Prepared by:
Linda Mellgren, Jennifer Burnszynski, Sarah Douglas, and Brian Sinclair-James
Prepared for:
Office of Human Services Policy
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Introduction
The purpose of this report is to identify the characteristics of the custodial1 parent families who used the services of the child support enforcement system authorized under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act in 1999 and 2001. Although the report includes information from both 1999 and 2001, the analysis that forms the basis of this report is focused on the most recent year, 2001. The report uses survey data from the Census Bureau to describe this population by various family characteristics, including income, poverty, and participation in government programs, including cash assistance. It also provides information on demographic characteristics such as the gender and marital status of the custodial parent and the residence of the non-custodial parent. Finally, it addresses the question of whether the family has a child support agreement in place or has received child support payments.
The analysis examines these outcomes for the entire population of child support-eligible families in 2001, as well as for those both receiving and not receiving IV-D services. In addition, subgroup analysis has been done for families reporting different racial and ethnicity status, and for those families with incomes below and near the federal poverty line.
Participation in the IV-D system was determined by a number of variables that are detailed below and in the technical appendix. Respondents are further broken down into three categories:
- Families receiving cash benefits through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program;
- Families using other means-tested cash and non-cash public assistance programs (Medicaid, food stamps, housing assistance, and Supplemental Security Income (SSI)), and
- Families that reported no usage for the public assistance programs noted above during 1999 or 2001.
Data Source and Methodology
The source for this analysis is the data file matching the March 2002 Current Population Survey (CPS) and the April 2002 Child Support Supplement (CSS). Every March, the Census Bureau administers an expanded version of the monthly CPS that includes key demographic and income variables. Every other April, with funding from the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), 75 percent of the March CPS sample is given a supplemental survey that includes questions on children with absent parents and the child support program. The March and April data are then merged into one single file. The CPS-CSS match file from March/April 2002 covers the status of families in calendar year 2001, and is the most recent major national child support survey for which data are available. Correspondingly, the CPS-CSS match file from March/April 2000 covering the status of families in calendar year 1999 was used to construct the tables included in the report for 1999.
This analysis is a follow up to earlier reports published in May 1999 and May 2002 that used the CPS/CSS match file to look at the circumstances of families receiving IV-D services in 1995 and 1997. (See Characteristics of Families Using Title IV-D Services in 1995 and Characteristics of Families Using Title IV-D Services in 1997). Although the methodology used to determine the current findings was the same as that used in previous reports, comparison across years must be done with care as changes were made to the survey and to the sample size and design during the period from 1995 through 2001. For example, a blip in the data that does not appear in subsequent years may be the result of a change in the wording or placement of a question or a change in variable responses between sets of years may need to meet different thresholds to be considered statistically significant because of sample size variation.
The population of interest for this analysis, custodial families that use the IV-D system, was drawn from the identified population of child support-eligible parents using variables from both the March and April surveys. These variables included: parents who reported that they had contacted the child support program for help or had been contacted by the child support program; parents who reported receiving their child support payment through the child support or welfare agency, and; parents who said they did not know the amount of child support due because the child support agency had filed the paperwork. Parents who received cash benefits from the TANF program or were enrolled in Medicaid were also considered to be in the IV-D program. This assumption was made because of child support enforcement cooperation requirements that are part of the regulations guiding those programs. There is currently no way of comparing the numbers in this analysis to the IV-D caseload data reported by the states to the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE). State OCSE caseload reporting requirements are not based on counts of custodial parent families as are the estimates from the household-based sample of the CPS-CSS survey.
The technical appendix, found at the end of this document, includes a complete explanation of each of the variables used to make up the various categories in the analysis. Since many of the characteristics included in this piece could not be captured by only one or two variables on the CPS-CSS match file, a variety of assumptions needed to be made. These assumptions, and the effects that they may have had on the findings, are also detailed in the technical appendix.
Findings
Overall Child Support-Eligible Population
There were 13,382,897 child support-eligible families in the United States in 2001. A child support-eligible family is defined as a custodial parent with an own child under age twenty-one living in the household whose other parent is living but absent from the household. A majority of the child support-eligible population receives services through the IV-D program. This analysis found that eight million families, or 60 percent of the 13.4 million child support-eligible parents, participated in the IV-D system. Table 1 provides an overview of all of the family variables analyzed in this report, shown for the entire child support-eligible population. Beginning with Table 2, subsequent tables identify these characteristics within the IV-D and non IV-D populations. While the finding presented here are only for 2001, separate tables are provided for both 1999 and 2001.
| Number | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|
| Total CSE Eligible Families | 13,382,897 | 100.0% |
| IV-D Participation | ||
| IV-D | 8,027,892 | 60.0% |
| Non IV-D | 5,355,005 | 40.0% |
| Public Assistance(1) | ||
| TANF Cash Assistance | 1,024,125 | 7.7% |
| Non-TANF Assistance Only | 4,034,277 | 30.1% |
| No Public Assistance | 8,324,495 | 62.2% |
| Type of Public Assistance Received | ||
| TANF | 1,024,125 | 7.7% |
| Medicaid | 4,443,901 | 33.2% |
| Food Stamps | 2,317,834 | 17.3% |
| Housing Subsidy | 1,469,194 | 11.0% |
| SSI | 713,151 | 5.3% |
| Family Income | ||
| $0 | 313,239 | 2.3% |
| $1 to $5000 | 670,810 | 5.0% |
| $5001 to $10,000 | 951,341 | 7.1% |
| $10,001 to $15,000 | 1,107,819 | 8.3% |
| $15,001 to $20,000 | 1,102,563 | 8.2% |
| $20,001 to $25,000 | 1,073,471 | 8.0% |
| $25,001 to $30,000 | 1,048,736 | 7.8% |
| above $30,000 | 7,114,919 | 53.2% |
| Income/Poverty Ratio | ||
| <50% of poverty level | 1,485,537 | 11.1% |
| 50 to 99% | 1,645,630 | 12.3% |
| 100 to 149% | 1,743,621 | 13.0% |
| 150 to 199% | 1,596,197 | 11.9% |
| 200 to 249% | 1,572,476 | 11.7% |
| 250 to 299% | 1,332,664 | 10.0% |
| >300% | 4,006,772 | 29.9% |
| Gender of CP | ||
| Mothers | 11,291,003 | 84.4% |
| Fathers | 2,091,894 | 15.6% |
| Marital Status of CP | ||
| Married | 3,193,799 | 23.9% |
| Widowed | 128,557 | 1.0% |
| Divorced | 4,465,847 | 33.4% |
| Separated | 1,645,809 | 12.3% |
| Never Married | 3,948,884 | 29.5% |
| Residence of NCP | ||
| NCP In-state | 10,013,862 | 74.8% |
| NCP Out-of-State | 3,369,035 | 25.2% |
| Agreement/Receipt Status | ||
| Total with Agreement | 8,149,701 | 60.9% |
| Legal/Informal Agreement in Place | 7,916,402 | 59.2% |
| Pending Legal Agreement | 233,299 | 1.7% |
| Total w/ Receipt | 5,706,341 | 42.6% |
| Receipt with support due | 5,119,450 | 38.3% |
| (1) Public assistance is defined as TANF cash asst., Medicaid, food stamps, housing subsidy and/or SSI. | ||
| SOURCE: CPS/CSS Match File, March/April 2002. | ||
| Number | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|
| IV-D Yes | 8,027,892 | 100.0% |
| TANF Cash Assistance | 1,024,125 | 12.8% |
| Non-TANF Assistance Only | 3,740,188 | 46.6% |
| No Public Assistance | 3,263,579 | 40.7% |
| Type of Public Assistance Received | ||
| TANF | 1,024,125 | 12.8% |
| Medicaid | 4,443,901 | 55.4% |
| Food Stamps | 2,196,354 | 27.4% |
| Housing Subsidy | 1,308,920 | 16.3% |
| SSI | 677,764 | 8.4% |
| IV-D No | 5,355,005 | 100.0% |
| TANF Cash Assistance | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-TANF Assistance Only | 294,089 | 5.5% |
| No Public Assistance | 5,060,916 | 94.5% |
| Type of Public Assistance Received | ||
| TANF | 0 | 0.0% |
| Medicaid | 0 | 0.0% |
| Food Stamps | 121,480 | 2.3% |
| Housing Subsidy | 160,275 | 3.0% |
| SSI | 35,387 | 0.7% |
| All | 13,382,897 | 100.0% |
| TANF Cash Assistance | 1,024,125 | 7.7% |
| Non-TANF Assistance Only | 4,034,277 | 30.1% |
| No Public Assistance | 8,324,495 | 62.2% |
| Type of Public Assistance Received | ||
| TANF | 1,024,125 | 7.7% |
| Medicaid | 4,443,901 | 33.2% |
| Food Stamps | 2,317,834 | 17.3% |
| Housing Subsidy | 1,469,194 | 11.0% |
| SSI | 713,151 | 5.3% |
| (1) Public assistance is defined as TANF cash asst., Medicaid, food stamps, housing subsidy and/or SSI. | ||
| SOURCE: CPS/CSS Match File, March/April 2002. | ||
Participation in Public Assistance Programs
The March CPS can be used to determine the participation of families in a variety of public assistance programs. In 2001, approximately 1.0 million (8 percent) of child support-eligible parents lived in families in which at least one member received cash assistance through the TANF program. Participation in the Medicaid program was reported by 33 percent of these families, and 17 percent were enrolled in the Food Stamp program. Approximately one in nine of the child support-eligible families reported receiving housing subsidies (in the form of public housing or housing assistance), and about five percent collected a portion of their family income from the SSI program.
