Enforcement and Beyond: Child Support Policy and Families with Limited Incomes

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

The child support program in the United States is intended to ensure the financial well-being of the nearly 13 million children it serves. For many of the low-income families, its effectiveness often hinges on how they interact with the economic realities of the families they serve—particularly low-income noncustodial parents. This panel brings together four papers that interrogate prevailing enforcement strategies, financial barriers to compliance, and opportunities for program innovation in state and federal child support systems. Drawing on administrative data, qualitative interviews, and mixed-methods assessments, the papers in this panel offer insight into how policy and practice can better account for the structural and individual circumstances shaping payment behavior and family outcomes.

The first paper in the panel provides important context about the financial situation of parents who owe child support. Specifically, Berger, Cancian, and Chanda use novel linked credit and administrative data to investigate how consumer debt affects child support compliance among noncustodial parents. Understanding levels of debt among parents and its potential influence on child support payments underscores the financial situation for many parents who may go on to experience child support enforcement mechanisms.

The next two papers focus on current use of  enforcement tools and administrative leniency in enforcing orders during economic downturns. The first takes a mixed-methods approach to examine the use of civil contempt and license suspension as enforcement tools in one state. Administrative data and interviews with practitioners find uneven use and unclear outcomes, indicating an opportunity for tailored outreach that prioritizes family stability and economic opportunity. The second paper uses administrative data and county-level SNAP ABAWD waivers to examine whether the local economic context is considered when enforcing both SNAP requirements on ABAWDs and child support orders on NCPs. McDonald and Daniels argue that low-income adults simultaneously classified as ABAWDs and NCPs may experience compounding economic vulnerabilities and social exclusion, underscoring the importance of coordinated policy responses across related human services programs. Finally, the fourth paper in the panel considers alternatives to current enforcement tools. Chen and colleagues share findings from assessments involving multiple stakeholders in 3 states. The assessments reveal common barriers—such as ineffective communication, rigid enforcement mechanisms, and mismatches between policy intent and family realities; findings can inform actionable solutions grounded in stakeholder engagement and data analysis.

Taken together, the papers in this panel illuminate the intersection between policy and complex financial lives of families served by the child support system. Findings indicate that collaboration among multiple stakeholders–including families, local practitioners, and policymakers–can help inform understanding of the economic situation of families and ultimately the potential for policy solutions grounded in evidence.

Policy Area

• Family and Child Policy

Secondary Policy Area

• Poverty and Income Policy

Chair

• Jennifer Renee Daniels, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Discussants

• Angela Guarin, Universidad de los Andes

• Quentin H Riser, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Individual Presentations

• Implications of Consumer Debt for Families Served by Child Support - Non-Presenting Co-Author: Lawrence M. Berger, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Maria Cancian, Georgetown University McCourt School; Presenting Author: Trisha Chanda, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Unintended Impacts?: License Suspension and Civil Contempt as Enforcement Tools - Presenting Author: Lisa Klein Vogel, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Molly A Costanzo, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Two Sides of the Same Coin: Examination of Administrative Leniency in SNAP and Child Support Enforcement - Presenting Author: Maretta Darnell McDonald, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Jennifer Renee Daniels, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Research-Based Assessments: Improving Services for Families with Low Incomes in Three State Child Support Programs - Non-Presenting Co-Author: Yiyu Chen, Independent; Presenting Author: Shaneen D Moore, MN Department of Children, Youth and Families; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Becki Vivrette, Child Trends, Inc; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Elizabeth Villegas, Child Trends, Inc; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Chrishana M. Lloyd, Child Trends, Inc

Organizer

• Maretta Darnell McDonald, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University