Income Support Policy and the U.S. Child Support System

This paper examines the economic profile of custodial and noncustodial parents and the status of the federal/state child support enforcement system. It discusses the reasons for the historically low rate of child support collection; the prospects for new computerized systems to improve the rates of both paternities established and payments collected; ways the system can sustain funding; and the extent to which child support payments can improve the well-being of low-income families