Citation URL: http://www.urban.org/ChavaZibman

Of the nearly 11 million fathers in the United States who do not live with their kids, about 7 million do not pay formal child support. Of these unpaying fathers, 2.5 million are poor themselves. Poor moms and dads face similar barriers to employment -- limited education, lack of recent work experience, and health barriers. They work about the same number of hours each year and have similar earnings. But poor fathers -- even those who pay child support -- do not have access to most work support programs. The author recommends making the work support programs that are available to poor mothers available to poor fathers who pay child support.

Data from the 1997 National Survey of America's Families show that the majority of poor fathers not paying child support are nonwhite; only 31 percent were working at the time of the survey; and nearly 40 percent of the non-working fathers were institutionalized. If poor non-resident fathers are expected to contribute finanically to their children, employment services and work-support programs currently available to poor mothers may need to be made available to fathers as well.

The authors find that child support payments reduce the number of poor children by a half million. Unfortunately, about 70 percent of poor children eligible for child support were not getting it in 1996. Among the other findings: Children with a child support order are nearly twice as likely to receive financial support from their nonresident parent as

Child support provides a significant source of income for poor families. Child support also reduces the number of poor children by a half million and lessens income inequality among children eligible for it. Unfortunately, about 70 percent of poor children eligible for child support were not getting it in 1996. In addition, it will probably be more difficult to obtain child support for these children because their parents are, on average, more disadvantaged that the parents of poor children who already receive child support. The report is based on the 1997 National Survey of America’s Families.

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