Child Support in the United States: The Experience in Colorado

Abstract

This article reports on the results of a telephone survey conducted with a random sample of households screenedfor eligibility to receive child support in the state of Colorado. Despite the recent enactment of ambitious child legislation at the state and federal levels, the accounts of 731 custodial parents reveal a massive level of unmet need, with child support problems being most extreme for those never married to the child's other parent. These mothers typically lack an order establishing a legal obligation to pay child support and have incomes that fall below the poverty level. Overall, women of Colorado with child support orders received only about half of the support they were due, and 73 per cent of all women due support reported thar they had experienced problems in collecting support either currently or in the past. The average amount of back due child support owed to the 6Oper cent of women in the sample who reported an arrearage was $12,000. Analysis revealed that payment behaviour tracked with the length of time since separation with payment patterns worsening over time and irregular visitation a d o r the presence of problem amund child access. Female obligors exhibited the same paymentpatterns as their male counterparts but were more apt to maintain visitation. The article documents the dramatic, negative economic consequences of irregular or missing child support payments for custodial parents, and discusses the additional legal and financial commitments needed to improve the situation. The efficacy of private child support transfers to achieve an adequate standard of living for all children is called into question.

Primero tienen que aparecer: Cómo Dads Back! Academy involucró exitosamente en un programa de parentalidad positiva a padres encarcelados

“…When this data was shared with program staff, they attributed their success to teamwork and good staff communication. Committed and dedicated staff who are familiar with community resources has been noted as essential to the success of fatherhood programs (Pearson et al, 2000). This consistency in program services and content was likely an important background factor in the ability of the program to recruit and retain participants.…”

“…It was comprehensive, and beyond what the residential centers could accomplish on their own, making Dads Back! a good match for parolees in residential programs; at the end of their stay, a program that included job preparation, fatherhood and relationship skills was well timed and was also seen as relevant by parolees (Pearson, 2000;Stahlschmidt et al, 2013). Key to successful recruitment was that multiple strategies were necessary to get sufficient number of participants each month, as recommended in the research (Friend & Paulsell, 2020;Pearson, 2000).…”

“…a good match for parolees in residential programs; at the end of their stay, a program that included job preparation, fatherhood and relationship skills was well timed and was also seen as relevant by parolees (Pearson, 2000;Stahlschmidt et al, 2013). Key to successful recruitment was that multiple strategies were necessary to get sufficient number of participants each month, as recommended in the research (Friend & Paulsell, 2020;Pearson, 2000). Networking with nearby residential programs that housed parolees who were at a stage in which they could participate in Dads Back!…”

“…Networking with nearby residential programs that housed parolees who were at a stage in which they could participate in Dads Back! was effective (Friend & Paulsell, 2020;Obure et al, 2020;Pearson et al, 2000). Eight different recruitment strategies (three of which were residential centers) were identified, requiring the outreach coordinator to regularly network with each one, as well as hold weekly orientation events both onsite and in the community.…”

“…Eight different recruitment strategies (three of which were residential centers) were identified, requiring the outreach coordinator to regularly network with each one, as well as hold weekly orientation events both onsite and in the community. This labor-intensive nature of recruitment was also effective (Friend & Paulsell, 2020;Pearson et al, 2000). Staff…”