A conflict over which state’s laws applied nearly resulted in an Indiana homeschool student having her child support payments ended prematurely.
In August of 2024, a homeschooling family residing in Indiana contacted HSLDA after officials said the state was ending child support payments for their student who was turning 18. Yolanda Griffin told us that her daughter was still a senior in high school. The mom added that she believed her teen could continue to receive payments until she graduated.
We affirmed this fact. Typically, child support and custody rulings remain under the jurisdiction of the court that originally issued them. Yolanda’s case was adjudicated by a court in California. That state’s law is clear that child support payments can continue until age 19 for students who are still in school.
More Bureaucracy
HSLDA wrote a letter on Yolanda’s behalf explaining the differences between California and Indiana homeschool law, which was submitted to the child support office along with the required paperwork. Submitting the documents in September should have been the end of the story, but the child support office gave Yolanda the runaround.
After she sent the necessary documentation, the child support office reached out to Yolanda claiming the letter was not legible. This began a series of issues, including officials failing to pick up the mailed documents from the post office, questioning Yolanda’s homeschool program, and lowering the child support amount.
In December, Yolanda reached out to HSLDA again. HSLDA re-sent the original letter from September, along with a new letter detailing the obstacles that Yolanda had encountered and the issue of officials questioning her educational decisions.
Yolanda followed up with the child support office shortly before Christmas. Officials responded that their lawyer was still reviewing the documentation, and they could not say how long it would take.
Breakthrough
After Christmas, I called the child support office. He was told that the letters were received by the office on December 11. After being placed on a three-minute hold, the representative told me that the attorney reviewed the letters “just today” and that child support will be reinstated shortly.
After four months of issues, child support was finally reinstated for Yolanda and her daughter. Yolanda was right when she contacted us first: The law is clear that child support should have been extended without issue. Additionally, the child support office should not be questioning the educational decisions of a parent, whether they agree with homeschooling or not.