Teens Children and Money - Child Support

Who Receives Child Support?

Children living in single-parent families are far more likely to be poor than children living in two-parent households, and the number of children living with only one parent—usually the mother—is increasing. According to a report by the U.S. Census Bureau (Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support: 2001, 2003), in spring 2002 13.4 million parents had custody of 21.5 million children under the age of twenty-one whose other parent lived elsewhere. Mothers accounted for 84.4% of all custodial parents; 15.6% of custodial parents were fathers. These proportions have not changed significantly since 1994.

More than half (59.1%) of the 13.4 million custodial parents in April 2002 had a child support agreement with the other parent. Most of these agreements required child support payments from the noncustodial parent. In 2001 74% of custodial parents due support received at least some payments. Almost half (44.8%) received all the payments they were due, up from only a little more than a third (36.9%) in 1993. (See Figure 4.4.) Noncustodial parents who had visitation rights to their children were more likely to pay child support (77.1%) than parents who did not (55.8%).

Receipt of child support payments made a significant difference in the household incomes of single-parent families. In 2001 the average family income of custodial parents who received child support was $29,008. In contrast, custodial parents who either had no child support agreements or had agreements but received only part or none of the amount due had an average family income of $24,055 and $23,571, respectively. (See Table 4.6.)

Government Assistance in Obtaining Child Support

Inadequate financial support from noncustodial parents contributes to the high incidence of poverty among children living in single-parent families. When custodial parents are not paid the child support due them, their families suffer financially and often must turn to public welfare. Government agencies, therefore, have an interest in recovering child support from delinquent parents.

In 1975 Congress established the Child Support Enforcement program (CSE), a collaborative effort among local, state, and federal agencies, to ensure that children received financial support from both parents.

TABLE 4.5

Under the Child Support Recovery Act of 1992, noncustodial parents delinquent on child support due in another state can be prosecuted. CSE services are automatically provided to families receiving assistance under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program; any support collected usually reimburses the state and federal governments for TANF payments made to the family. Child support services also are available for a small application fee to families not receiving TANF.

Provisions in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PL 104–193) strengthened and improved child support collection activities. The law established a National Directory of New Hires to track parents across state lines, made the process for establishing paternity faster and easier, and enacted tough new penalties for delinquent parents, including expanded wage garnishment and suspension or revocation of driver's licenses. The law also requires single-mother TANF applicants to disclose the paternity of their children and to assign any child support payments to the state. These efforts have paid off; in fiscal year 2003 CSE handled more than 15.9 million cases and collected more than $25 billion, up 5.2% from the previous year (Child Support Enforcement FY 2003 Preliminary Data Report, Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, June 2004).

Interstate Child Support

Child-support awards in which the noncustodial parent lives in a state different from the custodial parent are among the most difficult to enforce. In 2001 the government estimated that 30% of all child support cases involved more than one state. Custodial parents in inter-state cases are less likely to receive payments than those in in-state cases, even though about the same proportion are awarded child support.