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During the 1990s, employment rates rose significantly for less-educated women but not less-educated men. This paper examines the situation of men age 18-24 who either lack a high school diploma or have no education beyond high school and are not institutionalized. It uses Current Population Survey employment figures to compare employment and earnings at the peaks of three business cycles: 1979, 1989, and 1999. It also examines employment-to-population ratios. It notes the average hourly wages of less-educated young men in these peak years and examines the population by ethnic group (non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, and Hispanic). Less-educated young men fail to achieve outcomes attained in the past, with trends worsening. Even at the peak of the three business cycles, about one-fifth of all less-educated young men were unemployed, and by 1999, 22 percent were unemployed. Wages for less-educated young men declined between 1979-89, then remained flat. African American men fared significantly worse than the other groups. Various environmental and societal factors contribute to this phenomenon, including shifts in job availability for low-educated people, changes in overall occupational structure, movement of jobs out of inner cities, and high incarceration rates. Public policy responses and alternatives are presented. (SM)

This study sought to determine why some families live outside the government cash income support system despite extreme poverty. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 95 extremely poor families (cash income below 50 percent of the federal poverty level living without employment income or government cash assistance). The interview sample was drawn from a set of 275 families identified during the 2002 National Survey of America's Families. Among respondents, 64 percent were single parents living alone, and 94 percent were mothers living with their children. The racial and ethnic composition of the sample was fairly balanced across Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics. During the interviews, participants discussed why they were not working or receiving welfare and how they managed without these sources of income. Key findings are as follows: (1) the three top reasons cited for lack of work were poor health, job scarcity, and a desire to stay home to care for children; (2) approximately 4 in 10 parent did not participate in TANF because of program hassles, sanctions, and time limits, and others gave personal reasons for not participating such as pride or a preference for child support in lieu of cash benefits; (3) these families coped by combining in-kind government support (e.g., food stamps), child support, help from family or friends, "side jobs," and charity; (4) families often expressed appreciation for in-kind government supports, but a significant share reported difficulties retaining food stamp certification; (5) remarkably, most respondents expressed positive attitudes about their ability to make ends meet and about their children's well-being. Findings confirm that jobs and a strong safety net are essential for helping very poor families manage. Findings also highlight some weaknesses in basic needs and income support programs that merit state policymakers' immediate attention. Improved access to food stamps and health care, including a better understanding of how these programs work, would boost low-income families' well-being and employment prospects. A less threatening child support system and welfare programs that prevent families from leaving before they are self-sufficient would help to establish a more stable floor of income for families with children. (The study methodology is appended. Contains 10 references.) (HTH)

The child support reform provisions within the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) have been markedly successful in improving child support enforcement efforts. Child support is an important part of the mix of supports necessary to assist welfare recipients to make the transition to work and self-sufficiency. Now, post-PRWORA, there is a greater focus on the low income fathers who are expected to pay child support. This report examines the treatment of low income fathers in the child support system in the United States and how the system could be improved. It suggests that the time of establishment of the child support order and shortly thereafter is the key time for the child support agency to establish a more positive relationship with low income fathers. Improving this "up front" process could increase both financial and emotional support for children. The report analyzes default order practices, examines best state practices, and reviews and analyzes selected international practices. It includes recommendations for child support programs, state legislative action, and federal action. The analysis concludes that three changes to the child support system are of particular importance: reducing the proportion of orders entered by default, setting realistic child support orders at the outset, and making adjustments to orders to reflect changes in circumstances. (Contains 16 references.) (SM)

To more fully document the experiences of low-income, noncustodial fathers and identify policy and practice changes that might help fathers build better connections to the workplace and their families, researchers interviewed fathers and the front-line workers who try to help them. Research occurred in Austin, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in early 2002. The goal was to identify challenges facing low-income fathers seeking to support their children and challenges facing public and private agencies working to help fathers reach that goal. Results indicate that the needs of low-income, noncustodial fathers are similar to those of their female partners. They have low educational attainment and long histories of unemployment and substance abuse. Results also show that fathers do not trust service providers, assuming that caseworkers are aligned with mothers and will do little to help them. In all four cities, surveys indicated that few programs made concrete efforts to address such barriers. In all four cities, fathers and their advocates reported that many caseworkers were neither trained nor inclined to work with fathers. Private sector employers were reluctant to hire low-income men, preferring to hire women and part-time teenagers. Recommendations for Congress, state legislatures, and state-run and nonprofit programs are included. (Contains 41 endnotes.) (SM)

