Federal law provides that a child-support enforcement officer can garnish up to 65 percent of an individual’s wages for child support. On top of that, probation officers in most states can require that an individual dedicate 35 percent of his or her income toward the payment of fines, fees, surcharges, and restitution charged by numerous agencies.43 Accordingly, a formerly incarcerated person living at or below the poverty level can be charged by four or five departments at once and can be required to surrender 100 percent of his or her earnings.
