuit Court of Howard County.

[1] Alison Knezevich, Inmate Wages Fueling Debate, Balt. Sun (Jan. 2, 2020), https://www.baltimoresun.com/2020/01/02/thousands-of-maryland-inmates-work-in-prison-a-new-law-shows-us-how-much-theyre-paid/.

[2] Id.

[3] Id.

[4] Maryland Legal Aid, Written Testimony on HB 00435, Md. Gen. Assemb. 1 (2024), https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/cmte_testimony/2024/jpr/18BtJRZpVXQpcea3UCJn8oNoOB8yT3Y7b.pdf.

[5] H.B. 435, 446th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Md. 2024).

[6] H.B. 435, 446th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Md. 2024); Md. Code Ann., Fam. Law § 12-104(c).

[7] Fam. Law § 12-104(c).

[8] Id. at § 12-104(b).

[9] Id. at § 12-204(b)(1)(ii).

[10] Id. at § 12-201(q).

[11] Id. at § 12-204(b)(3)(iii).

[12] Maryland Legal Aid, supra note 4.

[13] Id.

[14] Modification Information for Incarcerated Obligors, Md. Dep’t of Hum. Serv. (2024), https://dhs.maryland.gov/documents/CSA/Modification-Information-for-Incarcerated-Obligors-English-2.pdf

[15] Id.

[16] Id.

[17] Id.

[18] Id.