This document is intended to provide business leaders, policymakers, and others with information about the operation and value of six work support programs designed to help low-income parents obtain the assistance needed to enter a job, retain employment, and better provide for their families' needs. The six programs profiled are as follows: the Earned Income Tax Credit; child care; Food Stamps; health care; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and child support. The document begins with a discussion of the lack of a single national structure or location where low-earning parents can access work support programs. Next, principal differences between the six programs with respect to the following dimensions are summarized: who funds the benefit; who administers the benefit; who is eligible for the benefit; length of eligibility; and whether the benefit is an entitlement or its availability is limited by funding. The remainder of the document presents profiles of each program. Each profile contains information on the following topics: the program's history, current size/scope, and differences in the program's administration and structure in individual states; the program's impacts on financial security and job retention; and program participation. The names and addresses of 16 organizations offering publications on the 6 work support programs profiled are appended. (Contains 86 references.) (MN)

This study used data from the first and last waves of the 1996 U.S. Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation to compare the characteristics and wellbeing of low-income, single parent families before and after passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), noting the characteristics and wellbeing of low-income, single parent families headed by females in the post-PRWORA period. Results indicated that while the participation of many low-income single parents in the labor market substantially increased following implementation of welfare reform, millions of families remained in poverty, with their employment concentrated in low-wage occupations and industries (particularly among single mothers). Three years after passage of the PRWORA, although the population of low-income single parents was still predominantly female, there were significant changes in other key characteristics. Specifically, fewer welfare recipients were white, fewer had some college education, and more were concentrated in urban areas. The study concluded that poverty reduction should be the primary purpose of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. (SM)

Using data from the National Survey of America's Families (a nationally representative survey of the economic, social, and health characteristics of children, adults, and their families), this paper discusses health care coverage among child support eligible children. It begins with a detailed profile of child support eligible children living with their mothers, including their demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and their child support and health insurance characteristics. In addition to current health insurance status, it examines what types of health insurance coverage children have had over the prior year and how their health insurance status varies by child support award and receipt status and the mother's employment characteristics. The paper then examines what share of these children might have access to employer-sponsored health insurance through their mothers' employers whether or not they actually have this type of coverage. Finally, it asks what share is eligible for Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program, how much these programs can reduce the number of child support eligible children who are uninsured, and what opportunities and barriers are encountered by state officials in coordinating efforts to secure appropriate health insurance for children. (Contains 7 figures, 10 tables, and 30 references.) (SM)

This brief examines the relationship between increased child support enforcement and frequency of visitation between children and their nonresident fathers. Data come from the 1997 and 1999 National Survey of America's Families. The study emphasizes children of single mothers because children in such households face the greatest risk of long-term poverty. The study documents the frequency with which nonresident fathers visit their children and notes factors associated with more frequent contact between nonresident fathers and their children. It compares changes in frequency of visitation among families who are likely and unlikely to use child support enforcement services. Results find that children in poverty are particularly likely to live with single mothers and to see their nonresident fathers infrequently or never. Children with support orders who receive payments have more frequent contact with their nonresident fathers. Children born out of wedlock are less likely to visit their fathers than are children born in wedlock. Children born out of wedlock experienced increased visitation following implementation of the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act; however, this was true regardless of whether they were likely to use child support enforcement services. (Contains 14 references.) (SM)