Participation in the five public assistance programs (TANF, Medicaid, food stamps, housing subsidies, and SSI) was used to identify the three categories of families that are shown in each table: families receiving TANF cash assistance, families receiving assistance only from other government programs (but not TANF cash assistance), and families not receiving any public assistance from the programs mentioned above. As reported above, about one million child support-eligible families were receiving cash assistance, while an additional four million (30 percent) were receiving other public assistance but not cash assistance. Of the 13.4 million child support-eligible families, about three in five were not receiving any public assistance.
Significant variations in receipt of public assistance existed between the IV-D and non IV-D populations (Table 2). Among those families in the IV-D program, the percentages of those receiving cash assistance (13 percent), was considerably less than those receiving non-cash public assistance only (47 percent) and those receiving no public assistance (41 percent). However, an overwhelming majority (95 percent) of the 5.4 million child support-eligible families not in the IV-D program received no public assistance at all in 2001.This last statistic is affected by the assumption, stated above, that all families in which family income was received from TANF cash assistance or in which either the parent or child was covered by Medicaid, participated in the IV-D program.
Family Income and Poverty
Income
About 3.2 million (40.5 percent) of all IV-D families had a family income under $20,000 in 2001, while 4.6 million (57 percent) had an income under $30,000 (Table 3). Families receiving TANF or other public assistance had, on average, lower incomes than those not receiving assistance. More than three-quarters of child support-eligible families receiving cash assistance, and one-half of those reporting other public assistance, had incomes of $20,000 or below. Of IV-D families receiving no public assistance only one in five had incomes below $20,000.
Families participating in the IV-D program generally had lower incomes than non IV-D families. While the annual incomes of 40 percent of IV-D families fell below $20,000, less than 20 percent of non IV-D families fell into that same income range. In both categories, families receiving no public assistance had higher incomes than those reporting some reliance on government programs.
| All CSE Eligible Families | TANF Cash Assistance | Non-TANF Assistance Only | No Public Assistance | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent |
| All Cases | 13,382,897 | 100.0% | 1,024,125 | 100.0% | 4,034,277 | 100.0% | 8,324,495 | 100.0% |
| $0 | 313,239 | 2.3% | 0 | 0.0% | 168,244 | 4.2% | 144,995 | 1.7% |
| $1 to $5000 | 670,810 | 5.0% | 202,551 | 19.8% | 334,634 | 8.3% | 133,624 | 1.% |
| $5001 to $10,000 | 951,341 | 7.1% | 299,694 | 29.3% | 505,832 | 12.5% | 145,815 | 1.8% |
| $10,001 to $15,000 | 1,107,819 | 8.3% | 192,643 | 18.8% | 580,400 | 14.4% | 334,776 | 4.0% |
| $15,001 to $20,000 | 1,102,563 | 8.2% | 81,622 | 8.0% | 508,409 | 12.% | 512,532 | 6.2% |
| $20,001 to $25,000 | 1,073,471 | 8.0% | 59,821 | 5.8% | 425,988 | 10.6% | 587,662 | 7.1% |
| $25,001 to $30,000 | 1,048,736 | 7.8% | 80,202 | 7.8% | 306,926 | 7.6% | 661,608 | 7.9% |
| above $30,000 | 7,114,919 | 53.2% | 107,592 | 10.5% | 1,203,844 | 29.8% | 5,803,483 | 69.7% |
| IV-D Yes | 8,027,892 | 100.0% | 1,024,125 | 100.0% | 3,740,188 | 100.0% | 3,263,579 | 100.0% |
| $0 | 197,829 | 2.5% | 0 | 0.0% | 160,291 | 4.3% | 37,538 | 1.2% |
| $1 to $5000 | 592,665 | 7.4% | 202,551 | 19.8% | 322,635 | 8.6% | 67,480 | 2.1% |
| $5001 to $10,000 | 839,345 | 10.5% | 299,694 | 29.3% | 472,036 | 12.6% | 67,615 | 2.1% |
| $10,001 to $15,000 | 83,563 | 10.8% | 192,643 | 18.8% | 542,462 | 14.5% | 128,459 | 3.9% |
| $15,001 to $20,000 | 747,467 | 9.3% | 81,622 | 8.0% | 460,423 | 12.3% | 205,423 | 6.3% |
| $20,001 to $25,000 | 707,852 | 8.8% | 59,821 | 5.8% | 383,569 | 10.3% | 264,461 | 8.1% |
| $25,001 to $30,000 | 648,876 | 8.1% | 80,202 | 7.8% | 290,418 | 7.8% | 278,256 | 8.5% |
| above $30,000 | 3,430,296 | 42.7% | 107,592 | 10.5% | 1,108,355 | 29.6% | 2,214,348 | 67.9% |
| IV-D No | 5,355,005 | 100.0% | 0 | N/A | 294,089 | 100.0% | 5,060,916 | 100.0% |
| $0 | 115,411 | 2.2% | 0 | N/A | 7,954 | 2.7% | 107,457 | 2.1% |
| $1 to $5000 | 78,144 | 1.5% | 0 | N/A | 12,000 | 4.1% | 66,145 | 1.3% |
| $5001 to $10,000 | 111,997 | 2.1% | 0 | N/A | 33,797 | 11.5% | 78,200 | 1.5% |
| $10,001 to $15,000 | 244,255 | 4.6% | 0 | N/A | 37,939 | 12.9% | 206,317 | 4.1% |
| $15,001 to $20,000 | 355,096 | 6.6% | 0 | N/A | 47,986 | 16.3% | 307,109 | 6.1% |
| $20,001 to $25,000 | 365,619 | 6.8% | 0 | N/A | 42,418 | 14.4% | 323,201 | 6.4% |
| $25,001 to $30,000 | 399,860 | 7.5% | 0 | N/A | 16,508 | 5.6% | 383,352 | 7.6% |
| above $30,000 | 3,684,623 | 68.8% | 0 | N/A | 95,488 | 32.5% | 3,589,135 | 70.9% |
| (1) Public assistance is defined as TANF cash asst., Medicaid, food stamps, housing subsidy and/or SSI. | ||||||||
| SOURCE: CPS/CSS Match File, March/April 2002. | ||||||||
Ratio of Income to Poverty Level
In addition to family income, the ratio of the family's income to the poverty level is an important measure of economic well-being. Each year, the Census Bureau estimates poverty thresholds that are adjusted for the size of the family unit. In 2001, the weighted average poverty threshold was $14,630 for a family of three and $17,650 for a family of four (Table 4A).
