Controversy over law that would expand CA’s role in child support – CalMatters

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Despite its seemingly impeccable goal — providing adequate child support to prevent children from falling into poverty — the bill moving through the state assembly has divided lawmakers and activists.

The measure, proposed by Democratic Rep. Elk Grove, Stephanie Nguyen would force separated families to enroll in a state program authorized to garnish wages for child support payments.

Currently, custodial parents must voluntarily register with California Department of Child Support Services . They often do not take this step, sometimes because they have already agreed among themselves.

Under Nguyen’s bill, families would have to opt out of the program. She said the goal of the bill is to ensure children get the money they need.

“It’s the child that suffers. If you’re a single-income parent and you’re struggling to make ends meet, then that extra income is important. I think it reduces child poverty,” Nguyen said.

The measure targets what groups close to the child support system see as a pressing problem: when parents separate, child support agreements can fall apart. This leaves the problem in the hands of the court system and puts children at risk of poverty.

At a hearing in March, the bill received support from the California Child Support Association and the Department of Child Support Services for Sacramento, Solano and San Joaquin counties.

“Right now in Sacramento County alone, my department is sending $11 million every month to families so they can put food on the table and shoes for kids. It’s an incredible anti-poverty program,” Dallin Frederickson, director of Sacramento County’s Child Support Division, told lawmakers at a hearing in March, according to CalMatters Digital Democracy Database.

“Unfortunately, California’s child support program is underutilized,” he said.

However, critics say that bringing all families into the child support service system could undermine the stability of separated families by breaking ties that still exist, such as when parents have reached their own financial arrangements.

Even a Democratic lawmaker who voted in favor of the bill at the hearing raised questions about how it could affect families who make their own child support agreements.

“I’ve seen what happens when families are separated, broken and torn apart,” Assemblyman Isaac Bryan, D-Los Angeles, said during the hearing. “And I am concerned that any way in which we further undermine the strong bond between the parents will be detrimental to the best interests of the child.”

A pioneering offer in the country.

Of California’s 2 million children living in single-parent households, 1 in 4 live in poverty. This rate is four times higher than that of children living with married parents. Women head 80% of single-parent households, which are more likely to live in poverty than single-parent households headed by single parents.

There are just over one million court-ordered child support payments in the state, and total payments owed will reach $2.6 billion in 2024.

If approved Assembly Bill 1643 filed by Nguyen, it’s unclear how many additional families will enroll in the state’s debt collection program, but it could be in the thousands, depending on the annual number of court orders.

“There’s some uncertainty. This could be a fundamental change in such a large state. (So) should they do a pilot study in one county?” asked Rebecca Miller, senior attorney at the Western Center for Law and Poverty.

Custodial parents, regardless of their income level, may choose to enroll in child support services; however, registration is required for parents receiving public assistance under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act of 1975.

No state currently requires enrollment in child support services for families who do not receive public assistance, as provided in Nguyen’s bill.

“It could violate federal law because it forces people into the system,” said Rebecca Gonzalez, a policy advocate at the Western Center on Law and Poverty.

Another concern is the cost to taxpayers, although Nguyen said the bill would not result in additional costs.

However, because it requires all child support payments to be made through the state disbursement unit, the measure could increase administrative costs for local agencies, resulting in state-mandated recovery costs, according to legislative committee analysis.

“I don’t understand why they think it’s free,” Gonzalez said.

Child Support Mechanisms in California

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, child support reduces poverty among children who live with their primary caregiver, but not enough to eradicate it. Furthermore, making these payments can exacerbate poverty for parents who live apart, especially if they are already on low incomes.

Child support has been shown to offer other benefits, such as greater involvement of the paying parent in their children’s lives, better academic results and children’s well-being and improving relationships between parents.

The system that California families would be forced to follow by default under Nugyen’s bill, run by the Department of Child Support Services, already collects and distributes nearly two-thirds of the child support owed in the state, according to data from 2024. The department also finds parents and establishes paternity when necessary. It collects the money through payroll deductions and, if necessary, wage garnishments, tax refund garnishments or driver’s license suspensions to ensure compliance.

The public child support system is not simple, especially if the parents’ separation is contentious. In such cases the courts – or rather two courts – can intervene.

Attorney Miller said family court is the system most people think of for handling divorce, child custody and child support payments.

On the other hand, the Title IV-D court is the federal child support system created in the 1970s primarily to administer payments to families receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or welfare. Nearly half of custodial parents enrolled in child support services receive TANF. The California Career Opportunity and Child Responsibility Program, better known as CalWORKS is our state’s TANF program.

In California, when parents separate, family courts order child support payments based on both parents’ incomes and the amount of time each spends with the children. The custodial parent may choose to complete the necessary paperwork for payments to be made through child support services.

Many parents choose not to sign up for a number of reasons, such as if they have an agreement with their ex-partner or if they believe the non-custodial parent cannot afford the payments. Some parents do not want to interact with the other parent because they find it unpleasant or dangerous. some victims of domestic violence They fear that reporting their ex-partners to child support services will put them or their children in harm’s way.

“We believe that parents should be trusted to make a decision about what’s best for their family and not be forced into the system … the system doesn’t work for everyone,” Gonzalez said.

Nguyen said he was working with the opposition to resolve their differences.

“It’s just about making sure the money goes to the custodial parents and making sure they’re fed and cared for properly,” Nguyen said.