Child support is generally intended to help with the costs of raising the child—including food, clothing, shelter, and education—but laws vary from state to state and are often unclear on the extent to which child support payments are intended to help the custodial parent pay for half of school supplies, health care, braces, dental care, uninsured medical care, transportation (car), daycare, sports camps, cheerleading camps, school trips, social activities, and extracurricular activities.

Most state laws (statutes) don’t identify the specific child-rearing costs to which the custodial parent is required to contribute payment from child support and other resources—and because these issues are frequently the source of parental conflict, parents should identify all expected future costs and agree to the process for sharing them.

Because child support obligations generally end when the child turns 18, moves to attend college, dies, or gets married, college expenses are generally not child support obligations. But because college tuition and the associated living expenses are substantial, some parents attempt to address these costs in divorce or other legal proceedings. Depending on the age of the child at the time of divorce and the parents’ financial resources, the funding of a 529 plan (qualified tuition plan) for the child is one option for parents to consider.

In Rhode Island, child support is designed to cover the basic needs of a child, such as food, clothing, shelter, and education. The state's child support guidelines provide a framework for determining the amount of support, which takes into account the income of both parents and the needs of the child. While the guidelines aim to ensure that the child's needs are met, they do not explicitly list every potential expense, such as half of school supplies, health care costs, braces, dental care, uninsured medical expenses, transportation, daycare, and extracurricular activities. Parents are encouraged to discuss and agree upon how to handle these additional expenses, which often fall into a gray area of child support. In Rhode Island, child support obligations typically end when the child reaches the age of 18, graduates from high school, or becomes emancipated, but not necessarily when they attend college. College expenses are not automatically included in child support, but parents can make arrangements for education costs, such as contributing to a 529 college savings plan, during divorce or legal proceedings. It's important for parents to address the issue of college expenses early on, especially considering the substantial costs associated with higher education.