| Income/Poverty Ratio |
Two Persons | Three Persons | Four Persons | Five Persons | Six Persons | Seven Persons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50% | $5,805 | $7,315 | $8,825 | $10,335 | $11,845 | $13,355 |
| 100% | $11,610 | $14,630 | $17,650 | $20,670 | $23,690 | $26,710 |
| 150% | $17,415 | $21,945 | $26,475 | $31,005 | $35,535 | $40,065 |
| 200% | $23,220 | $29,260 | $35,300 | $41,340 | $47,380 | $53,420 |
| 250% | $29,025 | $36,575 | $44,125 | $51,675 | $59,225 | $66,775 |
| 300% | $34,830 | $43,890 | $52,950 | $62,010 | $71,070 | $80,130 |
| SOURCES: HHS Poverty Guidelines: http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/figures-fed-reg.shtml | ||||||
About 2.6 million, or about one third of the IV-D families were below the poverty threshold, and about three-fifths had incomes that fell below 200 percent of the poverty level. In addition, nearly 16 percent of IV-D families were in "deep poverty", or had incomes below 50 percent of the poverty level (Table 4B). A large majority (72 percent) of IV-D families receiving cash assistance were poor, as were 42 percent of those families receiving only other government assistance. IV-D families with no public assistance were less poor, with less than one in ten having incomes below poverty and almost 70 percent having incomes at or above 200 percent of the poverty level.
In contrast to those families receiving IV-D services, only 10 percent of non-IV-D families were poor, while about 70 percent of these families had incomes above 200 percent of the poverty level. Additional outcomes for families both in poverty and near poverty (incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level) can be found later in this analysis.
| All CSE Eligible Families | TANF Cash Assistance | Non-TANF Assistance Only | No Public Assistance | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income/Poverty Ratio |
Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent |
| TOTAL | 13,382,897 | 100.0% | 1,024,125 | 100.0% | 4,034,277 | 100.0% | 8,324,495 | 100.0% |
| <50% | 1,485,537 | 11.1% | 403,899 | 39.4% | 756,782 | 18.8% | 324,855 | 3.9% |
| 50 to 99% | 1,645,630 | 12.3% | 332,384 | 32.5% | 932,387 | 23.1% | 380,859 | 4.6% |
| 100 to 149% | 1,743,621 | 13.0% | 138,663 | 13.5% | 797,746 | 19.8% | 807,212 | 9.7% |
| 150 to 199% | 1,596,197 | 11.9% | 64,197 | 6.3% | 594,887 | 14.7% | 937,114 | 11.3% |
| 200 to 249% | 1,572,476 | 11.7% | 32,905 | 3.2% | 380,242 | 9.4% | 1,159,329 | 13.9% |
| 250 to 299% | 1,332,664 | 10.0% | 19,510 | 1.9% | 224,922 | 5.6% | 1,088,232 | 13.1% |
| >300% | 4,006,772 | 29.9% | 32,566 | 3.2% | 347,311 | 8.6% | 3,626,895 | 43.6% |
| IV-D Yes | 8,027,892 | 100.0% | 1,024,125 | 100.0% | 3,740,188 | 100.0% | 3,263,579 | 100.0% |
| <50% | 1,248,756 | 15.6% | 403,899 | 39.4% | 717,850 | 19.2% | 127,007 | 3.9% |
| 50 to 99% | 1,368,095 | 17.0% | 332,384 | 32.5% | 866,275 | 23.2% | 169,436 | 5.2% |
| 100 to 149% | 1,187,735 | 14.8% | 138,3 | 13.5% | 724,763 | 19.4% | 324,308 | 9.9% |
| 150 to 199% | 1,014,301 | 12.6% | 64,197 | 6.3% | 567,455 | 15.2% | 382,649 | 11.7% |
| 200 to 249% | 875,943 | 10.9% | 32,905 | 3.2% | 341,502 | 9.1% | 501,536 | 15.4% |
| 250 to 299% | 680,262 | 8.5% | 19,510 | 1.9% | 198,568 | 5.3% | 462,183 | 14.2% |
| >300% | 1,652,800 | 20.6% | 32,566 | 3.2% | 323,775 | 8.7% | 1,296,459 | 39.7% |
| IV-D No | 5,355,005 | 100.0% | 0 | N/A | 294,089 | 100.0% | 5,060,916 | 100.0% |
| <50% | 236,781 | 4.4% | 0 | N/A | 38,932 | 13.2% | 197,848 | 3.9% |
| 50 to 99% | 277,535 | 5.2% | 0 | N/A | 66,112 | 22.5% | 211,422 | 4.2% |
| 100 to 149% | 555,887 | 10.4% | 0 | N/A | 72,983 | 24.8% | 482,904 | 9.5% |
| 150 to 199% | 581,896 | 10.9% | 0 | N/A | 27,432 | 9.3% | 554,464 | 11.0% |
| 200 to 249% | 696,533 | 13.0% | 0 | N/A | 38,740 | 13.2% | 657,793 | 13.0% |
| 250 to 299% | 652,402 | 12.2% | 0 | N/A | 26,354 | 9.0% | 626,048 | 12.4% |
| >300% | 2,353,972 | 44.0% | 0 | N/A | 23,536 | 8.0% | 2,330,436 | 46.0% |
| (1) Public assistance is defined as TANF cash asst., Medicaid, food stamps, housing subsidy and/or SSI. | ||||||||
| SOURCE: CPS/CSS Match File, March/April 2002. | ||||||||
Demographics
Gender of Custodial Parent
The majority of all child support eligible families are headed by custodial mothers (85 percent). In the IV-D system, there were about 7.2 million families headed by females in 2001, making up almost 90 percent of all families receiving IV-D services (Table 5). Only about 850,000 families headed by fathers were in the IV-D caseload. However, while families headed by custodial fathers made up 10 percent of IV-D families, custodial fathers headed nearly a quarter (23 percent) of child support-eligible families not receiving IV-D services. In addition, custodial fathers were less likely than custodial mothers to depend on any type of public assistance; about three-quarters of child support eligible families headed by men were receiving no public assistance in 2001, compared to sixty percent of mother headed families.
| NUMBER | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CP Gender | All CSE Eligible Families | TANF Cash Assistance | Non-TANF Assistance Only | No Public Assistance |
| TOTAL | 13,382,897 | 1,024,125 | 4,034,277 | 8,324,495 |
| Mothers | 11,291,003 | 957,713 | 3,605,498 | 6,727,792 |
| Fathers | 2,091,894 | 66,412 | 428,779 | 1,596,703 |
| IV-D Yes | 8,027,892 | 1,024,125 | 3,740,188 | 3,263,579 |
| Mothers | 7,174,718 | 957,713 | 3,356,895 | 2,860,110 |
| Fathers | 853,174 | 66,412 | 383,293 | 403,469 |
| IV-D No | 5,355,005 | 0 | 294,089 | 5,060,916 |
| Mothers | 4,116,285 | 0 | 248,603 | 3,867,682 |
| Fathers | 1,238,720 | 0 | 45,486 | 1,193,234 |
| PERCENTAGE | ||||
| CP Gender | All CSE Eligible Families | TANF Cash Assistance | Non-TANF Assistance Only | No Public Assistance |
| TOTAL | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| Mothers | 84.4% | 93.5% | 89.4% | 80.8% |
| Fathers | 15.6% | 6.5% | 10.6% | 19.2% |
| IV-D Yes | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| Mothers | 89.4% | 93.5% | 89.8% | 87.6% |
| Fathers | 10.6% | 6.5% | 10.2% | 12.4% |
| IV-D No | 100.0% | N/A | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| Mothers | 76.9% | N/A | 84.5% | 76.4% |
| Fathers | 23.1% | N/A | 15.5% | 23.6% |
| (1) Public assistance is defined as TANF cash asst., Medicaid, food stamps, housing subsidy and/or SSI. | ||||
| SOURCE: CPS/CSS Match File, March/April 2002. | ||||
Marital Status of Custodial Parent
Among all custodial parents of IV-D families in 2001, 36 percent had never been married, while 42 percent were divorced or separated, 21 percent were currently married, and a small number had been widowed. By contrast, a lower percentage (20 percent) of non IV-D parents had never been married (Table 6). Of all families headed by a never-married parent, almost three-fourths were participating in the IV-D program. Never-married parents also made up about half of the IV-D family heads who also received TANF cash assistance in 2001 (51 percent). Of those families not receiving IV-D services, a greater proportion (80) percent were headed by parents who were divorced, separated, or currently married.
