WikiLeaks Document Release
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February 2, 2009
Congressional Research Service
Report RS22499
Child Support: An Overview of Census Bureau Data on
Recipients
Carmen Solomon-Fears, Domestic Social Policy Division
October 15, 2007
Abstract. The national Census Bureau data show that in 2005, 13.6 million parents had custody of children
under age 21 while the other parent lived elsewhere, and the aggregate amount of child support received was
$24.8 billion. In 2005, 84% of custodial parents were mothers. Of all custodial parents, 56% were white, 25% were
black, 22% were married, 35% were divorced, 30% were never married, 15% did not have a high school diploma,
15% had at least a bachelor's degree, 54% worked full-time year-round, 25% had family income below poverty,
and 31% received some type of public assistance. In 2005, only 3.2 million (41%) of the 7.8 million custodial
parents with child support orders actually received the full amount of child support that was owed to them. The
average yearly child support payment received by custodial parents with payments was $4,719 for mothers and
$4,691 for fathers. These full or partial payments represented 17% of the custodial mothers' total yearly income
and 11% of the custodial fathers'. Compared to 1993 Census data, more child support was received by custo-
dial parents in 2005, and a higher percentage of those owed child support actually received all that they were due.
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Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress
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The national Census Bureau data show that in 2005, 13.6 million parents had custody of children
under age 21 while the other parent lived elsewhere, and the aggregate amount of child support
received was $24.8 billion. In 2005, 84% of custodial parents were mothers. Of all custodial
parents, 56% were white, 25% were black, 22% were married, 35% were divorced, 30% were
never married, 15% did not have a high school diploma, 15% had at least a bachelor's degree,
54% worked full-time year-round, 25% had family income below poverty, and 31% received
some type of public assistance. In 2005, only 3.2 million (41%) of the 7.8 million custodial
parents with child support orders actually received the full amount of child support that was owed
to them. The average yearly child support payment received by custodial parents with payments
was $4,719 for mothers and $4,691 for fathers. These full or partial payments represented 17% of
the custodial mothers' total yearly income and 11% of the custodial fathers'. Compared to 1993
Census data, more child support was received by custodial parents in 2005, and a higher
percentage of those owed child support actually received all that they were due.
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Introduction............................................................................................................................... 1
Child Support Awarded and Received....................................................................................... 2
Demographic and Economic Characteristics of Custodial Parents Who Were Awarded
or Who Received Child Support Payments in 2005............................................................... 3
Table 1. Child Support Award and Receipt, 1993-2005 .................................................................. 2
Table 2. Demographic Characteristics of Custodial Parents by Child Support Award and
Receipt Status, 2005..................................................................................................................... 4
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Author Contact Information ............................................................................................................ 6
The United States Census Bureau periodically collects national survey information on child
support. By interviewing a random sample of single-parent families, the Census Bureau is able to
generate an array of data that is useful in assessing the performance of noncustodial parents in
paying their child support. Although the Census Bureau has been collecting child support
information in a special Child Support Supplement to the April Current Population Survey (CPS)
biennially since 1978, the supplement survey has changed significantly over the years. According
to the Census Bureau, the most recent data, from 2005,1 is comparable only back to 1993. During
the early years of the survey, information was collected only from custodial mothers. Beginning
with the 1991 data, information was also collected from custodial fathers. This report presents
unsegmented data with respect to custodial mothers and fathers (i.e., custodial parents data). The
survey population includes all persons who have their own children under age 21 living with
them, while the other parent lives outside the household.
The Child Support Enforcement (CSE) program was enacted in 1975 as a federal-state program
(Title IV-D of the Social Security Act) to help strengthen families by securing financial support
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for children from their noncustodial parent on a consistent and continuing basis, and by helping
some families to remain self-sufficient and off public assistance by providing the requisite CSE
services. The CSE program is administered by the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE)
in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and funded by general revenues. All 50
states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands operate CSE programs
and are entitled to federal matching funds. The CSE program provides seven major services on
behalf of children: (1) parent location, (2) paternity establishment, (3) establishment of child
support orders, (4) review and modification of child support orders, (5) collection of child support
payments, (6) distribution of child support payments, and (7) establishment and enforcement of
medical child support. The CSE program is estimated to handle at least 50% of all child support
cases; the remaining cases are handled by private attorneys, collection agencies, or through
mutual agreements between the parents.
In FY2005, the CSE program collected $23.0 billion in child support payments (from
noncustodial parents) and served 15.9 million child support cases. The national Census Bureau
data show that the aggregate amount of child support received in 2005 was $24.8 billion, and that
13.6 million parents had custody of children under age 21 while the other parent lived elsewhere.2
In 2005, 84% of custodial parents were mothers. Of all custodial parents, 56% were white, 25%
were black, 22% were married, 35% were divorced, 30% were never married, 15% did not have a
high school diploma, 15% had at least a bachelor's degree, 54% worked full-time year-round,
25% had family income below poverty, and 31% received some type of public assistance.
1
U.S. Census Bureau. Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support: 2005. Current Population Reports,
P60-234, by Timothy S. Grall. August 2007 http://www.census.gov/prod/2007pubs/p60-234.pdf. To view detailed
tables, see http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/childsupport/chldsu05.pdf.
2
Note that the OCSE defines a CSE "case" as a noncustodial parent (mother, father, or putative/alleged father) who is
now or eventually may be obligated under law for the support of a child or children receiving services under the CSE
program. If the noncustodial parent owes support for two children by different women, that would be considered two
cases; if both children have the same mother, that would be considered one case. Thus, the CSE program caseload may
be larger than the national number of custodial parents potentially eligible for child support payments.
