This final rule strengthens and updates the child support program by amending existing rules, some of which are 35 years old, to:• Set accurate child support obligations based on the noncustodial parents’ ability to pay;• Increase consistent, on-time payments to families;• Move nonpaying cases to paying status;• Increase the number of noncustodial parents supporting their children;• Improve child support collection rates;• Reduce the accumulation of unpaid and uncollectible child support arrearages; and• Incorporate technological advances and evidence-based standards that support good…
The Final Rule: Flexibility, Efficiency, and Modernization in Child Support Enforcement Programs updates guidelines for setting child support orders at 45 CFR 302.56 and the establishment of child support orders at 45 CFR 303.4. This fact sheet discusses specific revisions made to §§ 302.56(a), 302.56(c)(1), and 303.4(b). The goal of these revisions is to increase reliable child support for children by setting child support orders based on the noncustodial parent’s earnings, income, or other evidence of ability to pay. Orders set beyond a parent’s ability to pay can lead to unintended…
As the federal agency responsible for funding and oversight of state child support programs, OCSE has an interest in ensuring that: constitutional principles articulated in the U.S. Supreme Court Decision in Turner v. Rogers, 564 U.S.___, 131 S Ct. 2507 (2011) are carried out in the child support program; child support case outcomes are just and comply with due process; and enforcement proceedings are cost-effective and in the best interest of the child. The Turner case provides OCSE and state child support agencies with an opportunity to evaluate the appropriate use of civil contempt and to…
The goal of the final rule revisions is to increase consistent child support payments for children by setting child support orders based on the noncustodial parent’s earnings, income, or other evidence of ability to pay, including for incarcerated parents. Children do not benefit when their parents engage in a cycle of nonpayment, underground income generation, and re-incarceration. Support orders modified for incarcerated parents, based on their current ability to pay, result in less debt accrual, more formal employment, more child support payments, and less need for enforcement after they…
This fact sheet on adolescents living in low-income families in the United States begins by explaining that there are more than 14 million adolescents (ages 12-17) in the United States in 2014, and 40% live in low-income families and 19% live in poor families. Statistics are provided that indicate the percentage of adolescents living in low-income families has been on the rise, increasing from 35% in 2008 to 40% in 2014, adolescents are nearly twice as likely as adults 65 years and older to live in poor families, adolescents are less likely to live in low-income and poor families than younger…
This 2014 fact sheet on children living in low-income families in the United States begins by explaining that there are more than 24 million children (ages 6-11) in the United States, and 45% live in low-income families and 22% live in poor families. Statistics are provided that indicate the percentage of children living in low-income families has been on the rise, increasing from 40% in 2008 to 45% in 2014, children are nearly twice as likely as adults 65 years and older to live in poor families, young children under age 6 years are the most likely to live in low-income families, followed by…
This 2014 fact sheet on children living in low-income families in the United States begins by explaining that there are more than 72 million children under age 18 in the United States, and 44% live in low-income families and 21% live in poor families. Statistics are provided that indicate the percentage of children living in low-income families has been on the rise, increasing from 39% in 2008 to 44% in 2014, children are nearly twice as likely as adults 65 years and older to live in poor families, young children under age 6 years are the most likely to live in low-income families, followed…
This 2014 fact sheet on children living in low-income families in the United States begins by explaining that there are more than 23 million children under the age of 6 in the United States, and 47% live in low-income families and 24% live in poor families. Statistics are provided that indicate the percentage of young children living in low-income families has been on the rise, increasing from 43% in 2008 to 47% in 2014, young children under the age of 6 are nearly three times as likely as adults 65 years and older to live in poor families, young children under the age of 6 are more likely to…
This 2014 fact sheet on children living in low-income families in the United States begins by explaining that there are more than 11 million infants and toddlers under the age of 3 in the United States, and 47% live in low-income families and 24% live in poor families. Statistics are provided that indicate the percentage of infants and toddlers living in low-income families has been on the rise, increasing from 44% in 2008 to 47% in 2014, children under age 3 are nearly three times as likely as adults 65 years and older to live in poor families, children under age 3 are more likely to live in…