| NUMBER | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CP Marital Status | All CSE Eligible Families | TANF Cash Assistance | Non-TANF Assistance Only | No Public Assistance |
| TOTAL | 13,382,897 | 1,024,125 | 4,034,277 | 8,324,495 |
| Married | 3,193,799 | 76,211 | 651,778 | 2,465,811 |
| Widowed | 128,557 | 0 | 45,884 | 82,672 |
| Divorced | 4,465,847 | 240,689 | 1,069,915 | 3,155,243 |
| Separated | 1,645,809 | 187,007 | 492,361 | 966,441 |
| Never Married | 3,948,884 | 520,218 | 1,774,338 | 1,654,329 |
| IV-D Yes | 8,027,892 | 1,024,125 | 3,740,188 | 3,263,579 |
| Married | 1,675,477 | 76,211 | 615,106 | 984,160 |
| Widowed | 87,623 | 0 | 45,884 | 41,738 |
| Divorced | 2,429,709 | 240,689 | 977,969 | 1,211,051 |
| Separated | 942,437 | 187,007 | 439,697 | 315,732 |
| Never Married | 2,892,646 | 520,218 | 1,661,532 | 710,897 |
| IV-D No | 5,355,005 | 0 | 294,089 | 5,060,916 |
| Married | 1,518,322 | 0 | 36,672 | 1,481,650 |
| Widowed | 40,934 | 0 | 0 | 40,934 |
| Divorced | 2,036,138 | 0 | 91,946 | 1,944,191 |
| Separated | 703,372 | 0 | 52,664 | 650,708 |
| Never Married | 1,056,238 | 0 | 112,806 | 943,432 |
| PERCENTAGE | ||||
| CP Marital Status | All CSE Eligible Families | TANF Cash Assistance | Non-TANF Assistance Only | No Public Assistance |
| TOTAL | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| Married | 23.9% | 7.4% | 16.2% | 29.6% |
| Widowed | 1.0% | 0.0% | 1.1% | 1.0% |
| Divorced | 33.4% | 23.5% | 26.5% | 37.9% |
| Separated | 12.3% | 18.3% | 12.2% | 11.6% |
| Never Married | 29.5% | 50.8% | 44.0% | 19.9% |
| IV-D Yes | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| Married | 20.9% | 7.4% | 16.4% | 30.2% |
| Widowed | 1.1% | 0.0% | 1.2% | 1.3% |
| Divorced | 30.3% | 23.5% | 26.1% | 37.1% |
| Separated | 11.7% | 18.3% | 11.8% | 9.7% |
| Never Married | 36.0% | 50.8% | 44.4% | 21.8% |
| IV-D No | 100.0% | N/A | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| Married | 28.4% | N/A | 12.5% | 29.3% |
| Widowed | 0.8% | N/A | 0.0% | 0.8% |
| Divorced | 38.0% | N/A | 31.3% | 38.4% |
| Separated | 13.1% | N/A | 17.9% | 12.9% |
| Never Married | 19.7% | N/A | 38.4% | 18.6% |
| (1) Public assistance is defined as TANF cash asst., Medicaid, food stamps, housing subsidy and/or SSI. | ||||
| SOURCE: CPS/CSS Match File, March/April 2002. | ||||
Residence of Non-custodial Parent
The data indicate that the custodial parent and non-custodial parent did not live in the same state in nearly 2.1 million IV-D families, comprising just over one quarter of the IV-D caseload (Table 7). The percentage of interstate cases was substantially the same within and outside the IV-D caseload. Within the IV-D caseload, custodial mothers receiving TANF were slightly less likely than those receiving other public assistance or no public assistance to report that the non-custodial parent lived in a different state. (22%, 26% and 26% respectively). However, among those not receiving IV-D services, custodial parents who reported receiving non-cash government assistance were almost 10 percentage points more likely than those not receiving assistance to live in a different state than the non-custodial parent (33 percent as compared to 24 percent).
| NUMBER | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCP Residence | All CSE Eligible Families | TANF Cash Assistance | Non-TANF Assistance Only | No Public Assistance |
| TOTAL | 13,382,897 | 1,024,125 | 4,034,277 | 8,324,495 |
| In-state | 10,013,862 | 794,826 | 2,952,544 | 6,266,492 |
| Out-of-state | 3,369,035 | 229,299 | 1,081,733 | 2,058,003 |
| IV-D Yes | 8,027,892 | 1,024,125 | 3,740,188 | 3,263,579 |
| In-state | 5,977,332 | 794,826 | 2,756,747 | 2,425,758 |
| Out-of-state | 2,050,560 | 229,299 | 983,441 | 837,821 |
| IV-D No | 5,355,005 | 0 | 294,089 | 5,060,916 |
| In-state | 4,036,531 | 0 | 195,797 | 3,840,734 |
| Out-of-state | 1,318,474 | 0 | 98,292 | 1,220,182 |
| PERCENTAGE | ||||
| NCP Residence | All CSE Eligible Families | TANF Cash Assistance | Non-TANF Assistance Only | No Public Assistance |
| TOTAL | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| In-State | 74.8% | 77.6% | 73.2% | 75.3% |
| Out-of-state | 25.2% | 22.4% | 26.8% | 24.7% |
| IV-D Yes | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| In-state | 74.5% | 77.6% | 73.7% | 74.3% |
| Out-of-state | 25.5% | 22.4% | 26.3% | 25.7% |
| IV-D No | 100.0% | N/A | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| In-state | 75.4% | N/A | 66.6% | 75.9% |
| Out-of-state | 24.6% | N/A | 33.4% | 24.1% |
| (1) Public assistance is defined as TANF cash asst., Medicaid, food stamps, housing subsidy and/or SSI. | ||||
| SOURCE: CPS/CSS Match File, March/April 2002. | ||||
Agreement/Receipt Status
Over three-quarters of all IV-D families had child support agreements in place in 2001, while 47 percent of IV-D families reported the receipt of some amount of child support payment (Table 8). Families receiving no child support payments made up a majority of both the IV-D and non IV-D populations, however, those families participating in the IV-D program were more likely to have a child support agreement (68 percent as compared to 50 percent) and to receive some payment (47 percent as compared to 36 percent). IV-D families receiving no public assistance were more likely to have both an agreement and receipt of payment (58 percent) than IV-D families reporting receipt of TANF (28 percent) or other government assistance (35 percent).