This report traces the history of the fatherhood field, reviews its accomplishments to date, and identifies areas in need of further work. It is intended for researchers, advocates, practitioners, and funders within the fatherhood field as well as leaders of social services organizations and public agencies that work with women and children but have not historically focused on fathers. It explains that the presence of fathers in children's lives produces a profound and positive impact on the wellbeing of the children. The first section of the report introduces the issue. The second section discusses the history of the fatherhood field (e.g., the fatherhood issue emerges, 1968-87, fatherhood debuts on the federal policy agenda, 1988-93, and federal involvement increases 1994-95). The third section discusses research, focusing on seven core findings about fathers. The fourth section discusses policy (child support and beyond). The fifth section looks at the future of the field (accomplishments, challenges, and the future). The sixth section presents a chronology of the fatherhood field. An appendix offers a listing of national fatherhood organizations. (SM)

Using data from the 1979-98 waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, this paper investigated the effect of child support enforcement on marital and nonmarital births, noting differences by age and race. The study examined 4,715 women who were followed from 1979 to their first birth or to 1998. Data also came from various years of the State Legislative Summary from the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Office of Child Support Enforcement Legislative Tracking System Report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Data analysis provided evidence that women who lived in states with effective child support enforcement, measured by both strict child support legislation and high child support expenditure, were more likely to have marital births and less likely to have nonmarital births. The findings suggest that the deterrence effect of child support enforcement on men dominated the opposite effect on women. The impact of child support enforcement differed by racial and age groups. For African American women, effective child support enforcement had a strong effect on decreasing nonmarital births, but not for increasing marital births. The impact went the opposite way for white and/or post-teenage women. (Contains 61 references.) (SM)

Parents' Fair Share (PFS) was a national demonstration program to help low-income noncustodial parents find more stable and better-paying jobs, pay child support consistently, and become more involved parents. PFS provided the following services: employment and training services; peer support groups; voluntary mediation between parents; and modified child support enforcement. PFS's effectiveness was evaluated in 1994-1996 by randomly assigning each of more than 5,500 fathers to PFS or a control group. PFS increased employment and earnings for the least-employable men but not for those who were more able to find work on their own. PFS encouraged some fathers to assume a more active parenting role. Men referred to PFS paid more child support than men in the control group. The following were among the recommendations regarding future programs: (1) structure the program to encourage longer-term participation and to include job retention services; (2) increase fathers' access to their children by involving custodial mothers in the programs and providing the fathers with legal services to gain visitation rights; and (3) mandate fathers' participation in employment-related activities to increase payments among low-income caseloads. (A discussion of PFS' effects on children is appended. Thirty-three references and 11 publications from the PFS demonstration are listed.) (MN)

This paper summarizes changes in key elements of welfare policy and in closely related policies on child support enforcement and sex education and family planning programs. Drawing on a conceptual framework that highlights how incentives created by public policy can affect demographic behaviors, the paper concludes that, as Congress intended, reform has shifted welfare's incentives in directions that encourage marriage and discourage nonmarital pregnancy and childbearing, childbearing while on welfare, divorce, living independently from relatives, and avoiding child support responsibilities. The paper reviews the empirical evidence about welfare's effects on demographic behavior, including nonmarital childbearing, abortion, sexual activity, contraceptive use and pregnancy among teenagers, marriage and divorce, single parenthood, living arrangements, and nonresident parenting behavior. The general tenor of this evidence is that behavioral effects consistent with theoretical expectations and policymakers' intentions do exist. Their magnitudes are small or uncertain. A tentative but reasonable "bottom line" is that one should not expect welfare reform to dramatically alter low-income Americans' demographic behavior, but one can expect it to have modest effects in the directions desired by policymakers. There is little or no evidence about how several important aspects of recent reform are likely to affect demographic behavior. (Contains 81 references.) (Author/SM)

Public enforcement of private child support obligations transfers income from nonresident parents to resident parents (mostly mothers) or, if the mother is receiving welfare, to the state. This paper reviews and synthesizes existing literature on the effects of this transfer of income and presents new empirical evidence on the effects of stronger enforcement on the incomes of mothers and their children. Findings show that more stringent child support enforcement increases the labor supply of mothers who would otherwise have been on welfare, increases slightly or has no effect on the labor supply of nonresident fathers, decreases divorce and nonmarital births, and decreases remarriages of both mothers and fathers. Empirical estimates indicate that stronger child support enforcement increases the income of single mothers and their dependent children by two dollars for each dollar of child support received by single mothers. This implies that the dominant effect of additional child support is to encourage welfare participant single mothers to leave welfare and enter the labor market. This suggests that child support enforcement, in terms of breadth of legislation and administrative expenditures, has an impact on the income of eligible women. (Contains 53 references.) (SM)

