In most states in America, child support doesn’t actually go to children. Particularly when they are being raised in low-income families.
Confused? You’re not alone. Many people have no clue how the child support and public assistance systems operate.
The first thing to know: If you are a custodial parent (a majority of whom are mothers) and apply for public assistance (most commonly Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF), you are required by federal law to file a child support order.
“There is no choice for either parent,” says Jhumpa Bhattacharya, vice president for programs and strategy at the Insight Center for Community Economic Development. “For the custodial parent, you lose your much-needed benefits if you don’t comply. For the noncustodial parent, an order is set sometimes without your knowledge, and often not based on your actual economic situation, or an understanding of how you may be contributing in nonfinancial ways.” “What if you provide child care?” she asks. “Buy diapers or clothing regularly? Those things don’t count.”
In fact, despite the “deadbeat dad” stereotype often pinned on whole categories of nonwhite men by racist politicians, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that black fathers actually spend more time feeding, dressing, playing with and reading to their children — whether they live under the same roof or apart — than fathers of other races.
But there’s more: When applying for public assistance, the custodial parent is required to give up the right to receive the child support payments. They go directly to the state, which, depending on its policies, either keeps it all or passes through a percentage of it. What happens next varies from state to state. Let’s say that the father actually sends the state his child support payment (the Office of Child Support Enforcement in the federal Department of Health and Human Services says only 66 percent of support due in the 2018 fiscal year was collected). In more than half of the states, all of that money essentially disappears, at least as far as poor families are concerned; it’s absorbed into the system, seen as “payback” for the welfare system that is supporting the child.
In other states, a state child support payment, usually around $50 and amounting to a small portion of what a parent paid in, is passed on to the child and his or her family. The rest, again, is absorbed by the state. Only two states — Colorado and Minnesota — pass the full amount of the support through to the custodial parent and child.
Another twist: In some states, that $50 is counted as income, and can push the custodial parent, usually a mother struggling to make ends meet, out of the range of eligibility for TANF entirely. (In other states, the “pass-through” money, as it’s known, is not counted as income.)
To look up your state, see here.
Now what happens if the noncustodial parent can’t pay?
A domino effect of penalties — again, varying from state to state — is set into motion. If the noncustodial parent, usually a father, is employed, his paycheck can be garnished. If he has a driver’s license, it can be taken away. Debt accrues. His credit score plummets. In many states, he is charged interest on the debt; in California, for example, that rate is 10 percent.
For many noncustodial parents, these penalties are economically cataclysmic. Many can’t get to work because of transportation barriers. Others have trouble securing housing because of low credit scores and end up homeless. Some work off the books in hopes of supporting themselves and their children directly, rather than seeing money go to the state. Keep in mind that many are already challenged by the stigma of having a criminal record or having been incarcerated.
The impacts are also emotional. Studies show that when fathers owe child support they have significantly less contact with their children, and when they do interact with them, they are less effective parents. Debt also leads to decreased mental and physical health and worsens family relationships.
“I have seen so many fathers cycle in and out of depression and anxiety as they battle systemic oppression and try to maintain relationships with their kids,” Charles Daniels, a therapist and the founder of a Boston-based nonprofit called Fathers’ UpLift, has written. His organization operated the country’s first mental health and substance abuse treatment facility specifically for absentee fathers and families.
Another cruel reality of the system: Even if the custodial parent manages to get off welfare, the noncustodial parent continues to get bills from the state. In fact, national data indicates that a majority of “payback” payments come from parents whose families no longer receive public assistance.
by Coutney E. Martin, NY Times | Read more:
Image: Kameleon007/iStock, via Getty Images Plus
Confused? You’re not alone. Many people have no clue how the child support and public assistance systems operate.
The first thing to know: If you are a custodial parent (a majority of whom are mothers) and apply for public assistance (most commonly Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF), you are required by federal law to file a child support order.
“There is no choice for either parent,” says Jhumpa Bhattacharya, vice president for programs and strategy at the Insight Center for Community Economic Development. “For the custodial parent, you lose your much-needed benefits if you don’t comply. For the noncustodial parent, an order is set sometimes without your knowledge, and often not based on your actual economic situation, or an understanding of how you may be contributing in nonfinancial ways.” “What if you provide child care?” she asks. “Buy diapers or clothing regularly? Those things don’t count.”In fact, despite the “deadbeat dad” stereotype often pinned on whole categories of nonwhite men by racist politicians, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that black fathers actually spend more time feeding, dressing, playing with and reading to their children — whether they live under the same roof or apart — than fathers of other races.
But there’s more: When applying for public assistance, the custodial parent is required to give up the right to receive the child support payments. They go directly to the state, which, depending on its policies, either keeps it all or passes through a percentage of it. What happens next varies from state to state. Let’s say that the father actually sends the state his child support payment (the Office of Child Support Enforcement in the federal Department of Health and Human Services says only 66 percent of support due in the 2018 fiscal year was collected). In more than half of the states, all of that money essentially disappears, at least as far as poor families are concerned; it’s absorbed into the system, seen as “payback” for the welfare system that is supporting the child.
In other states, a state child support payment, usually around $50 and amounting to a small portion of what a parent paid in, is passed on to the child and his or her family. The rest, again, is absorbed by the state. Only two states — Colorado and Minnesota — pass the full amount of the support through to the custodial parent and child.
Another twist: In some states, that $50 is counted as income, and can push the custodial parent, usually a mother struggling to make ends meet, out of the range of eligibility for TANF entirely. (In other states, the “pass-through” money, as it’s known, is not counted as income.)
To look up your state, see here.
Now what happens if the noncustodial parent can’t pay?
A domino effect of penalties — again, varying from state to state — is set into motion. If the noncustodial parent, usually a father, is employed, his paycheck can be garnished. If he has a driver’s license, it can be taken away. Debt accrues. His credit score plummets. In many states, he is charged interest on the debt; in California, for example, that rate is 10 percent.
For many noncustodial parents, these penalties are economically cataclysmic. Many can’t get to work because of transportation barriers. Others have trouble securing housing because of low credit scores and end up homeless. Some work off the books in hopes of supporting themselves and their children directly, rather than seeing money go to the state. Keep in mind that many are already challenged by the stigma of having a criminal record or having been incarcerated.
The impacts are also emotional. Studies show that when fathers owe child support they have significantly less contact with their children, and when they do interact with them, they are less effective parents. Debt also leads to decreased mental and physical health and worsens family relationships.
“I have seen so many fathers cycle in and out of depression and anxiety as they battle systemic oppression and try to maintain relationships with their kids,” Charles Daniels, a therapist and the founder of a Boston-based nonprofit called Fathers’ UpLift, has written. His organization operated the country’s first mental health and substance abuse treatment facility specifically for absentee fathers and families.
Another cruel reality of the system: Even if the custodial parent manages to get off welfare, the noncustodial parent continues to get bills from the state. In fact, national data indicates that a majority of “payback” payments come from parents whose families no longer receive public assistance.
by Coutney E. Martin, NY Times | Read more:
Image: Kameleon007/iStock, via Getty Images Plus