| NUMBER | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agreement/Receipt | All CSE Eligible Families | TANF Cash Assistance | Non-TANF Assistance Only | No Public Assistance |
| TOTAL | 13,382,897 | 1,024,125 | 4,034,277 | 8,324,495 |
| Agreement/Receipt | 5,278,571 | 290,728 | 1,376,646 | 3,611,197 |
| Agreement/No Receipt | 2,871,130 | 311,696 | 973,853 | 1,585,581 |
| No Agreement/Receipt | 427,769 | 69,406 | 159,539 | 198,824 |
| No Agreement/No Receipt | 4,805,427 | 352,294 | 1,524,239 | 2,928,894 |
| IV-D Yes | 8,027,892 | 1,024,125 | 3,740,188 | 3,263,579 |
| Agreement/Receipt | 3,495,255 | 290,728 | 1,297,855 | 1,906,671 |
| Agreement/No Receipt | 1,975,866 | 311,696 | 913,306 | 750,865 |
| No Agreement/Receipt | 272,748 | 69,406 | 152,520 | 50,821 |
| No Agreement/No Receipt | 2,284,023 | 352,294 | 1,376,507 | 555,221 |
| IV-D No | 5,355,005 | 0 | 294,089 | 5,060,916 |
| Agreement/Receipt | 1,783,317 | 0 | 78,791 | 1,704,525 |
| Agreement/No Receipt | 895,263 | 0 | 60,547 | 834,716 |
| No Agreement/Receipt | 155,021 | 0 | 7,019 | 148,002 |
| No Agreement/No Receipt | 2,521,404 | 0 | 147,732 | 2,373,672 |
| PERCENTAGE | ||||
| Agreement/Receipt | All CSE Eligible Families | TANF Cash Assistance | Non-TANF Assistance Only | No Public Assistance |
| TOTAL | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| Agreement/Receipt | 39.4% | 28.4% | 34.1% | 43.4% |
| Agreement/No Receipt | 21.5% | 30.4% | 24.1% | 19.0% |
| No Agreement/Receipt | 3.2% | 6.8% | 4.0% | 2.4% |
| No Agreement/No Receipt | 35.9% | 34.4% | 37.8% | 35.2% |
| IV-D Yes | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| Agreement/Receipt | 43.5% | 28.4% | 34.7% | 58.4% |
| Agreement/No Receipt | 24.6% | 30.4% | 24.4% | 23.0% |
| No Agreement/Receipt | 3.4% | 6.8% | 4.1% | 1.6% |
| No Agreement/No Receipt | 28.5% | 34.4% | 36.8% | 17.0% |
| IV-D No | 100.0% | N/A | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| Agreement/Receipt | 33.3% | N/A | 26.8% | 33.7% |
| Agreement/No Receipt | 16.7% | N/A | 20.6% | 16.5% |
| No Agreement/Receipt | 2.9% | N/A | 2.4% | 2.9% |
| No Agreement/No Receipt | 47.1% | N/A | 50.2% | 46.9% |
| (1) Public assistance is defined as TANF cash asst., Medicaid, food stamps, housing subsidy and/or SSI. | ||||
| SOURCE: CPS/CSS Match File, March/April 2002. | ||||
Subgroup Analysis
Race/Ethnicity
Survey data is the only source of information available to examine child support characteristics that include race and ethnicity. Table 9 provides the subgroup analysis for heads of child support-eligible families by race and ethnicity: non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, and Hispanic origin. The majority of child support-eligible family heads (58 percent) are non-Hispanic white. About one-fourth (24 percent) of families eligible for child support in 2001 were non-Hispanic black, and 14 percent were of Hispanic origin.
Among families receiving IV-D services in 2001, slightly more than half (53 percent) were non-Hispanic white, while 28 percent were non-Hispanic black, and 15 percent were of Hispanic origin. Among all child support eligible families, 36 percent of those receiving TANF public assistance in 2001 were white, 35 percent were non-Hispanic blacks and 22 percent Hispanics. The number of non-Hispanic white custodial parents and non-Hispanic black custodial parents receiving TANF assistance were similar (370,000 compared to 355,000). While Hispanics were fewer in numbers, a similar proportion of Hispanics and non-Hispanic blacks were receiving TANF ( about 11%) and other cash assistance (about forty percent). On average non-Hispanic white families appeared to be doing better economically than non-Hispanic black and Hispanic families. Families headed by non-Hispanic whites made up 58 percent of the entire CSE population but only 42 percent of child support-eligible families in poverty and 35 percent of those in deep poverty (incomes below 50 percent of the poverty level). Additionally, at the other end of the economic spectrum, non-Hispanic white families accounted for 75 percent of all child support-eligible families with incomes above 300 percent of the poverty level.
| CSE Eligible Families | White Non-Hispanic | Black Non-Hispanic | Hispanic | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | |
| Total CSE Eligible Families | 13,382,897 | 100.0% | 7,750,983 | 100.0% | 3,201,874 | 100.0% | 1,968,534 | 100.0% |
| IV-D Participation | ||||||||
| IV-D | 8,027,892 | 60.0% | 4,286,476 | 55.3% | 2,209,864 | 69.0% | 1,261,028 | 64.1% |
| Non IV-D | 5,355,005 | 40.0% | 3,464,507 | 44.7% | 992,011 | 31.0% | 707,506 | 35.9% |
| Public Assistance(1) | ||||||||
| TANF Cash Assistance | 1,024,125 | 7.7% | 370,319 | 4.8% | 354,759 | 11.1% | 242,318 | 12.3% |
| Non-TANF Assistance Only | 4,034,277 | 30.1% | 1,824,847 | 23.5% | 1,327,876 | 41.5% | 741,867 | 37.7% |
| No Public Assistance | 8,324,495 | 62.2% | 5,555,817 | 71.7% | 1,519,239 | 47.4% | 984,350 | 50.0% |
| Type of Public Assistance Received | ||||||||
| TANF | 1,024,125 | 7.7% | 370,319 | 4.8% | 354,759 | 11.1% | 242,318 | 12.3% |
| Medicaid | 4,443,901 | 33.2% | 1,972,678 | 25.5% | 1,431,008 | 44.7% | 869,040 | 44.1% |
| Food Stamps | 2,317,834 | 17.3% | 854,523 | 11.0% | 896,570 | 28.0% | 485,544 | 24.7% |
| Housing Subsidy | 1,469,194 | 11.0% | 488,241 | 6.3% | 701,253 | 21.9% | 248,481 | 12.6% |
| SSI | 713,151 | 5.3% | 269,463 | 3.5% | 265,328 | 8.3% | 133,213 | 6.8% |
| Family Income | ||||||||
| $0 | 313,239 | 2.3% | 132,582 | 1.7% | 98,481 | 3.1% | 68,996 | 3.5% |
| $1 to $5000 | 670,810 | 5.0% | 227,282 | 2.9% | 317,323 | 9.9% | 109,679 | 5.6% |
| $5001 to $10,000 | 951,341 | 7.1% | 395,294 | 5.1% | 344,381 | 10.8% | 182,782 | 9.3% |
| $10,001 to $15,000 | 1,107,819 | 8.3% | 582,674 | 7.5% | 311,638 | 9.7% | 174,693 | 8.9% |
| $15,001 to $20,000 | 1,102,563 | 8.2% | 575,956 | 7.4% | 319,851 | 10.0% | 169,864 | 8.6% |
| $20,001 to $25,000 | 1,073,471 | 8.0% | 544,147 | 7.0% | 254,718 | 8.0% | 209,333 | 10.6% |