This brief uses 1997 National Survey of America's Families data to examine characteristics of poor, nonresident fathers who do not pay child support. Overall, poor fathers resemble poor mothers in educational levels and barriers to employment. Of the 2.5 million poor, nonresident fathers who do not pay child support, the two largest groups are black and white, with Hispanic fathers accounting for 14 percent of nonpaying fathers. Fathers and mothers differ substantially in terms of living in institutions. Poor fathers receive less means-tested assistance than poor mothers and participate less in job search or education/training activities. In 1996, the average family incomes for both groups averaged only about 50 percent of the federal poverty level. The largest source of income for both groups is personal earnings. Government anti-poverty programs are still targeted primarily toward poor mothers, with poor, nonresident fathers having only limited access. Food stamps are time limited for these fathers, Medicaid does not reach out to them, and they are not eligible for the child-qualifying Earned Income Tax Credit or for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families cash assistance. (SM)

In an attempt to provide feedback to state and local program directors on ways to improve current procedures, an analysis was made of the effects of non-custodial parents' referrals to the workforce. This employment assistance program was designed to increase the income-producing and parenting capacities of non-custodial parents in Bexar County (San Antonio) and Harris County (Houston). Three interlocking research approaches were used for this assessment: a process study, an impact analysis, and a cost-effectiveness analysis. Workforce participation centered on job search, job readiness, and job placement. Child Support Division (CSD) administrators and the staff worked with local workforce and domestic court collaborators to establish procedures for service referrals. The results of the study indicated several positive effects of ongoing efforts to strengthen positive links among CSD staff, the courts, workforce, and health and social service agencies. The results suggest policymakers and program administrators must find new ways to achieve effective collaboration for child support collections, workforce services, and fatherhood programs. A more systemic service array might include access to job training and education; peer and professional counseling; legal and financial services; access and visitation services; and supportive services. (Contains 2 appendixes, 14 tables, 2 figures, and 20 references.) (JDM)

This report tests the hypothesis that strong child support collection is associated with lower welfare caseloads. It uses annual state panel data from 1980-96 to replicate previous models and incorporate the effects of child support. The primary analysis technique is fixed effects regression of welfare caseloads with welfare caseloads as the dependent variable, and child support, demographic, economic, welfare, and political variables as independent variables. The key independent variable is the strength of the state's child support enforcement system. Results indicate that child support plays a moderate to large, and hitherto unrecognized, role in reducing welfare caseloads. Specifically, depending on the model, estimates imply that the improvement in child support collection between 1980-96 reduced welfare caseloads by 12-17 percent in 1996. The inclusion of child support largely improves the ability to explain the change in welfare caseloads that would not be explained by welfare and/or economic factors alone, although it also somewhat decreases the estimated effect of those other factors. (Contains 37 references.) (SM)

The Parents' Fair Share (PFS) Demonstration, a multi-site national project, tested a new approach to child support enforcement for low-income noncustodial parents (NCPs). Findings were drawn on survey responses of 2,005 custodial parents, mothers of children for whom NCPs owed child support. The sample was randomly assigned to a program group, subject to mandatory participation in PFS, or a control group not eligible for PFS services. Key findings indicated low-income NCPs targeted by the PFS program had widely varying levels of involvement with their children; NCPs in the PFS program group were more likely to provide formal child support; and PFS did not change the likelihood that NCPs would provide informal support, but led to a small reduction in the average value of informal support given. Analysis of PFS impacts by subgroups suggested future programs can reduce the likelihood that NCPs will cut back on their informal contributions by taking these two steps: (1) increasing earnings capacity of the most disadvantaged NCPs; and (2) developing innovative ways to encourage fathers to maintain informal support. PFS did not increase the amount of contact fathers had with their children, but increased fathers' efforts to engage in active parenting, increased frequency of discussions about the child among parents with the youngest children, and increased the likelihood of visits for NCPs with no high school credential. (Appendixes contain additional tables and 33 references.) (YLB)

