Terms used in this chapter mean:

(1) “Administrative order,” a judgment or order of an agency of the executive branch of state government, or an agency of comparable jurisdiction of another state, ordering payment of a set or determinable amount of support money, or ordering withholding of income;

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(2) “Arrearage,” the total amount of unpaid support obligations;

(3) “Assistance,” money payments made by the Department of Social Services which are paid to, or for the benefit of, any dependent child, including payments made so that food, shelter, medical care, clothing, transportation, education, or other necessary goods, services, or items may be provided, and payments made to compensate for the provision of those necessities;

(4) “Court order,” a judgment or order of a circuit court of this state or a court of comparable jurisdiction of another state ordering payment of a set or determinable amount of support money;

(4A) “Custodian,” a person who has either legal or physical custody, or both, of a dependent child;

(5) “Delinquency,” any payment under an order for support which becomes due and remains unpaid;

(6) “Department,” the Department of Social Services;

(7) “Dependent child,” a needy child under the age of eighteen or under the age of nineteen and a full-time student in a secondary school if, before the child attains the age of nineteen, it is determined that the child may reasonably be expected to complete the program at the secondary school, who has been deprived of support or care by a natural parent, an adoptive parent, or a stepparent, by reason of the death, continued absence from the home, or physical or mental incapacity of a parent, or who is a child of an unemployed parent and who is living with a person in a place of residence maintained by such person as his home;

(8) “Income,” any form of payment to a person, regardless of source, including wages, salary, commission, bonuses, compensation as an independent contractor, workers’ compensation, state reemployment assistance or unemployment compensation, disability, annuity and retirement benefits, gift or inheritance, all gain derived from capital or labor, profit gained through the sale or conversion of capital assets, and any other payments, including personal property, money and credits on deposit with or in the possession of, or made by any person, private entity, federal or state government, any unit of local government, school district or any entity created by public act. However, for the purposes of income withholding, the term excludes:

(a) Any amount required by law or as a condition of employment to be withheld, other than creditor claims, including federal, state, and local taxes, social security, and other retirement contributions;

(b) Any amount exempted by federal law; and

(c) Public assistance payments;

(9) “Need,” the necessary costs of food, clothing, shelter, education, and medical care for the support of a dependent child;

(9A) “Noncustodial parent,” the parent who does not have primary care, custody, or control of the child, and has an obligation to pay child support;

(10) “Obligee,” any person or entity to whom a duty of support is owed;

(11) “Obligor,” any person who owes a duty to make payments under an order for support;