| $25,001 to $30,000 | 1,048,736 | 7.8% | 563,317 | 7.3% | 302,824 | 9.5% | 157,800 | 8.0% |
| above $30,000 | 7,114,919 | 53.2% | 4,729,731 | 61.0% | 1,252,658 | 39.1% | 895,386 | 45.5% |
| Income/Poverty Ratio | ||||||||
| <50% of poverty level | 1,485,537 | 11.1% | 516,543 | 6.7% | 623,571 | 19.5% | 305,617 | 15.5% |
| 50 to 99% | 1,645,630 | 12.3% | 791,996 | 10.2% | 483,191 | 15.1% | 300,468 | 15.3% |
| 100 to 149% | 1,743,621 | 13.0% | 887,378 | 11.4% | 481,319 | 15.0% | 308,598 | 15.7% |
| 150 to 199% | 1,596,197 | 11.9% | 858,566 | 11.1% | 415,615 | 13.0% | 254,858 | 12.9% |
| 200 to 249% | 1,572,476 | 11.7% | 898,720 | 11.6% | 366,317 | 11.4% | 238,622 | 12.1% |
| 250 to 299% | 1,332,664 | 10.0% | 811,418 | 10.5% | 309,560 | 9.7% | 181,672 | 9.2% |
| >300% | 4,006,772 | 29.9% | 2,986,361 | 38.5% | 522,303 | 16.3% | 378,699 | 19.2% |
| Gender of CP | ||||||||
| Mothers | 11,291,003 | 84.4% | 6,279,109 | 81.0% | 2,885,426 | 90.1% | 1,729,177 | 87.8% |
| Fathers | 2,091,894 | 15.6% | 1,471,874 | 19.0% | 316,448 | 9.9% | 239,357 | 12.2% |
| Marital Status of CP | ||||||||
| Married | 3,193,799 | 23.9% | 2,290,909 | 29.6% | 351,756 | 11.0% | 469,013 | 23.8% |
| Widowed | 128,557 | 1.0% | 59,121 | 0.8% | 41,406 | 1.3% | 18,877 | 1.0% |
| Divorced | 4,465,847 | 33.4% | 3,203,980 | 41.3% | 638,764 | 19.9% | 435,351 | 22.1% |
| Separated | 1,645,809 | 12.3% | 840,497 | 10.8% | 361,237 | 11.3% | 369,343 | 18.8% |
| Never Married | 3,948,884 | 29.5% | 1,356,476 | 17.5% | 1,808,711 | 56.5% | 675,949 | 34.3% |
| Residence of NCP | ||||||||
| NCP In-state | 10,013,862 | 74.8% | 5,924,077 | 76.4% | 2,365,378 | 73.9% | 1,386,900 | 70.5% |
| NCP Out-of-State | 3,369,035 | 25.2% | 1,826,906 | 23.6% | 836,497 | 26.1% | 581,634 | 29.5% |
| Agreement/Receipt Status | ||||||||
| Total w/ Agreement | 8,149,701 | 60.9% | 5,135,801 | 66.3% | 1,723,450 | 53.8% | 1,033,112 | 52.5% |
| Legal/Informal Agreement in Place | 7,916,402 | 59.2% | 5,026,738 | 64.9% | 1,654,155 | 51.7% | 988,127 | 50.2% |
| Pending Legal Agreement | 233,299 | 1.7% | 109,063 | 1.4% | 69,294 | 2.2% | 44,985 | 2.3% |
| Total w/ Receipt | 5,706,341 | 42.6% | 3,791,274 | 48.9% | 1,039,937 | 32.5% | 725,175 | 36.8% |
| Receipt with support due | 5,119,450 | 38.3% | 3,493,692 | 45.1% | 909,484 | 28.4% | 597,138 | 30.3% |
| (1) Public assistance is defined as TANF cash asst., Medicaid, food stamps, housing subsidy and/or SSI. | ||||||||
| SOURCE: CPS/CSS Match File, March/April 2002. | ||||||||
Families at or Near Poverty
Another subgroup analysis focuses on the outcomes for low-income child support-eligible families. Table 10 shows the characteristics for CSE eligible families with incomes below the federal poverty line, both for all families and by race and ethnicity. Table 11 shows the same characteristics, for CSE eligible families who are poor and near poor (defined as families with incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level).
| Entire Population | White Non-Hispanic | Black Non-Hispanic | Hispanic | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | |
| Total CSE Eligible Families | 3,131,166 | 100.0% | 1,308,539 | 100.0% | 1,106,761 | 100.0% | 606,085 | 100.0% |
| IV-D Participation | ||||||||
| IV-D | 2,616,851 | 83.6% | 1,055,057 | 80.6% | 968,081 | 87.5% | 499,465 | 82.4% |
| Non IV-D | 514,316 | 16.4% | 253,482 | 19.4% | 138,680 | 12.5% | 106,620 | 17.6% |
| Public Assistance(1) | ||||||||
| TANF Cash Assistance | 736,283 | 23.5% | 246,644 | 18.8% | 299,799 | 27.1% | 162,672 | 26.8% |
| Non-TANF Assistance Only | 1,689,169 | 53.9% | 668,835 | 51.1% | 639,998 | 57.8% | 319,087 | 52.6% |
| No Public Assistance | 705,714 | 22.5% | 393,061 | 30.0% | 166,965 | 15.1% | 124,325 | 20.5% |
| Type of Public Assistance Received | ||||||||
| TANF | 736,283 | 23.5% | 246,644 | 18.8% | 299,799 | 27.1% | 162,672 | 26.8% |
| Medicaid | 2,156,527 | 68.9% | 831,623 | 63.6% | 817,964 | 73.9% | 427,090 | 70.5% |
| Food Stamps | 1,641,060 | 52.4% | 580,479 | 44.4% | 673,370 | 60.8% | 328,595 | 54.2% |
| Housing Subsidy | 987,087 | 31.5% | 302,130 | 23.1% | 499,905 | 45.2% | 164,605 | 27.2% |
| SSI | 348,934 | 11.1% | 130,819 | 10.0% | 152,499 | 13.8% | 41,659 | 6.9% |
| Family Income | ||||||||
| $0 | 313,239 | 10.0% | 132,582 | 10.1% | 98,481 | 8.9% | 68,996 | 11.4% |
| $1 to $5000 | 670,810 | 21.4% | 227,282 | 17.4% | 317,323 | 28.7% | 109,679 | 18.1% |
| $5001 to $10,000 | 951,341 | 30.4% | 395,294 | 30.2% | 344,381 | 31.1% | 182,782 | 30.2% |
| $10,001 to $15,000 | 781,637 | 25.0% | 425,375 | 32.5% | 207,793 | 18.8% | 123,335 | 20.3% |
| $15,001 to $20,000 | 272,271 | 8.7% | 97,700 | 7.5% | 94,126 | 8.5% | 67,974 | 11.2% |
| $20,001 to $25,000 | 87,545 | 2.8% | 28,828 | 2.2% | 14,813 | 1.3% | 30,320 | 5.0% |
| $25,001 to $30,000 | 30,008 | 1.0% | 1,479 | 0.1% | 11,014 | 1.0% | 17,516 | 2.9% |
| above $30,000 | 24,314 | 0.8% | 0 | 0.0% | 18,831 | 1.7% | 5,483 | 0.9% |
| Income/Poverty Ratio | ||||||||
| <50% of poverty level | 1,485,537 | 47.4% | 516,543 | 39.5% | 623,571 | 56.3% | 305,617 | 50.4% |
| 50 to 99% | 1,645,630 | 52.6% | 791,996 | 60.5% | 483,191 | 43.7% | 300,468 | 49.6% |
| Gender of CP | ||||||||
| Mothers | 2,823,467 | 90.2% | 1,137,154 | 86.9% | 1,021,682 | 92.3% | 564,146 | 93.1% |
| Fathers | 307,699 | 9.8% | 171,385 | 13.1% | 85,080 | 7.7% | 41,940 | 6.9% |
| Marital Status of CP | ||||||||
| Married | 249,528 | 8.0% | 118,858 | 9.1% | 48,357 | 4.4% | 75,564 | 12.5% |
| Widowed | 26,341 | 0.8% | 8,318 | 0.6% | 3,760 | 0.3% | 9,090 | 1.5% |
| Divorced | 856,206 | 27.3% | 556,938 | 42.6% | 167,446 | 15.1% | 94,907 | 15.7% |
| Separated | 530,064 | 16.9% | 228,409 | 17.5% | 134,898 | 12.2% | 143,238 | 23.6% |
| Never Married | 1,469,027 | 46.9% | 396,016 | 30.3% | 752,301 | 68.0% | 283,286 | 46.7% |
| Residence of NCP | ||||||||
| NCP In-state | 2,361,971 | 75.4% | 999,436 | 76.4% | 871,750 | 78.8% | 405,087 | 66.8% |
| NCP Out-of-State | 769,195 | 24.6% | 309,103 | 23.6% | 235,012 | 21.2% | 200,999 | 33.2% |
