Federal Funding for Child Support is Critical to Children and Families
Author:
Celia Cole /(512) 320-0222 x110
September 16, 2010
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Over $1 billion in funding for state child support programs could potentially be cut from the 2011 federal budget if Congress fails to repeal funding cuts enacted as part of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 and restore full funding for the child support program. A cut of this magnitude would be devastating to states and needy children. According to the Congressional Budget Office, child support collections would decline by over $2 billion. What’s at Stake Because the cut would be to the federal matching funds on incentive payments earned by state child support programs, states, such as Texas, with the best performance would stand to lose the most funding. Because the cut would be to the federal matching funds on incentive payments earned by state child support programs, states, such as Texas, with the best performance would stand to lose the most funding.
What's at Stake?
Though often overlooked among human services and employment programs, the child support program reaches the largest number of poor families with children and is one of the most efficient and effective cash transfer program in the nation, collecting almost $5 in child support for every $1 spent. The child support program has proven to significantly reduce child poverty, as well as the need for families to receive public assistance. Since 1999, child support collections have increased 73 percent. Incentive payments have been an integral factor in increasing collections and helping states broaden the focus of their child support programs beyond enforcement and collections to encourage responsible fatherhood and strengthen low-income families. These gains have benefited millions of families and their children, most of whom are low-income. Cutting federal funding for child support will cripple state child support programs, reduce child support income for vulnerable families at a time when they need it most, and undercut the stimulative effect of child support spending.
The Administration’s 2011 budget includes a one-year extension of the child support funding restoration, and Congress should include that in its budget decisions. A bi-partisan group of U.S. Senators are co-sponsoring the Child Support Protection Act (SB 1859) to permanently restore child support funding formulas to pre-Deficit Reduction Act levels. Congress should take immediate action on SB 1859 to further their commitment to strengthening American families.