The Secretary of Health and Human Resources Child Support Guideline Review Panel was created by the General Assembly for the purpose of periodically reviewing the guidelines for determining the appropriate dollar amount of monthly child support payments.

The Code of Virginia, Section 20-108.2 (H), sets forth the authority for the Secretary's Child Support Guideline Review Panel. That section of the Code is:

Section 20-108.2 H. The Secretary of Health and Human Resources shall ensure that the guideline set out in this section is reviewed by October 31, 2001, and every three years thereafter, by a panel that includes a representative of a juvenile and domestic relations court and a circuit court, a representative of the executive branch, a member of the House of Delegates, a member of the Senate to be appointed by the chairman of the House and Senate Committees for Courts of Justice, members of the bar, two custodial and two noncustodial parents and a child advocate. The panel shall determine the adequacy of the guidelines for the determination of appropriate awards for the support of children by considering current research and data on the cost of expenditures necessary for rearing children, and any other resources it deems relevant to such review. The panel shall report its findings to the General Assembly before it next convenes following such review.