The State Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) may, under certain circumstances, compromise child support arrearages owed to the government. There are two programs through which a child support obligor may apply for compromise (note that the application process, criteria and amount of arrears that may be compromised is different for each program):

  1. “Compromise of Arrearages-Family Reunification” (COA-FR)
  2. “Compromise of Arrears Program” (COAP)

Collection of Support Arrears


The Bacinett Law Offices has recovered hundreds of thousands of dollars in back child support (also known as overdue child support, arrears, or arrearages) for our clients. Back child support refers to the unpaid child support payments that accumulate when a non-custodial parent fails to make timely payments as required by a court order or child support agreement. The Bacinett Law Offices has assisted parents in receiving large lump-sum payments from old, past-due child support.