Yes. Texas courts can jail you for up to six months for contempt of court over unpaid child support, on top of fines up to $500 per violation, attorney’s fees, and court costs.
You have the right to an attorney throughout a contempt proceeding, and if you can show you have very low or no income and jail time is a realistic outcome, the court may be required to appoint one for you free of charge.
Your child support obligation keeps accruing while you’re incarcerated — it doesn’t pause automatically. You’ll need to petition the court for a reduction based on what you can actually earn while in custody. After release, the court will treat that as a substantial change in circumstances too, and your support amount will likely be reconsidered again, upward, to reflect your post-release earning capacity.
As with a job loss, report changes and request a modification immediately — courts generally can’t erase back payments that build up while you wait.