| Agreement/Receipt Status | ||||||||
| Total with Agreement | 1,793,785 | 57.3% | 837,379 | 64.0% | 577,349 | 52.2% | 319,486 | 52.7% |
| Legal/Informal Agreement in Place | 1,706,126 | 54.5% | 801,075 | 61.2% | 545,883 | 49.3% | 303,697 | 50.1% |
| Pending Legal Agreement | 87,659 | 2.8% | 36,304 | 2.8% | 31,466 | 2.8% | 15,788 | 2.6% |
| Total w/ Receipt | 1,151,746 | 36.8% | 582,613 | 44.5% | 294,706 | 26.6% | 230,844 | 38.1% |
| Receipt with support due | 962,547 | 30.7% | 500,554 | 38.3% | 249,129 | 22.5% | 184,367 | 30.4% |
| (1) Public assistance is defined as TANF cash asst., Medicaid, food stamps, housing subsidy and/or SSI. | ||||||||
| SOURCE: CPS/CSS Match File, March/April 2002. | ||||||||
| Entire Population | White Non-Hispanic | Black Non-Hispanic | Hispanic | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | |
| Total CSE Eligible Families | 6,470,985 | 100.0% | 3,054,483 | 100.0% | 2,003,695 | 100.0% | 1,169,541 | 100.0% |
| IV-D Participation | ||||||||
| IV-D | 4,818,887 | 74.5% | 2,215,986 | 72.5% | 1,556,010 | 77.7% | 860,949 | 73.6% |
| Non IV-D | 1,652,098 | 25.5% | 838,497 | 27.5% | 447,684 | 22.3% | 308,591 | 26.4% |
| Public Assistance(1) | ||||||||
| TANF Cash Assistance | 939,143 | 14.5% | 337,361 | 11.0% | 334,831 | 16.7% | 221,071 | 18.9% |
| Non-TANF Assistance Only | 3,081,802 | 47.6% | 1,346,175 | 44.1% | 1,064,448 | 53.1% | 562,538 | 48.1% |
| No Public Assistance | 2,450,040 | 37.9% | 1,370,947 | 44.9% | 604,416 | 30.2% | 385,932 | 33.0% |
| Type of Public Assistance Received | ||||||||
| TANF | 939,143 | 14.5% | 337,361 | 11.0% | 334,831 | 16.7% | 221,071 | 18.9% |
| Medicaid | 3,555,401 | 54.9% | 1,528,423 | 50.0% | 1,198,466 | 59.8% | 691,025 | 59.1% |
| Food Stamps | 2,176,259 | 33.6% | 795,292 | 26.0% | 852,982 | 42.6% | 451,405 | 38.6% |
| Housing Subsidy | 1,349,054 | 20.8% | 442,456 | 14.5% | 650,956 | 32.5% | 227,302 | 19.4% |
| SSI | 549,553 | 8.5% | 197,499 | 6.5% | 229,150 | 11.4% | 88,809 | 7.6% |
| Family Income | ||||||||
| $0 | 313,239 | 4.8% | 132,582 | 4.3% | 98,481 | 4.9% | 68,996 | 5.9% |
| $1 to $5000 | 670,810 | 10.4% | 227,282 | 7.4% | 317,323 | 15.8% | 109,679 | 9.4% |
| $5001 to $10,000 | 951,341 | 14.7% | 395,294 | 12.9% | 344,381 | 17.2% | 182,782 | 15.6% |
| $10,001 to $15,000 | 1,107,819 | 17.1% | 582,674 | 19.1% | 311,638 | 15.6% | 174,693 | 14.9% |
| $15,001 to $20,000 | 1,102,563 | 17.0% | 575,956 | 18.9% | 319,851 | 16.0% | 169,864 | 14.5% |
| $20,001 to $25,000 | 994,937 | 15.4% | 498,939 | 16.3% | 237,920 | 11.9% | 197,976 | 16.9% |
| $25,001 to $30,000 | 593,843 | 9.2% | 259,312 | 8.5% | 200,254 | 10.0% | 119,292 | 10.2% |
| above $30,000 | 736,433 | 11.4% | 382,443 | 12.5% | 173,846 | 8.7% | 146,258 | 12.5% |
| Income/Poverty Ratio | ||||||||
| <50% of poverty level | 1,485,537 | 23.0% | 516,543 | 16.9% | 623,571 | 31.1% | 305,617 | 26.1% |
| 50 to 99% | 1,645,630 | 25.4% | 791,996 | 25.9% | 483,191 | 24.1% | 300,468 | 25.7% |
| 100 to 149% | 1,743,621 | 26.9% | 887,378 | 29.1% | 481,319 | 24.0% | 308,598 | 26.4% |
| 150 to 199% | 1,596,197 | 24.7% | 858,566 | 28.1% | 415,615 | 20.7% | 254,858 | 21.8% |
| Gender of CP | ||||||||
| Mothers | 5,767,014 | 89.1% | 2,629,779 | 86.1% | 1,854,838 | 92.6% | 1,063,853 | 91.0% |
| Fathers | 703,971 | 10.9% | 424,704 | 13.9% | 148,857 | 7.4% | 105,688 | 9.0% |
| Marital Status of CP | ||||||||
| Married | 861,495 | 13.3% | 545,860 | 17.9% | 116,419 | 5.8% | 178,373 | 15.3% |
| Widowed | 47,924 | 0.7% | 11,017 | 0.4% | 22,643 | 1.1% | 9,090 | 0.8% |
| Divorced | 1,966,354 | 30.4% | 1,274,054 | 41.7% | 358,735 | 17.9% | 222,833 | 19.1% |
| Separated | 970,525 | 15.0% | 411,179 | 13.5% | 248,030 | 12.4% | 277,885 | 23.8% |
| Never Married | 2,624,687 | 40.6% | 812,372 | 26.6% | 1,257,867 | 62.8% | 481,360 | 41.2% |
| Residence of NCP | ||||||||
| NCP In-state | 4,779,495 | 73.9% | 2,293,037 | 75.1% | 1,532,607 | 76.5% | 774,353 | 66.2% |
| NCP Out-of-State | 1,691,490 | 26.1% | 761,446 | 24.9% | 471,087 | 23.5% | 395,188 | 33.8% |
| Agreement/Receipt Status | ||||||||
| Total with Agreement | 3,756,253 | 58.0% | 1,965,394 | 64.3% | 1,053,101 | 52.6% | 598,044 | 51.1% |
| Legal/Informal Agreement in Place | 3,616,917 | 55.9% | 1,902,146 | 62.3% | 1,003,369 | 50.1% | 578,820 | 49.5% |
| Pending Legal Agreement | 139,336 | 2.2% | 63,248 | 2.1% | 49,732 | 2.5% | 19,223 | 1.6% |
| Total w/ Receipt | 2,490,278 | 38.5% | 1,398,878 | 45.8% | 589,956 | 29.4% | 423,207 | 36.2% |
| Receipt with support due | 2,146,855 | 33.2% | 1,242,450 | 40.7% | 502,422 | 25.1% | 342,346 | 29.3% |
| (1) Public assistance is defined as TANF cash asst., Medicaid, food stamps, housing subsidy and/or SSI. | ||||||||
| SOURCE: CPS/CSS Match File, March/April 2002. | ||||||||
In 2001, 3.1 million child support-eligible families, or 23 percent of the total population of families eligible for child support, had incomes below the federal poverty line. An additional 25 percent of families had incomes between 100 percent and 200 percent of poverty. In total about one-half of child support-eligible families had income that placed the family either at or near poverty. Poor families were much more likely than the general population of child support-eligible families to receive IV-D services. About 84 percent of poor child support-eligible families were in the IV-D system in 2001, compared to 53percent of non-poor child support-eligible families.
Poor families generally fared worse than all child support-eligible families across a number of outcomes. Poor custodial parents were more likely to be never married than other child support-eligible families. In addition, child support-eligible families who were poor were slightly less likely than families with incomes above the poverty line to have a child support award in place or be receiving child support. However, poor families were no more likely than all child support eligible families to have the non-custodial parent living in a different state (26%).
