NCJ Number
76307
Journal
Juvenile and Family Court Journal Volume: 32 Issue: 1 Dated: (February-March 1981) Pages: 3-7
Date Published
1981
Length
5 pages
Annotation
A new program, initiated in 1975, is described for its success in collecting support for children from their neglectful parents, but high case loads are a problem.
Abstract
As a result of a new law enacted in 1975 prosecutors must attempt to locate the absent parents in every welfare case and enforce their child support obligations. Programs based on this law have been very successful. For example, in 1979 more than $1.5 billion has been collected. Among the methods used to collect child support is the jailing of neglectful parents, which has proved to goad many other parents to pay, and midnight raids on absent parents covered by the mass media. However, the program shows universally high caseloads, lack of manpower, and inconstant court decisions. For example, San Diego County, Calif., has had 76,000 pending child support cases at the time of this publication. A study conducted at the University of Michigan indicates that areas which collect the most child support are better organized; that the larger the population, the larger the problems; and that some jurisdictions, such as New York, suffer from a lack of coordination among the courts. The study also shows that high collections depend little on the unemployment level. For example, Michigan, with one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation, has one of the highest collection rates. However, the main cause of the problem is that nearly one of every five children today lives in single-parent families. Therefore, prosecutors, State legislators, the public, and the courts should become more aware of the problem and work on solutions. Statistical data are included.