A Massachusetts judge issued an arrest warrant for singer Bobby Brown. Brown has apparently fallen behind in child support payments again. He currently owes $45,000 in back support to the mother of two of his five children.

Brown reportedly failed to appear at a June 29 hearing in Massachusetts to answer a contempt complaint. This failure to appear, coupled with the unpaid support, triggered the issuance of the warrant. Brown can be arrested on the existing warrant only within the state of Massachusetts, which is his home state.

Brown, a Grammy winner and ex-husband of singer Whitney Houston, is required to pay $5,000 a month to his ex-girlfriend Kim Ward for the support of their teenaged children Bobby Jr. (born 1991) and Laprincia (born 1990). He has not paid support since last November.

In addition to Bobby Jr. and Laprincia, Brown is also the father of 22-year-old Landon Brown, 16-year-old Bobbi Kristina (with Houston) and 2-month-old Cassius with his current girlfriend/manager.

Brown served four days in jail in 2007 for not keeping up with his child support obligation to Ward. Back then, he was behind $27,739 in child support payments and medical bills.

Child support enforcement differs slightly from state to state but there are generally both civil and criminal avenues to collecting unpaid support. The state government generally is available to assist custodial parents in their efforts to collect support. Deadbeat parents can often be charged with misdemeanors or felonies and/or be pursued with civil contempt motions and the threat of incarceration.