[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 2 (Thursday, January 5, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E32]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                              CHILD SUPPORT

                                 ______


                          HON. LEE H. HAMILTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 4, 1995
  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to insert my Washington 
report for Wednesday, December 7, 1994, into the Congressional Record.
                             Child Support

       Many Hoosiers speak to me about the difficulty they have 
     collecting child support. The failure to obtain adequate 
     support from absent parents can place an enormous financial 
     strain on families. Children need a stable family environment 
     in which to grow and thrive, and too many children simply do 
     not receive the support they need. We must insist that 
     parents treat their children responsibly, including their 
     economic needs. Children do best when they have financial as 
     well as emotional support from both parents. Congress will 
     likely address this issue during debate on welfare reform 
     next year.


                               background

       The states generally handle divorce, custody, and child 
     support decisions. In order to obtain child support, the 
     custodial parent must obtain a state court order specifying 
     the amount to be paid by the noncustodial parent.
       Collection of that court-ordered support is not always 
     easy. Almost one-quarter of American children grow up in 
     single-parent households, and many of them do not receive 
     financial support from the absent parent. Over 40% of single 
     mothers have no child support order in place and, therefore, 
     no legal right to support. Single parents who do have support 
     orders in place were entitled to a total of $20 billion last 
     year, but received only $13 billion. Furthermore, many 
     families find the support payments inadequate. In 1989, the 
     average child support payment was about $250 per month.
       There are several hurdles which make collection of child 
     support difficult. First, non-custodial parents who move 
     frequently can be difficult to locate. Second, if paternity 
     is not established--as is the case in two-thirds of births to 
     unmarried parents--children have no legal claim on their 
     father's income. Third, collection of child support can be 
     difficult or expensive, particularly for the custodial parent 
     who must go to court. Child support can be collected through 
     wage withholding from parents with steady jobs, but those who 
     change jobs frequently or are self-employed sometimes evade 
     traditional enforcement methods. Fourth, there is often 
     confusion about which state's courts have jurisdiction in 
     child support disputes.
      Over 30% of children live in a different state than their 
     non-custodial parent.


                            Federal efforts

       In 1975, Congress established a cooperative federal-state 
     Child Suppport Enforcement (CSE) program. Welfare recipients 
     are required to participate in the program, and most of the 
     support collected for their children is used by the 
     government for welfare payments. Families not on welfare may 
     receive CSE services for a small fee. The CSE program 
     currently handles about half of all child support cases, and 
     provides a variety of services:
       Parent location: The Federal Parent Locator Service uses a 
     variety of government records to locate parents, including 
     information from the Social Security Administration and the 
     IRS. States also conduct searches through their records, 
     including motor vehicle registries and criminal records. In 
     1993, 4.5 million absent parents were located, an increase of 
     21% over the year before.
       Paternity establishment: Although primarily a state 
     responsibility, the federal government has required states to 
     emphasize establishing paternity for children born out of 
     wedlock. For example, the federal government has required 
     states to have all parties in a contested paternity case 
     submit to a genetic test upon request, and to accept 
     paternity determinations made by other states. Despite these 
     efforts, a paternity establishment remains a weak link in 
     child support enforcement. In 1993, paternity was established 
     for over 550,000 children, a 7% increase from the previous 
     year. However, this left almost three million children still 
     lacking legal identification of their father.
       Collection: Most child support is gathered through wage 
     withholding and garnishing federal and state income tax 
     refunds and unemployment compensation. In 1993, $8.9 billion 
     was collected through the CSE program, an increase of 12% 
     over the year before. The amount of child support collected 
     through wage withholding should increase since federal law 
     requires mandatory withholding for all child support orders 
     issued or modified after January 1, 1994.


                            reform proposals

       Improving child
        support enforcement is primarily a state function, but the 
     federal government can play an important role. Congress 
     has taken steps to improve child support enforcement. It 
     approved measures this year which require states to report 
     parents owing at least two months of child support to 
     consumer credit agencies; designate child support payments 
     priority debts when an individual files for bankruptcy; 
     restrict a state court's ability to modify a child support 
     order issued by another state without the consent of the 
     child and custodial parent; and make parents who fail to 
     pay child support ineligible for federal small business 
     loans.
       While plugging these loopholes in the child support 
     enforcement system is useful, it is clear that more 
     comprehensive improvements are needed. First, more emphasis 
     must be placed on identifying fathers of children. Some 
     states have been very successful--up to 85% of the time--
     while others have been woefully inattentive to this matter. 
     Some propose withholding welfare benefits for children whose 
     paternity is not documented. Second, more effective methods 
     of collecting child support are needed. Some states already 
     require new employees to report their child support 
     obligations to employers so that their payments may be 
     automatically withheld from their paycheck. One suggestion is 
     to make this requirement national through the W-4 tax form. I 
     prefer that the states remain in control, but with support 
     from the federal government in doing those things states are 
     unable to do. The child support system will work better if 
     the laws and procedures are more uniform and less complex.


                               Conclusion

       I think that most parents genuinely want to take care of 
     their children, and millions of noncustodial parents do pay 
     their child support fully and regularly. But too many 
     children do not receive adequate support. The federal 
     government can help ensure their parents live up to their 
     obligations. The goal in child support must be to improve the 
     economic security of all children. Our society's failure to 
     consistently demand that parents treat their children 
     responsibly has taken its toll in childhood poverty and 
     welfare dependency.
     

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