Child Support Enforcement
Last year, more than 28 million American children lived in low-income families, and children lacking economic security at home face many disadvantages ranging from poorer health to lower achievement in school. For this reason, First Focus believes that federal investments in children, particularly investments that help lift them out of poverty, are essential to improving their health and ensuring their success in the future.
Child Support Enforcement is a Vital Program for Addressing Child Poverty
Child Support Enforcement is one of the most important federal investments in children, resulting in over $23 billion for families in 2005 alone. In fact, according to the Congressional Research Service, child support income reduced the poverty rate almost more than any safety net program. For families below the poverty level who receive child support, it typically accounts for 30% of family income. For families above the poverty level, the income percentage represented by child support funds is closer to 15%. Moreover, reliable child support appears to have a greater impact on children dollar for dollar than other types of income, including a positive effect on children’s achievement in school.Child Support Enforcement Is a Cost-Effective and Efficient Program.
Child support enforcement is one of the most cost-effective and efficient government programs. For every dollar spent by the government on child support enforcement, the program collects $4.58 and 90% of this money goes directly to families with the remaining money reimbursing TANF and foster care programs. Amazingly, child support enforcement efforts also save money by reducing costs to other government programs—five dollars saved for every four dollars spent according to a 1999 report commissioned by the Department of Health and Human Services.The more effective the child support program, the more children are benefited and the higher the savings in public assistance costs. The incentive payment system created by the Child Support Performance Incentive Act of 1998 (CSPIA) led to dramatic improvements in child support collection rates, more than doubling the rate in just a few years. Unfortunately, CSPIA can be confusing and is often misunderstood. Although it created a “new” incentive program, it did not increase the proportion of federal money spent on the child support enforcement program—that amount has remained constant at approximately 75%--just what states needed to do in order to get that money.
The Child Support Protection Act of 2007
According to the Congressional Budget Office, over ten years, $8.4 billion in child support will go uncollected as a result of the DRA cuts to child support enforcement. Children cannot afford to go without these vital resources, and it is nonsensical for such an important and efficient program to go under-funded. Bipartisan lawmakers in the House (HR 1386) and Senate (S803) have proposed the Child Support Protection Act of 2007 to restore the cuts made by the DRA, and First Focus would like to see these bills become law in this Congress.
