When the parents of a minor child divorce or are no longer living together—or were never married—child support is the amount of money the court orders a parent who does not have primary custody of the child (the noncustodial parent) pay to the parent who does have primary custody (the custodial parent).

In some states the parents may be designated joint managing conservators of the child (joint custody), but one parent is given the right to choose the primary residence of the child, within a geographic area. The parent with this right to choose the child’s primary residence is usually entitled to receive child support payments.

The Office of the Attorney General in your state generally enforces the payment of court-ordered child support. Child support payments generally may be made by direct payment from one parent to the other, or through wage withholding by the employer of the parent who owes child support (the obligor). One advantage to payment by wage withholding is the built-in recordkeeping in the system.

In Rhode Island, child support is a financial obligation mandated by the court when parents divorce, separate, or are not living together. The noncustodial parent—typically the one who does not have primary custody—is required to pay child support to the custodial parent, who has primary custody of the child. Even in cases of joint custody, if one parent has the authority to determine the child's primary residence, that parent is usually entitled to receive child support from the other. The Rhode Island Office of Child Support Services (OCSS), which is part of the Department of Human Services, is responsible for enforcing these court-ordered child support payments. Child support can be paid directly from one parent to the other or through wage withholding from the noncustodial parent's employer, known as the obligor. Wage withholding offers the benefit of automatic recordkeeping, which can help ensure payments are documented and made consistently.