Those who are ordered to pay child support in Nevada now have more of a range as to how much they pay under an evaluation from a judge. The changes, that went into effect this month, are meant to give judges more latitude to determine how much a parent is able to pay.

"What we see for low-income parents is that a lot of times, those minimums far exceeded their ability to pay,” said Elisa Cafferata with the Nevada Division of Welfare, “so there were no payments at all."

Cafferata said this also gives more freedom for higher income parents to give more money to support their child.

The department said these guidelines will change new cases moving forward. However, this will not change existing cases, unless parents choose to review their child support order, which is an option every three years.

As a note of disclosure, the Division of Welfare is under the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, which is a financial supporter of KUNR.