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Why Does Child Support Go Unpaid?

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By The Cato Institute – Summer 2024 “State calculations of child costs overinflate those values, discouraging obligor payments.” “The child support collection process in the United States has largely failed. According to a 2020 Census Bureau report, only 62 percent of the more than $30 billion in authorized support payments for 2017 were actually received. While nearly 70 percent of custodial parents received at least some payments, less than half got their full amounts. Furthermore, average amounts received declined between 1993 and 2017, despite the inflation that occurred over that period. These observations raise the question of what factors may have led to the disappointing outcomes…” Download the entire article here.

By The Cato Institute – Summer 2024

“State calculations of child costs overinflate those values, discouraging obligor payments.”

“The child support collection process in the United States has largely failed. According to a 2020 Census Bureau report, only 62 percent of the more than $30 billion in authorized support payments for 2017 were actually received. While nearly 70 percent of custodial parents received at least some payments, less than half got their full amounts. Furthermore, average amounts received declined between 1993 and 2017, despite the inflation that occurred over that period. These observations raise the question of what factors may have led to the disappointing outcomes…”

Download the entire article here.