A study researched effects of the Parents' Fair Share (PFS) program on employment and earnings. In exchange for cooperation with the child support system, PFS offered services designed to help low-income noncustodial fathers (NCFs) find better and more stable jobs, become more involved and better parents, and pay support on a consistent basis. PFS effects were estimated for the full sample of fathers using data from the unemployment insurance (UI) system and for a subsample of fathers using data from a survey administered one year after entering PFS. Survey data described characteristics and circumstances of low-income fathers eligible for PFS. Results indicated that many fathers had unstable living arrangements; half did not complete high school; the majority had been arrested; a sizable proportion did not work in the year during which they were observed; and those who worked had fairly low earnings. UI and survey data presented PFS effects on fathers' employment and earnings. Findings were that PFS did not significantly increase employment or earnings during the two years after NCFs entered the project; it increased earnings among men who were "less employable"; and for more-employable men, PFS had little effect on average earnings and somewhat reduced employment among those in part-time, lower-wage jobs. (Appendixes contain survey response analysis, participation rate by sites, and 14 references.) (YLB)

H.R. 4678, the Child Support Distribution Act of 2000, was scheduled for debate and a vote in the House of Representatives in September 2000. This bill would help poor children escape poverty, strengthen families, and build on and enhance welfare reform. The support changes in this bill would allow more of the child support collected from noncustodial parents (the majority of whom are fathers) to reach the children on whose behalf the payments are made. It would ensure that once a family left welfare, the family would have first claim on all child support paid by the father, rather than having child support go first toward the debt to the state. The bill would also create incentives for states to allow families to benefit from child support paid on their behalf. The fatherhood provision of the bill would provide funding to community-based and state programs working directly with low-income noncustodial parents. H.R. 4678 includes a number of provisions that would be beneficial to low-income children, families, and noncustodial parents. These provisions represent an investment in stronger families that should make child support easier to administer as states become empowered to integrate collection and distribution of child support with welfare reform strategies. (SLD)

The barriers that poor fathers face in paying child support and how existing programs assist them were studied and contrasted to the barriers faced by poor custodial mothers using data from the National Survey of America's Families (NSAF). Efforts to serve these fathers through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families welfare-to-work grants, and demonstration grants are also discussed. According to the NSAF, 2.6 million nonresident fathers have family incomes below the poverty line, and most of them face multiple employment barriers, including a criminal record, lack of a high school education, relatively little recent work experience, and poor health. Although these employment barriers are similar to those faced by poor custodial mothers, poor nonresident fathers are significantly less likely than poor custodial mothers to participate in training, education, and job search activities as well as income security programs. Given that Congress expects poor nonresident fathers to contribute financial support to their children, it may want to consider making employment services and work-support programs more available to poor nonresident fathers. An appendix discussions developing weights for nonresident fathers. (Contains 2 tables, 6 figures, 15 endnotes, and 15 references.) (Author/SLD)

Since Congress passed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act in 1996, Kansas has dramatically reduced its welfare roles. Noting that achieving self-sufficiency is the real measure of success in combating poverty, this study examines welfare reform efforts in Kansas. To gather information, United Way member agencies and community emergency assistance agencies administered a survey during 1998 and 1999 to 2,005 households seeking assistance, 1,244 of whom were families with children. Findings reveal that while Kansas has made progress in fighting poverty, that progress is far more modest than the dramatic decrease in welfare roles suggests. Kansas ranks 14th in the percentage reduction in welfare recipients between 1993 and 1999. Many welfare recipients and former recipients continue to struggle to meet their needs. The level of income required to become self-sufficient often far exceeds the wages that a welfare recipient can expect to receive. Kansas diverts almost half the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families block grant into foster care, thereby reducing its ability to effectively improve families' self-sufficiency. Kansas places little emphasis on providing recipients with skill-specific training needed to secure a living wage, with current state spending too low to take full advantage of federal matching grants. An alarming number of poor families are not receiving food stamps, Medicaid, child care subsidies, and other benefits for which they are eligible. Based on findings, the following recommendations were made to help Kansas achieve the true goals of welfare reform: (1) caseworkers should make sure that families are aware of benefits for which they are eligible; and (2) job readiness and training programs should be emphasized. (KB)

