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In this research note, we demonstrate that trends in the likelihood of child support agreements differ by marital history (i.e., never-married vs. ever-married) and by whether measures rely on the stock of families (i.e., all those in which children live apart from a parent) or the flow (i.e., those that include children who newly live apart from a parent) in a given year. While previous research has highlighted difference by marital history, the contrast between stock and flow is a new contribution. Trends are typically measured with reference to the stock of cases, even while the flow of cases, which more immediately reflects concurrent policy changes, is more relevant in many contexts. Interpretations of recent declines in child support agreements in the stock of cases—referenced as evidence for both mandating participation and the impracticality of requiring child support—may be better informed by considering the flow of cases. We find the flow of previously married mothers increasingly likely to have child support agreements while the likelihood is relatively consistent over time for never-married mothers. For both groups, using the flow measure, we find notable increases in agreements without payments due in the most recent period. These findings underscore the importance of differentiating stock and flow, and by marital history, in considering the proportion with agreements as an indicator of the effectiveness of current policy.

Abstract:We argue that child support, the central program specifically targeting single-parent families, should increase financial resources for children living with a single parent, with a secondary goal of holding parents responsible for supporting their children. Current child support policy is substantially successful for divorcing families in which the noncustodial parent has at least moderate formal earnings. However, the system does not work well for lower-income families, especially unmarried couples: far too few children regularly receive substantial support and the system is sometimes counterproductive to encouraging parental responsibility. We propose: a public guarantee of a minimum amount of support per child, assurances that no noncustodial parent will be charged beyond their current means, and a broadening of child support services.

This article describes US child maintenance policy, providing an overview of the scheme in place and how it is working. US child maintenance policy is difficult to describe. On some issues, there is a unified national policy, whereas for others there are separate schemes in each state. For example, in nearly every state, child maintenance obligations follow a principle of continuity-of-expenditure, with obligations set to try to force non-resident parents to spend as much on their children as if they lived with them. However, the precise elements of the formula used to calculate these obligations differ across the states. Further, there is substantial variation in whether (and how) new families affect the obligation, and how situations in which children spend substantial portions of time with each parent are treated. Once the obligation is in place, however, the collection, monitoring, and enforcement system is relatively similar across states, with most states having the same enforcement tools. Key areas of difficulty for the child maintenance system are non-resident parents who have had children with multiple partners, low-income non-resident parents, and responding to cases in which the non-resident parent is in prison.

The economic vulnerability of children in lone-parent families has drawn attention to child support policy. After 13 years of constant policy changes the child support system remains highly problematic and is currently undergoing an independent review. Given this, it is timely to question whether child support payments (from all types of agreements, not just Child Support Agency assessments) are actually helping lone-mother families. Or are most low-income mothers connected to men who have little capacity to pay, so that child support actually helps only moderate-income families? This article uses data from the UK Families and Children Study to examine the receipt of child support by lone mothers across the income distribution. It examines the amounts of child support received and the contribution it makes to total income packages across two major groupings: lone-mother quintile groups and poverty groups. We find that lone mothers who are already relatively better off (compared with other lone mothers in the survey) are more likely to receive child support. However, lone mothers who receive child support tend to receive similar median amounts, regardless of their income levels. Moreover, child support is a more important part of the income package for lone mothers with low incomes than for those with higher incomes.

Discusses the federal welfare reform law which was enacted in 1996 in the United States, requiring most recipients to commence working after receiving two years of benefits. Limitations of the law; What research on recipients of welfare shows; Statistics on poverty in the United States; Impact of this on the United States' economy.