In the US, the non-custodial parents are supposed to pay either directly or indirectly a specified amount of money which will cater for the maintenance of the child. These children are from past relationships and were born out of wedlock or couple who have divorced. The payments are usually made to the government, caregiver of the children, guardian or even custodial parent. Child support and maintenance is guided by family law which is often arranged and based on the policy that both parents are supposed to provide care and support of their children even when they are not living together as biological parents. Child support and maintenance in United States has been widely emphasized and the interest of the children must be put into consideration. The responsibility to support the children lies with their parent and they should adhere with the laid down rules. The rights of the child as stipulated by the United Nations Convention declares that the way children are brought up, developed and their living standards is determined by the responsibility and role played by both parents and also it is a fundamental human right for them. The Family Law Act asserts that the prime role and responsibility of providing child support and maintenance rests with both parents. The court rules out that one parent should be given the role of custody and primary caregiver when there is separation but non-custodial parents are allowed to visit their children. On the other hand the other parent i
s obliged to pay a proportion of the total cost incurred in raising the child. The responsibility of the supporting the child should be shared by both parent in a situation where both are custodial parents. In such cases, child support is supposed to be paid by one parent to another. The court may not order the parent with sole custody of his or her child to pay maintenance of the child to the non-custodial parent if the parent is taking care of his or her child. As noted by Joseph Lieberman, (2000), a child has a right to financial support from both parents. In child support calculation, a parenting role and responsibility to support the child should be the main goal in determining the amount of payment they should remit. The duration that a child stays at the non-custodial parents home determines the amount the parent is supposed to pay to the child support agency. The responsibility of raising a child should be shared by both custodial and non-custodial parents where the payments made should be wisely used to cater for the basic requirements of the children. There are situations whereby court allows and acknowledge that child sustain payments may do well to the custodial parent indirectly. For example, in a situation where the childs residence requires warming, the members in that residence will gain from staying in a heated environment. Calculation of child support payment is usually influenced by several approaches which determine the amount that each parent should pay.