In 1997, the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) funded Responsible Fatherhood Demonstration Projects in eight states (California, Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, Washington, and Wisconsin) to improve the employment and earnings of under- and unemployed noncustodial parents and to motivate them to become more financially and emotionally involved in their children's lives. This report is an early implementation analysis of the programs, focusing on: (1) how the programs are administered; (2) the types of services they deliver; (3) the coalitions they create with community-based organizations and with state and local service agencies; (4) how they recruit program participants; and (5) how they monitor client progress. Following an executive summary, Chapter 1 of the report describes the historical context of the programs, gives a demographic profile of the program settings, and gives a child support profile of the program settings. Chapter 2 presents a summary profile of each program in terms of its organization and administration, target population, major service components, outreach efforts, and status at the end of calendar year 1999. Chapter 3 discusses client recruitment and retention, reviews referral sources and their advantages and disadvantages, and reviews policy and philosophical approach to client retention. Chapter 4 examines employment and child support, focusing on method of service delivery. Chapter 5 presents information on other services offered, such as assistance with access and visitation, peer support, and case management. Chapter 6 summarizes some lessons learned to date about responsible fatherhood programs. (Contains 42 references.) (KB)

The mission of the child support program is undergoing a basic shift from welfare cost recovery to helping parents support their children. However, the child support program's reimbursement policies have interfered with states' ability to implement policies to bolster family support. As states assess their capacity to improve their services to low-income parents, there are a number of policies they can consider. These policies include: (1) paying all child support to families on welfare; (2) setting realistic orders for poor fathers; (3) developing arrearage management policies; and (4) implementing case management strategies. By implementing realistic and flexible practices that encourage, rather than inhibit, the payment of regular child support by low-income fathers, child support programs can help low-income families more effectively in sustaining employment, improving family relationships, and supporting the involvement of both parents in their children's lives. (SLD)

This brief relies on data from the National Survey of America's Families, a survey of 44,461 households, to examine the extent to which children receive money from and spend time with their nonresident parents. Part of the Assessing the New Federalism project, the brief also examines how much child support contributes to family income, whether child support reduces child poverty and income inequality, and whether additional child support enforcement efforts would really increase child support receipt among poor children. Averaged across all children and their families, child support appears relatively unimportant, a mere 2% of family income. But child support is an important source of income for children who receive it, and it becomes even more important when the child is poor. Child support lifts about half a million children out of poverty each year, reducing poverty among these children by 5%. Child support receipt varies by state, but child support enforcement has a long way to go regardless of the state considered. Increasing child support enforcement will be challenging, and it is difficult to estimate the impact on child well being of such efforts. (SLD)

This brief outlines findings from the National Survey of America's Families, a survey of 44,461 households, on 7 indicators of well-being by race and ethnicity: poverty, family structure, child support, food hardship, housing hardship, health status, and health insurance coverage. For the purpose of this brief, all persons of Hispanic origin were grouped into the Hispanic category and non-Hispanics were grouped by racial category, resulting in five racial categories. Survey findings show that 70% of nonelderly persons in the United States are white, with the largest minority group, 13%, being black. The Hispanic population is almost as large as the Black population, representing 12% of the total, and this group is expected to become the largest minority by the year 2005. Asians represent 4% of the total, and Native Americans, 1%. Analysis of well-being by race and ethnicity confirms that economic and social disparities exist both within and across all racial and ethnic groups in the United States. Differences across groups remain even when looking separately at low- and higher- income families. Some differences are attributable to the fact that, within these income groupings, Blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans have a lower average income than Whites and Asians. Still, regardless of income, race and ethnicity are strongly correlated with well-being in the United States. Policies designed to improve well-being must take into account variations among problems faced by ethnic groups. (SLD)