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that they were owed increased by 27%, from 37% in 1993 to 47% in 2005.
contrast, the percentage of noncustodial parents who received the full amount of the child support
payment has increased only modestly over the 13-year period from 1993 through 2005. In
being legally entitled to a child support payment, and actually receiving at least one child support
from 1993 through 2005. The table shows that the likelihood of having a child support award,
Table 1 summarizes several child support indicators from biennial survey data for selected years
In 2005, 57% of the 13.6 million custodial parents (with children under age 21) were awarded
child support.3 Of those who were actually due child support payments (6.8 million), a little more
than 77% of them received at least one payment, and 47% received all that they were owed. In
2005, only 3.2 million (23%) of the 13.6 million custodial parents eligible for child support
actually received the full amount of child support that was owed to them. In 2005, the average
child support payment amounted to about $3,642,4 almost 18% higher than the average child
support payment in 1993 ($3,095).
In 2005, about 65% of the $38 billion in aggregate child support due was actually paid. In 1993,
65% of the $32 billion (adjusted for inflation, in 2005 dollars) in child support due was paid.
Over the 13-year period 1993 to 2005, aggregate child support due increased 20%, total child
support received increased 20%, and the amount left unpaid increased 19% (see Table 1).
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While sex, race, marital status, and education are significant factors in predicting whether a
custodial parent will be issued a child support order, award rates tend to be significantly lower
than receipt rates. For example, although female custodial parents were more than 1.5 times as
likely to be awarded child support in 2005 as their male counterparts, among parents who were
owed/due child support, both had at least a 70% chance of actually receiving child support
payments. (See Table 2.) Moreover, in 2005, only one-half of black custodial parents were
awarded child support compared with three-fifths of white custodial parents. Even so, nearly 70%
of black custodial parents who were owed/due child support actually received child support
payments, and 80% of white custodial parents who were owed child support actually received
child support payments in 2005. Similarly, while only 48% of never-married parents were
awarded child support in 2005, 75% of never-married parents who were owed child support
actually received child support payments in 2005. Also, about 47% of custodial parents without a
high school diploma were awarded child support, while 71% of custodial parents without a high
school diploma who were owed child support actually received child support.
3
Conversely, the reader should note that many custodial parents do not receive child support. This includes the 43% of
custodial parents who were not awarded child support and 11% of custodial parents who did not receive any child
support payments even though they had been awarded child support. In 2005, this number amounted to almost 7.4
million custodial parents. Some of the reasons given as to why there was not a legal child support obligation included
the following: they did not feel the need to make it legal (34%); the other parent provided what he or she could (28%);
the other parent could not afford to pay (24%); they did not want the other parent to pay (21%); the child stayed with
the other parent part of the time (20%); they did not want to have contact with the other parent (17%); they could not
locate the other parent (15%); and paternity was not legally established (8%).
4
This amount reflects total child support payments received divided by the number of parents who were owed/due
payments ($24,800,000,000/6,809,000). Table 2 shows an average child support payment of $4,717 for custodial
parents who actually received at least one child support payment in 2005 ($24,800,000,000/5,259,000).
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This pattern also held for the economic factors listed in Table 2--in that once a child support
obligation was awarded, the probability of actually receiving payments rose significantly for all
categories of custodial parents. In 2005, 53% of custodial parents with incomes below the poverty
level were awarded child support, and 73% of those owed/due payments actually received child
support payments. Table 2 also shows that 59% of custodial parents who worked full-time year-
round were awarded child support, while 78% of those owed received child support payments.
Similarly, 56% of custodial parents who received public assistance were awarded child support,
while 72% of those who were owed child support payments actually received child support
payments.5
Of the categories of custodial parents presented in Table 2, custodial parents who were divorced
followed by custodial parents who were white were the categories of parents most likely to be
awarded child support. In 2005, 64.6% of divorced custodial parents and 63.2% of white
custodial parents were awarded child support. The table also shows that custodial parents with at
least a bachelor's degree who were owed/due child support were the category of parents most
likely to receive child support payments in 2005. In 2005, 84.9% of custodial parents with at least
a bachelor's degree who were owed payments actually received child support payments.
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In 2005, the average yearly child support payment received by custodial parents with payments
was $4,719 for mothers and $4,691 for fathers. These full or partial payments represented 17% of
the custodial mothers' total yearly income and 11% of the custodial fathers'.
In 2005, for custodial parents with income below the poverty level, child support payments for
those who received them made up 43% of their yearly income. In 2005, child support payments
made up 23% of the yearly income of custodial parents without a high school diploma who were
owed child support and who actually received full or partial payments. In 2005, child support
represented 19% of the income of the 3.2 million custodial parents who received all of the child
support that they were owed.6
The Census Bureau data also includes information on health insurance. In 2005, about 58% of the
7.8 million custodial parents with child support awards had awards that included health insurance.
Nearly half (45.1%) of these health insurance provisos specified that the noncustodial parent was
to provide the health insurance coverage.
Not surprisingly, the data show that custodial parents who are relatively better off generally get a
higher amount of child support than custodial parents who are financially worse off. The
exception was custodial fathers who, as noted above, received less child support than custodial
mothers.
5
Public assistance program participation includes receiving at least one of the following: Medicaid, food stamps, public
housing or rent subsidy, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or general assistance.
6
See Table 6 at http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/childsupport/chldsu05.pdf (p. 28).
Carmen Solomon-Fears
Specialist in Social Policy
csolomonfears@crs.loc.gov, 7-7306
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