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Clean Slate is a program from the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services that helps to reduce the amount parents owe to the State while encouraging them to make their current support payments to their family.
If the paying parent owes past due child support debt to the State of Illinois, Clean Slate can help them erase the amounts they owe. Child support debt arises if the State of Illinois provided public assistance to the family of the dependent children in a child support case.
Kinds of payments that can be erased
Clean Slate can help parents to erase the past due child support debt and interest that is owed to the State of Illinois.
Clean Slate will not:
- Erase or reduce the amount of past due child support payments the paying parent owes to the custodial parent; or
- Stop or reduce the child support payments that the paying parent may have to make in the future.
Qualifications
In order to qualify to have their past due child support debts erased with Clean Slate, the paying parent must be able to prove that they did not pay their past child support because:
- They were unemployed;
- They were in prison; or
- They had a serious illness which prevented them from making their payments.
The paying parent will have to provide documents proving that they were unable to make their past child support payments, such as:
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A letter from your former employer stating when your employment ended due to layoff, factory closing, etc.,
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Prison discharge or parole papers,
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Proof of disability or a doctor's statement,
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A statement of earnings from the Social Security Administration.
Making future payments
Clean Slate only erases past due child support payments that are owed to the State of Illinois. The parent must still make future payments.
The paying parent must make their regular ordered child support payments for 6 months. Once they make their support payments, the debt owed to the State will be removed. They must then agree to continue making future payments, including past due payments to the other parent.
More information
To get more information about Clean Slate or to request an application visit Child Support Services: Clean Slate Program or call 1- 800-447-4278.
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