State laws have undergone major reform in the area of “children’s issues,” primarily because of the “federalization” of family law. These federal laws include the International Child Abduction Remedies Act, which established the basic procedure for exercising judicial remedies under the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, and the Parental Kidnapping Protection Act. One of the most important laws was the Child Support Recovery Act of 1992 (CSRA) which provided criminal penalties for the willful failure to pay a “past due support obligation” with respect to a child who resides in another state.1 The Deadbeat Parents Punishment Act of 1998 (DPPA) amended the CSRA and added greater criminal penalties for failing to pay child support. Neither the CSRA nor the DPPA created a private right of action.2

The CSRA defined a “past due support obligation” as any amount determined under a state court or administrative order to be due for the support and maintenance of a child, or of a child and the parent with whom the child is living, that remained unpaid for a period longer than one year, or was greater than $5,000.3 A first offense is punishable by a fine up to $5,000 and imprisonment up to six months.4 A second or subsequent offense is punishable by a fine up to $250,000 and felony imprisonment up to two years. Restitution is mandatory in an amount equal to the total unpaid support obligation as it exists at the time of sentencing.5

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