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, glasses, 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.

In Alaska, child support is governed by state statutes designed to ensure that both parents contribute to the financial needs of their children. Child support payments are intended to cover a range of expenses related to the child's well-being, including basic necessities such as food, clothing, and shelter, as well as education costs. While the Alaska Child Support Services Division (CSSD) provides guidelines for calculating child support, the law does not always specify the extent to which child support should cover additional expenses like school supplies, health care, orthodontic work, glasses, dental care, uninsured medical expenses, transportation, daycare, and extracurricular activities. These costs can be a source of dispute between parents. To minimize conflicts, it is advisable for parents to discuss and agree upon how to handle these expenses, possibly including them in the child support order or creating a separate agreement. If parents cannot agree, they may seek a court's intervention to determine how these costs should be divided. The court will consider the best interests of the child and the financial circumstances of both parents when making such decisions.