The Effect of Income on Child Support

My husband has been divorced since October, 2000. There is one child involved, currently aged 12. The Court ordered my husband, to pay $430 in Child Support to the mother. The court ordered him to begin paying on March 01, 2000. CSE records show that he began paying in January of 2001. At the time, he was making about $43,000 and his ex-wife was paying for work-related child care. Her income was about the same. In August of 2001, he was laid off. He was unable to find work in IT and took a job installing security systems. He was a self-employed contractor making less than half what he was making when the original order was made. About 2 years later, he changed careers and became a Real Estate agent as this choice appeared to have a greater potential for higher income. It worked out as we had hoped, either. In 2004, we approached the mother requesting a decrease in the monthly support to $175. She agreed. We filed the appropriate papers. Unfortunately, the real estate market has still not become what we had hoped. My husband’s income, after expenses but before taxes as a self-employed Realtor, has not increased beyond about $25,000. He has been also applying, without success, for jobs in the IT field. We believe that the support obligation should reflect the current situation, per the State Child Support Worksheets. The mother disagrees. The mother is now accusing him of being intentionally under-employed and refusing to pay her what she deserves. Her current employment is as an Elementary School Principle in Jefferson County, which, based upon the information in the JeffCo web site, the low gross income is at least $71,000. The CO State worksheets indicate that the $175 we are currently paying, based upon her current income and lack of work-related child care, is roughly equivalent to my having a $50,000 per year income. Does she have a case?