Do you think this is a non-practical instance of collecting Child Support arrearage?

This is typical.. if u recieve state istance, they will go after the non-custodial parent to have to pay for that state istance.. its not actually "free" .. and although he may not of had the means to pay child support back then that doesnt excuse him from not paying.. so although he didnt have the money or a job what they would do is it would compile , until he did get a job and then they would "take" the money that is owed to the state for all the time that they gave u istance.. what i suggest u do is perhaps have it audited to find an "exact" amount owed and u both just pay it off as fast as u can.. also try and figure out how much you were given for what months and make sure they are not over charging.. but again this is Typical.. this isnt anything new.. my aunt had to go on istance for years because her dead beat of a x husband didnt pay childsupport, years later (all kids were well over 18) the state went after her x husband and made him pay back the state, and then what ever was left over went to my aunt .. the state doesnt care that u've had hard times, they dont care why you didnt have a job, they dont care that u have bills, the fact is if they are owed money they arent going to wait for you to get around to paying them back, they are going to take it.. this is unfortunate but the state doesnt view "gifts" as child support and ur bf should of paid through the state years ago instead of giving what he did directly to u ..and during the time u were not living together he is obligated to pay what he owed in support.. its as if the state "loaned" him the money to take care of his kids financially and now he has to pay them back for that loan..