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 Maine, child support is governed by the Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A, Chapter 63, which outlines the guidelines for determining the amount of child support. The purpose of child support is to ensure that children receive financial support from both parents, contributing to a range of expenses related to the child's well-being. This includes basic necessities such as food, clothing, and shelter, as well as educational expenses. While the statutes provide a framework for calculating child support, they do not explicitly itemize every potential child-rearing expense. For costs like school supplies, health care, orthodontic treatments, glasses, dental care, transportation, daycare, and extracurricular activities, parents are encouraged to discuss and agree upon how to handle these expenses. If parents cannot agree, they may seek a court's intervention to resolve disputes. The court may consider these additional expenses when issuing or modifying a child support order, ensuring that the child's needs are met while taking into account the financial abilities of both parents.