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Child Support

The Child Support Program, enacted in 1975 as Part D of Title IV of the Social Security Act (P.L. 93-647), is one of the largest income support programs in the country, serving more children than the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Social Security combined. It is open to all children living apart from a parent. Child support services include locating noncustodial parents, establishing paternity, establishing and enforcing support orders, modifying orders when appropriate, and collecting and disbursing child support payments. Through the collection and disbursement of payments, the program facilitates the transfer of private income between parents to strengthen the financial well-being of children, thus reducing government costs.

Given its wide reach and interaction with both mothers and fathers, child support is uniquely positioned to support family formation and stability, promote noncustodial parents’ emotional and financial involvement, and link parents to other types of family strengthening services. Healthy relationships between parents, and between parent and child, are vitally important for both child well-being and stable child support payments.

This webpage includes links to materials ASPE has produced on child support policy and its intersection with related and emerging issue areas. To receive updates when new products come out, email Sofi Martinez at sofi.martinez@hhs.gov.

RELEASED PRODUCTS

Research Agenda
ASPE, in collaboration with the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), laid out policy research questions to be explored over the next ten years, based on perspectives from policymakers, researchers, and practitioners in the field. The culminating agenda is accompanied by a podcast discussion with child support professionals and researchers.

Child Support Cooperation Requirements
For some public programs, states must require cooperation with child support as a condition of eligibility. For other public programs, states have the option to require cooperation with child support. There is limited research on the impact of child support cooperation requirements on child support outcomes. ASPE has produced several analyses to examine the current policy landscape and provide context for policy conversations.

Research and Analysis
ASPE uses the research agenda to guide new analyses that build the child support evidence base and explore emerging and pressing policy issues

This work is built on ASPE’s rich history of analysis on child support policy and the intersection with fatherhood issues. A few key products include:

Research Grants
Through ASPE’s National Poverty Center Cooperative Agreement, five research projects were funded to examine potential policy or programmatic implications for the child support enforcement program at the federal, state, or local level.