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Use of child support enforcement actions and their relationship to payments

Author

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  • Meyer, Daniel R.
  • Cancian, Maria
  • Waring, Melody K.

Abstract

Many noncustodial parents do not pay the support they owe. The child support enforcement program has a number of tools to facilitate child support collections in response to nonpayment, such as suspending licenses and holding court hearings. Despite policy interest in raising levels of compliance with child support orders, little recent research exists on the use of enforcement actions or their effectiveness. In this analysis, we provide descriptive statistics on the use of enforcement actions and whether there is a relationship between these actions and beginning to pay. We use state administrative data for a sample of noncustodial fathers in the state of Wisconsin. We find that most nonpaying fathers receive at least one enforcement action during their first nonpayment spell, where the most common action is a letter. Actions beyond letters are relatively infrequent, and almost never used as a first step. Most enforcement actions are associated with beginning to pay support, though suspending licenses is sometimes related to a lower likelihood of beginning to pay. Our analysis is not causal, and so does not provide strong evidence about whether (and when) various enforcement tools should be used. However, it provides new evidence on an understudied question, and a basis for future research on the effectiveness of alternative approaches.

Suggested Citation

  • Meyer, Daniel R. & Cancian, Maria & Waring, Melody K., 2020. "Use of child support enforcement actions and their relationship to payments," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:108:y:2020:i:c:s0190740919306760
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.104672
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Irwin Garfinkel & Marieka M. Klawitter, 1990. "The effect of routine income withholding of child support collections," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 9(2), pages 155-177.
    2. Berger, Lawrence M. & Cancian, Maria & Meyer, Daniel R., 2012. "Maternal re-partnering and new-partner fertility: Associations with nonresident father investments in children," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 426-436.
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    7. Huang, Chien-Chung & Han, Ke-Qing, 2012. "Child support enforcement in the United States: Has policy made a difference?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 622-627.
    8. Chen, Yiyu & Meyer, Daniel R., 2017. "Does joint legal custody increase child support for nonmarital children?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 547-557.
    9. Beron, Kurt J, 1988. "Applying the Economic Model of Crime to Child Support Enforcement: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 70(3), pages 382-390, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Maria Cancian & Daniel R. Meyer & Robert G. Wood, 2022. "Do Carrots Work Better than Sticks? Results from the National Child Support Noncustodial Parent Employment Demonstration," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(2), pages 552-578, March.
    2. Meyer, Daniel R. & Riser, Quentin H., 2023. "Slowing the ‘vicious cycle’: Reducing the interest rate on child support arrears," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    3. Mia Hakovirta & Laura Cuesta & Mari Haapanen & Daniel R. Meyer, 2022. "Child Support Policy across High-Income Countries: Similar Problems, Different Approaches," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 702(1), pages 97-111, July.

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