About $2 billion in child support payments never make it to the intended families as the government takes a vig from money winding its way through the system.
“More than $2 billion in child support is intercepted each year in the United States” reported Lynne Haney, a professor at New York University, and Aunray Sanford, a youth specialist at ManUp! Inc. and a formerly incarcerated father of two. Both are researchers at NYU's Prison Education Program Research Lab.
In New York, $112 million never makes it to children, they said, leaving disadvantaged families without support they need, while fathers making payments fall deeper into debt.
When families turn to public assistance — from Family Assistance to Medicaid to foster care to (in some states) food stamps — they must file a child support order, according to the researchers in a recent op-ed. Half of all child support cases involve some form of public assistance. The cost of those benefits is then billed to noncustodial parents as child support. Mothers have no right to this support. Some states “pass through” a small amount of these payments to families, but are not required to do so. Instead, the state takes this money to settle a debt, leaving families unsupported.
Payback provisions have been part of the U.S. child support program since its inception. But 1996 federal welfare reform legislation bolstered collections. Support debt surged from $49 billion in 1997 to $116 billion in 2021, with 70 percent of it owed by parents who earn less than $15,000 per year. In New York, these parents owe $7 billion. When they find a way to pay, the funds are often intercepted by federal, state, and local governments before reaching families — seizures justified as a way to get tough on absentee dads.
“Our research finds that few New York parents know this is happening,” Haney and Sanford said. “Most fathers assume their payments go to mothers; most mothers assume fathers aren’t paying. Family conflict escalates as parents blame each other for not supporting their kids. When they learn of the payout chain, some fathers pay mothers directly, which angers court officials.”
The second form of state debt is interest charges. Most states subject support debt to 2-12 percent compound interest. New York’s 9 percent rate causes debt to accumulate so rapidly it becomes impossible to pay back, according to the researchers.
State officials insist that interest pushes fathers to pay their debts faster. But fathers must be able to repay those debts. Few can. “We’ve found that most indebted fathers don’t understand why their debt keeps growing, even as they make payments on it. They often respond by withdrawing from the process, and their kids’ lives, out of frustration and guilt,” they said, urging New York to change its payback policies and pass through 100 percent of payments to parents as is done in California and Colorado. They can also waive the interest rate, especially for impoverished parents and those with histories of incarceration. New Jersey recently set its interest rate at zero, joining states like Mississippi and Louisiana. Existing interest debt should be canceled, making repayment within parents’ reach and more money within families’ reach.
“Ending these predatory state practices would prioritize the well-being of New York families. Our social safety net should not have a payback price tag. It should be there to catch families that need it.”