Bill
SB 749
SB 749 allows courts to impose job search or work-related training as a contempt remedy for delinquent child support, with 6-month training limits and monthly $50 payment.
Status & procedural history
- Bill number / short title: SB 749 — "Work Training/Delinquent Child Support"
- Introduced: Feb 21, 2025
- Current status reported by user: Passed 1st Reading (referred to committee(s) per chamber rules)
- Effective date: “This act is effective when it becomes law.”
Purpose / intent
- To create a court‑ordered alternative to incarceration for individuals found in contempt for delinquent child support by allowing courts to require job search activity or work‑specific education/training as a special condition of a contempt order. The aim is to promote employment, increase child support compliance, and reduce use of jail as enforcement.
Key provisions
- Adds an option to G.S. 50‑13.4(f) (remedies for enforcement of support) allowing a court, as a special condition of contempt, to direct the obligor into:
- job search activities; or
- specified work‑related education or training.
- Court monitoring:
- The court must review the person’s progress at least every 30 days, unless the person is enrolled and actively participating in work‑specific training.
- Training limits and conditions:
- Enrollment in work‑specific training is limited to a maximum of six months.
- While participating, the person must:
- pay at least $50 per month toward child support;
- notify the court upon completion of the training; and
- notify the court within 14 days if they fail to meet attendance requirements.
- Other enforcement rules remain intact (civil and criminal contempt processes continue to apply).
Who is affected
- Primary: noncustodial parents found delinquent on child support (subjects of contempt orders).
- Secondary: family courts (judges and clerks), child support enforcement agencies, workforce development and adult education providers that may deliver or certify the specified training, and custodial parents/children (potential beneficiaries if compliance increases).
Potential impacts & considerations
- Expected benefits: provides constructive alternative to incarceration, may increase employment and regular support payments, reduces incarceration costs and collateral harms to families.
- Operational implications: requires courts to monitor progress periodically and may increase referrals to workforce/education programs; availability and capacity of appropriate training programs will affect implementation.
- Compliance risk: minimal payment floor ($50/month) may be insufficient in some cases; enforcement if participants do not comply remains a policy choice for the court (including reverting to contempt sanctions).
Legislative next steps
- Bill will proceed through committee consideration, possible amendments, and further readings before any final passage and enactment.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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