As the owner of a successful acupuncture clinic in a wealthy Washington suburb, David Vandenberg never had any problems making a $433 monthly child support payment.

Until last year, when his business faltered and he went on unemployment. Unable to find another job, the 50-year-old Vandenberg moved to Arkansas to live with his parents. Now they’re paying the child support for him.

“I felt I didn’t have any recourse,” said Vandenberg, who has a 12-year-old daughter and tried unsuccessfully for a court-approved reduction in his child support payments. After child support, “I get $100 a month in unemployment.”

With the economic downturn hitting men harder than women — 9.8 versus 7.5 percent unemployment — and men comprising most noncustodial parents, many dads are finding themselves struggling to make child support payments that were based on incomes they no longer earn.

In a survey of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers earlier this year, 39 percent of the members reported an increase in modifications being made to child support payments, and 42 percent cited a rise in the number of changes made to alimony.

That trend is reflected in Kenosha County, where court officials have scheduled extra hearings to catch up on the number of people who have fallen behind in child support payments.

The number of so-called contempt cases since the recession were not available, and no information was available on the number of parents who might have asked that their payment schedules be adjusted in light of the economic crisis.

But, Kenosha County Circuit Court Clerk Rebecca Matoska-Mentink said the number of contempt filings have increased since the recession — to the point that the county has added two extra hearings each month to catch up.

All-day sessions were added on Thursdays, starting Oct. 22. That is in addition to regular Monday afternoon and all-day Wednesday sessions, Matoska-Mentink said.

The extra session was added because cases were backing up into January and February 2010; typically, the court prefers to resolve such cases within 60 days.

Based on reports from other family court officials, Kenosha County is not alone in needing to find ways to clear the legal system or adjust payments in light of the recession.

“You have all these guys losing their jobs, having to take lower paying jobs or part-time work and they are flooding the courts to get downward modifications,” said Glenn Sacks, executive director of Fathers & Families, which advocates for reform of the family court system. “The courts have improved to a degree, but they move much too slowly.”

Child support laws vary from state to state, but the amount is primarily based on the noncustodial parent’s income. Other factors include how many children there are, how much time the children spend with each parent and the custodial parent’s income.

Many times the custodial parent feels the hit from a downward modification. Sometimes she has experienced her own income loss.

Delaine Moore, a separated stay-at-home mom of three in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, said there have been fewer trips to the movies and McDonald’s and more activities at home since her ex’s oil field drilling work came to a halt in March. Her child support and spousal payments dropped from $6,500 a month to nothing. He has since picked up a part-time job earning minimum wage but is only paying $450 a month.

Moore, who blogs about motherhood, divorce and infidelity, said her parents are paying her mortgage and she had money saved, but she is considering turning her home into a day care to earn money. If things haven’t improved by Christmas, she may move in with her parents.

“I think my children are still feeling very loved and most importantly I’m here for them,” she said. But it’s been stressful. “I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Divorce can be contentious, and many people don’t believe what their ex-spouses tell them when it comes to finances. Specialists recommend that parents work in the best interest of the children.

“Always keep talking,” said Ike Vanden Eykel, a divorce attorney in North Texas. “Reach an accord. These are unprecedented times. It takes a real level of cooperation to get through it.”