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Objective and Background: Previous research shows the benefits of formal child support to children during their childhood; however, the long‐term effect of child support receipt on outcomes as adults has not been studied. This inquiry examines whether adults who received formal child support as children have different labor market outcomes than those who did not. Method: We conducted two sets of analyses with complementary strengths to examine young adults' earnings and employment status. Our primary method exploited experimental variation in child support receipt among welfare participants, as part of the Wisconsin Child Support Demonstration Evaluation; the secondary analyses used propensity score matching to construct statistically equivalent comparison groups drawn from a broader population included in Wisconsin Court Record Data. Results: Across both studies, we found the receipt of child support was associated with a substantive and statistically significant increase in adult earnings; results for employment status were mixed. Conclusion: Findings suggest that formal child support may disrupt patterns of intergenerational disadvantage, reducing the economic vulnerability of children living with resident mothers, and then improving those children's earnings as adults. In addition to contributing to our understanding of the relationship between childhood economic status and adult outcomes, the findings provide critical new information to policymakers assessing family policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors examined whether nonresident fathers provide informal support to their children and whether support stops if their ex-partner goes on to have a child with a new man. A logistic regression analysis of longitudinal survey and administrative data for 434 women who received welfare in Wisconsin showed that fathers are less likely to provide informal support when their ex-partner has a child with a new partner. Alternative models that control for unobserved characteristics suggest somewhat different results, providing stronger evidence of declines in support that can be shared across family members than in support that can be directed to a particular child. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article traces poverty status and welfare use in the five years following an exit from the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). The goal of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 is examined, and its success is judged. The authors found that women with higher earning potential had a higher level of success, especially those with higher levels of education and fewer/older children. More than forty percent of women, however, remain poor even five years after exiting the AFDC program.

This article examines compliance patterns of child support cases taking place in Wisconsin from 1986 through 1988. The researchers find that sixty-five percent of child support is paid during each of the first five years following divorce, dispelling the notion that child support payments decline over time. The researchers also find a large polarization between full-payers and complete non-payers, as those who tend to comply during the first year tend to indicate a long-term compliance. An examination of divorced and unmarried fathers is also given.

The article studies the effects of child support numerical guidelines implemented in the U.S., for the amount of child support orders in Wisconsin. The national policymakers in the U.S. have made efforts to increase child support, which includes a shift to numerical guidelines for the amount of child support orders. These guidelines generally reflect an income-sharing philosophy, in which support is expected of all nonresident parents, regardless of resident-parent resources. The federal Child Support Enforcement Amendments to the Social Security Act of 1984 required all states to develop a numerical formula that could be used to determine the amount of child support ordered by the court. In 1987 Wisconsin adopted a policy that made the guideline presumptive rather than advisory. Wisconsin has made substantial progress toward a system of child support based on income sharing. The authors find that the negative impact of the mother's income on the size of child support orders has fallen substantially.

This article examines compliance with child support orders by divorced fathers in Wisconsin during 1981-1989. The child support system has received an increasing amount of attention as policy makers have focused on the high poverty rates among children in single-parent families, the increase in the number of children who live in these families, and the public cost of supporting children through welfare programs. Specifically, the impact of four kinds of variables on compliance with child support orders has been examined: those reflecting the stringency of the enforcement system, the ability of the father to pay support, the strength of the family ties between the father and his ex-spouse and children, and the economic need of the mother and children. It has been noted that the father's ability to pay is strongly related to compliance; Compliance increases as the father's income increases. The "burden" of orders does not affect compliance unless the order is for more than 35% of the father's income. More stringent enforcement systems also increase compliance. This analysis of the characteristics of fathers who are not paying child support suggests that although these fathers are not a high-income group, they are generally not so poor that they could not afford to pay at least some support.

The article evaluates myths concerning custodial fathers and child custody. It is observed that men are increasingly receiving custody of their children and single-father families with children are increasing at a faster rate than even single-mother families. However, many observers still believe that there are few custodial fathers. The authors note five commonly held beliefs about custodial fathers. These are: There are not very many father-only families; Most custodial fathers have remarried; Many of the single fathers are widowers and very few have never been married; Custodial fathers have high incomes; and the last is that fathers primarily receive custody of older boys. On examining several data and statistics, the authors found that many of these beliefs about custodial fathers are not true. The changes in the composition of father-only families by marital status actually are quite similar to the changes in the composition of mother-only families. Further, it was found that even though the incomes of father-only families are substantially higher than those of mother-only families, a significant number of father-only families live in poverty.