For Our Kids: The Importance of Effective and Sufficient Child Support

For Our Kids: The Importance of Effective and Sufficient Child Support

This post is related to prefiled bill BR 65 in the Kentucky Legislature

Contributed by Erik L. Carlton, M.S., Project Director—Bluegrass Healthy Marriage Initiative, University of Kentucky Department of Family Studies

1. On average, only 56% of the child support payments due to families are actually being made.
2. Child support is critical to economic stability for moderate and low income families.
3. Child support is linked to several positive outcomes for children such as cognitive development, academic achievement, and fewer behavior problems.
4. Effective child support enforcement increases child support payments and nonresidential parent involvement.

The Kentucky Division of Child Support Enforcement (CSE; Cabinet for Health and Family Services) holds that, “Every child has a legal right to financial support from both parents.” (CHFS, 2008). Yet according to data from CSE, for the past five years only an average of 56% payments due are actually made, accounting for $388 million of the $693 million in child support obligations owed each year. This varies by county, but is below the national average (60%). While the reasons for this payment shortfall are multi-faceted, it is clear that children in Kentucky are not receiving the financial child support they need. This has important implications for child well-being because:

· The number of single parent families is increasing across the nation. Single parent families experience financial hardships because welfare does not provide adequate income (Cook et al., 2008; Huang, 2005).
· Stirling and Aldrich (2008) have shown that, compared to well-being when intact, well-being for mothers and children dropped 37%, but only 16% for fathers. Additionally, 73% of low income single mothers and children live in poverty, compared to 28% of low income fathers.
· Child support is a critical source of income and economic stability for moderate- and low-income families (Center for Law & Social Policy, 2004).
· Single parent families, especially single mothers and their children experience social exclusion and societal marginalization (Cook & Marjoribanks, 2005).
· Child support is linked to several positives child outcomes such cognitive development (Argys et al., 1998), as well as academic achievement in older children and fewer behavioral problems (Knox, 1996; Graham, et al., 1994; Knox & Bane, 1994; and McLanahan et al. 1994).
· Father involvement is strongly correlated and child support payment is potentially correlated with lower food insecurity in homes of single mothers (Garasky, 2007).
· Effective child support enforcement policies and programs have been shown to significantly increase child support payments and nonresidential parent involvement (Huang, 2006)
· Regular support reduces poverty and welfare use, and increases child well-being (Turetsky, 2005).
· Because domestic violence has such serious effects on victims’ economic security and ability to provide for themselves, providing child support for victims of domestic violence is especially important in enabling victims to achieve and maintain independence from their abusive spouses/partners (Yearwood et al., 2008; McGee, 2004; Rusbult & Martz, 1995; Strube & Barbour, 1983).

With these statistics and study findings in mind, it seems important that we address ways to increase both the financial (monetary) and positive emotional (nonmonetary) involvement of parents in the lives of their children. The University of Kentucky Bluegrass Healthy Marriage Initiative (BHMI; http://www.bluegrassmarriage.org/) is currently working with CSE to encourage responsible parental involvement in the lives of children through the formation and maintenance of healthy marriages and the support of healthy co-parenting relationships.

Please contact Derek Feldman for a full list of references if interested.

Recommendations to prevent childhood obesity

Practical recommendations for policy-makers to help prevent childhood obesity

1. Increasing access to parks and recreation centers
2. Improving safety for bicyclists and pedestrians
3. Offering healthier foods in schools
4. Attracting grocery stores that provide healthy, affordable foods to lower-income communities

Childhood obesity is a serious problem facing our Kentucky counties and the entire U.S. Leadership for Healthy Communities, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has created the Action Strategies Toolkit to provide guidance to policy-makers. The toolkit offers practical examples, including increasing access to parks and recreation centers, improving safety for bicyclists and pedestrians, offering healthier foods in schools, and attracting grocery stores that provide healthy, affordable foods to lower-income communities.

Download full toolkit and executive summary at http://www.rwjf.org/childhoodobesity/product.jsp?id=42514