Gov. Inslee Reappoints Prof. Terry Price to Child Support Schedule Workgroup
Terry Price, 红桃视频 Associate Teaching Professor and Executive Director of Graduate Programs, was re-appointed by Governor Jay Inslee on Jan. 27, 2023, to a four-year term on the Child Support Schedule Workgroup. Price has been serving on the Governor鈥檚 workgroup since December 2018.
"Past-due child support is one of the ways that society punishes poverty,鈥 said Price. 鈥淐hild support that is calculated based on generalities, not reality, creates a tremendous burden.鈥
Price joins four legislators, parents receiving and paying child support, and a number of gubernatorial appointees, which include the Director of the Division of Child Support; a member of the Washington State Bar Association Family Law Executive Committee (FLEC); an economist; and several judicial officers from tribal and superior courts.
Four years ago, according to Price, the workgroup studied the case of parents who were still in high school. As a matter of routine, the courts would calculate child support from minimum wage at 40 hours a week. To achieve the court's calculated payment, which was unattainable while still full-time students, these young parents would likely be forced into the undesirable outcome of dropping out of high school.
The Workgroup members recommended a statutory change to focus the courts on the actual earnings of the teen parent, so that they do not start their adult lives already behind. This same approach was used to assist persons coming off public assistance, disability or newly released from incarceration as they would initially not likely be able to gain a 40-hour per week minimum wage job. The Workgroup鈥檚 recommendation that the court focus on the actual circumstances of the parent was ultimately instituted when the Legislature passed these changes into law.聽
鈥淚鈥檓 pleased to be able to continue this important work,鈥 stated Price. 鈥淭his time we have the chance to work on how the state assesses interest on past-due amounts."
For more than 15 years, Price has taught law courses including Family Law, Administrative Law, Mental Health and Law and Constitutional Law: Equal Protection. His areas of expertise include family law, health care law and LGBTQ rights. He holds a master鈥檚 degree from the Smith College for Social Work and prior to law school at the University of Washington, worked as a clinical social worker in pediatric oncology and neonatology. Price is an alumnus of the University of Pennsylvania.