Limitations and Sensitivity to Changes in Assumptions
A variety of limitations exist in this study. One of the most crucial limitation lies in the definition of the IV-D population. Since there is no direct question on the April CSS survey regarding receipt of IV-D services, this number had to be estimated through the use of variables from both the March and April surveys. Changing some of the assumptions used in constructing the IV-D population could significantly affect its size and its interaction with the various characteristics. For example, former TANF families who do not report contact with the IV-D program could be erroneously identified as being outside the IV-D service population even if, based on their former welfare status, they are still receiving services. The use of "family" variables from the CPS, which include only the family and related subfamilies, may also affect the data.
Unlike the previous reports on the circumstances of this population, this report uses data from a period several years after the implementation of the TANF program. In fact, while comparisons over time have to be made with care due to revisions made by the Census Bureau to the CPS/CSS data file over the time period covered by these surveys, there has been a reduction in the percentage of child support-eligible families receiving TANF cash assistance. Since, according to the assumptions of this analysis, receipt of cash assistance is one of the variables that places families in the "receiving IV-D category", this reduction has led to a subsequent decline in the percentage of families receiving IV-D services between 1995 and 2001.
Technical Appendix
This appendix explains the process used to estimate the child support-eligible population, IV-D population, and various characteristics within this analysis. The choice of variables represents a "best guess" of the IV-D population and their receipt of TANF and other public assistance. If some of the assumptions made in the development of this analysis were changed, it would clearly have an effect on the findings cited in this document.
Child Support-Eligible Population
The number of child support-eligible families was determined by PRSELIG, a recoded variable on the April CSS. This recode designates that a parent is eligible to be asked the questions on the CSS; that is, they are a custodial parent with an own child under age twenty-one living in the household whose other parent is absent from the household.
IV-D Population
This number had to be estimated through the use of variables from both the March and April surveys. Four questions from the April CSS were used:
- PES400: If the respondent reported ever having contacted a child support enforcement or IV-D office, a department of social services, a welfare office, or any state or local government agency about anything to do with child support, than he/she was included.
- PES401: If the respondent reported ever having been contacted by one of these agencies about anything to do with child support, then he/she was included.
- PES300: Individuals were asked if the non-custodial parent was supposed to make any payments for their child between January 1 and December 31, 2001. If the respondent answered that they didn't know because the Child Support Enforcement Office had filed the paperwork, then he/she was included.
- PES303: Individuals were asked how payments were supposed to be sent to them. If the respondent replied that payments were to be sent by a child support, welfare, or other public agency, then he/she was included.
In addition, all families in which income was received from TANF or in which either the parent or child was covered by Medicaid were included in the estimation of the IV-D caseload. These families were designated by the March CPS variables FINC_PAW (family income received from public assistance or other welfare) and MCAID (the parent or child was covered by Medicaid). This assumption was made because of the child support enforcement cooperation requirements that are part of the regulations guiding those programs.
Public Assistance Variables
With one exception, family variables from the March CPS were used to determine receipt of public assistance of child support-eligible families (see explanation of Census definition of "family", below). Participation in five different public assistance programs was estimated:
- TANF: The variable FINC_PAW was used to determine if the child support-eligible family received any income from a cash assistance or welfare program.
- Medicaid: This was the only variable in which full family receipt was not used as the definition of coverage. The person variable MCAID was pulled out of the March questionnaire. A positive answer to this question meant that the mother was covered by Medicaid. Next, the variable FAMCAID was constructed with data from the related subfamily. The family sequence (FH_SEQ) and family position (FF_POS) variables were used to differentiate the child from the other members of the immediate family. Finally, MCAID was used to gather the child support-eligible children covered by Medicaid whose custodial parents were not covered. The covered parents and covered children were combined into the dummy variable FAMCAID. Note that while the parents of child-only Medicaid cases are not technically required by federal statutes to cooperate child support enforcement, many states have policies (or had policies in 2001) that encourage cooperation with the IV-D agency if any member of the family is receiving Medicaid.
- Food Stamps: The family variable F_MV_FS, denoting the total value of the family's food stamps, was pulled from the March CPS. A dummy variable, FSFLG, was then constructed, with a value of one indicating that the amount of food stamps the family received was greater than zero.
- Housing Subsidies: The family variable HOUSSUB shows that the family is receiving some value of housing subsidy, including housing assistance or public housing. This variable was used to construct the dummy HOUSFLG, with a value of one denoting that the family received some amount of housing subsidy in 2001.
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI): The family variable FINC_SSI was used to determine if the child support-eligible family received any income from the SSI program in 2001.
After these variables were estimated and run against the various characteristics, they were condensed into three categories: families receiving cash benefits under the TANF program, families using other means-tested non-cash public assistance programs, and families that reported no public assistance usage during 2001. Families receiving other public assistance were defined as those families with positive responses to any of the non-cash public assistance categories but that received no income from the TANF program. Families receiving no public assistance were defined as those with negative responses to each of the five public assistance categories.
Income Variables
Family income and poverty values were drawn from the March CPS. The Census definition of "family" includes the immediate family of the respondent as well as any related subfamilies in the same household. It excludes unrelated subfamilies living within the same household. For example, if a custodial mother lived with her two parents in 2001, the incomes of both the mother and her parents would be included when determining the family income. If the custodial mother instead lived with a friend of the family, her income alone would determine the family income.
The March variables FTOTVAL and POVLL were used to produce the family income and the ratio of family income to the poverty level, respectively. Two new variables, FAMINC and POVRATIO, were constructed to develop the ranges of income and ratios of income to poverty that are seen in Tables 3, 4A, and 4B.
Demographic Variables
The person-level variables A_SEX and A_MARITL were drawn from the March survey to determine the gender and marital status of the custodial parent. A_MARITL was then slightly modified, condensing different classifications of currently married custodial parents. This new variable, MARITAL, produced the five categories of marital status used in this piece. These two demographic characteristics of the child support-eligible, IV-D, and non IV-D populations are shown in Tables 5 and 6.
Another demographic variable used was the residence of the noncustodial parent relative to the custodial parent. In question PES601 of the April supplement, the custodial parent is asked if the noncustodial parent lives in a different state. The respondent's answer to this question was used to determine his/her classification in one of the two categories in Table 7.
Agreement/Receipt Status
Finally, several variables from the April supplemental survey were used to determine the child support status of the child support-eligible population. The first were PRCSREC and PRTYPAWD, recodes denoting the amount of child support received and the type of child support agreement. If the family received a positive amount of child support in 2001, then they were given a value of one in the new dummy variable RECEIPT. If the family had an award in the form of a legal agreement, pending legal agreement, or informal agreement, then were given a value of one in the new dummy variable AWARD. AWARD was then run in a simple cross tab against RECEIPT to produce the four categories in Table 8.
Subgroup Analysis on Race and Ethnicity
The subgroup analysis looked at the child support-eligible families by race and ethnicity. This information was gathered from the March CPS person-level variables A_RACE and A_REORGN. In this analysis, race and ethnicity were treated as mutually exclusive categories. Individuals were categorized, based on their responses to the variables A_RACE and A_REORGN, by identifying all Hispanics first, so Hispanic may be of race, and then from the remaining non-Hispanic respondents identifying those who identified themselves as only White or only Black. This process created the three mutually exclusive categories of “White-non-Hispanic”, “Black-non-Hispanic” and “Hispanic (of any race).” The sample size for other race groups is quite small and the year to year variation quite large and, therefore, they were not considered appropriate for inclusion. The residual category “all others” is not shown.
Endnotes
1 This report uses the terms custodial parent to reflect the parent with whom the child/children usually reside. The other parent is referred to as the non-custodial parent. It should be understood by the reader that both parents may have legal custody and that physical custody or parenting time may be shared as well. Custodial parents and non-custodial parents may be of either gender, but because the majority of custodial parents are female, custodial parents are usually referred to as “she” and non-custodial parents as “he”.