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Characteristics of Families Using Title IV-D Services in 1999 and 2001

Publication Date

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
TABLE 1:
THE POPULATION OF CSE ELIGIBLE FAMILIES: 2001
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
TABLE 2:
RECEIPT OF PUBLIC ASSISTANCE(1) OF CSE ELIGIBLE FAMILIES: 2001
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.

TABLE 3:
FAMILY INCOME LEVEL & RECEIPT OF PUBLIC ASSISTANCE(1)
OF CSE ELIGIBLE FAMILIES: 2001
  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
TABLE 4A:
POVERTY THRESHOLDS, BY FAMILY SIZE: 2001
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.

TABLE 4B:
RATIO OF FAMILY INCOME TO POVERTY LEVEL & RECEIPT OF PUBLIC ASSISTANCE(1)
FOR CSE ELIGIBLE FAMILIES: 2001
  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.

TABLE 5:
GENDER OF CUSTODIAL PARENT & RECEIPT OF PUBLIC ASSISTANCE(1)
OF CSE ELIGIBLE FAMILIES: 2001
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.

TABLE 6:
MARITAL STATUS OF CUSTODIAL PARENT & RECEIPT OF PUBLIC ASSISTANCE(1)
OF CSE ELIGIBLE FAMILIES: 2001
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).

TABLE 7:
RESIDENCE OF NON-CUSTODIAL PARENT & RECEIPT OF PUBLIC ASSISTANCE(1)
OF CSE ELIGIBLE FAMILIES: 2001
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).

TABLE 8:
AGREEMENT/RECEIPT STATUS & RECEIPT OF PUBLIC ASSISTANCE(1)
OF CSE ELIGIBLE FAMILIES: 2001
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.

TABLE 9:
CSE ELIGIBLE FAMILIES BY RACE: 2001
  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).

TABLE 10:
CSE ELIGIBLE FAMILIES BELOW FPL BY RACE: 2001
  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.
TABLE 11:
CSE ELIGIBLE FAMILIES BELOW 200% FPL BY RACE: 2001
  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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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”.

Populations
Families with Children