Children who come from divorced families with two or more children will receive more child support money every month, thanks to the passing of a new law changing child support guidelines in Illinois.

Through the law, passed this summer, divorced families with two children receive a higher percentage of child support from the non-custodial parent. A non-custodial parent does not have full custody of the child. The law was passed mainly due to 19 years of research by Andrea Beller, professor in the family and consumer economics department.

After reviewing national data on child support, Beller noticed large differences between states in the amount of child support paid by non-custodial parents.

"Illinois was near the bottom of all states even though they were not in the lower income bracket," she said.

Research by Beller and her colleagues revealed problems facing Illinois child support percentages — although U.S. Department of Agriculture reports show that it costs 50 percent more to raise a second child, non-custodial parents in Illinois were only required to pay 25 percent of their net income for a two-child family.

Under the new guidelines, the non-custodial parent pays 20 percent of net income for one child, 28 percent for two children, and 30 percent for three children, she said.

It took Beller and other advocates several years to get approval for the new guideline recommendations. By law, each state must re-evaluate child support guidelines every four years. In her first attempt, Beller's recommendations were too complex — asking for several guidelines to be changed rather than just one — and therefore the guidelines remained the same.

Despite these past troubles, the bill passed easily this time, Beller said. Frank Kopecky, a member of the board of Voices for Illinois Children, and Jerry Stermer, president of Voices for Illinois Children, were both instrumental in pushing the bill, Beller said.

She said the impact the new guidelines will have on divorced families is phenomenal.

"This will make a big difference not only for divorced families, but especially for single-parent families," she said. "The change in guidelines was definitely needed."

However, Beller realizes a problem arising from the new law regarding low-income families — forcing them to pay child support can drive them closer to impoverishment, she said.

Valerie McWilliams, a Champaign County lawyer specializing in child support for low-income families, also stresses the problem with the new law.

"The bad side is that it doesn't take into account individual circumstances," McWilliams said. "If the non-custodial parent doesn't have much money to begin with, then 28 percent of nothing isn't much different than 25 percent of nothing."

But from Beller's experience, "most of the judges in Illinois implement a minimal award for low-income families."

Champaign County Judge Michael Jones specializes in child support cases. He said he believes 28 percent is an adequate amount for a child without putting an overwhelming financial strain on non-custodial parents. He stressed that the 28 percent requirement is flexible and can be changed depending on circumstances.

"If financial strains are dire for the non-custodial parent, that can be taken into consideration," he said. "Or if you had someone who makes a large sum of money — like a professional athlete — the 28 percent can be lowered so that child support covers children's reasonable needs."