Giving CAs a bigger role in child support is proving controversial

from ChrisAnna MinkCalMatters

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Despite its seemingly impeccable goal — providing adequate child support to keep children out of poverty — the bill making its way through the state Assembly has left lawmakers and advocates divided.

The measure, by a Democratic assemblyman in Elk Grove Stephanie Nguyenwould force separated families to enroll in a state program authorized to garnish wages for child support.

Currently, parents/guardians must “opt in” to enroll in the California Department of Child Support Services. They often do not take this step, sometimes because they have arranged 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 the extra bit of income comes in. I think that reduces child poverty,” Nguyen said.

The measure targets what groups close to the child support system say is a pressing problem: When parents separate, child support agreements can fall apart. This leaves the problem to the justice 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 of Sacramento, Solano and San Joaquin counties.

“Right now, in Sacramento County alone, my department is sending $11 million home every month to families that are putting food on the table and shoes on children’s feet. 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.

But critics say that bringing all families into the child support services system could actually undermine the stability of separated families by severing the bonds that remain, such as when parents have reached their own financial arrangements.

Even a Democratic lawmaker who voted for the bill at the hearing raised questions about how it could affect single-parent families.

“I’ve seen what happens when families are separated, torn apart and torn apart,” Assemblyman Isaac Bryan, D-Los Angeles, said at the hearing. “And I’m just concerned that any way we further erode the strong bond between the parents, we’re harming the best interest of the child.”

First offer in the nation

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

There are just over 1 million court-ordered child support payments in the state, with total payments due reaching $2.6 billion in 2024.

If it’s Nguyen’s Assembly Bill 1643 passes, it’s unclear how many additional families will be included in the state’s reunification program, but it could be in the thousands based on the annual number of court orders.

“There’s a bit of an unknown. This could be a really fundamental change in a big state. (So, should they do a pilot study in one county?”) said Rebecca Miller, senior staff attorney at the Western Center for Law and Poverty.

Custodial parents of any income level can choose to enroll in child support services, but enrollment is mandatory for parents who receive public assistance under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act of 1975.

No state currently mandates 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, policy advocate for the Western Center for Law and Poverty.

Another issue is the cost to taxpayers, although Nguyen said the bill would not add costs.

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

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

The Mechanics of Child Support in California

Child support payments reduce poverty for children who live with their primary caregiver, but the payments alone are not enough to eliminate poverty, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In addition, making payments can exacerbate poverty for fathers living apart, especially if they are already on low incomes.

Child support payments have also been shown to offer other benefits, including greater involvement of the paying parent with their children, better academic results and well-being for children and improved relationships between parents.

The system that Nougien’s bill would default California families to, the Department of Child Support Services, already collects and distributes nearly two-thirds of the child support owed in the state by 2024. When needed, the department also finds parents and establishes paternity. It collects money by using payroll deductions and, if necessary, wage garnishments, tax refund garnishments, or driver’s license suspensions to enforce compliance.

The public system for child support payments is not clear, especially if the separation of the parents is acrimonious. Then the courts – actually two courts – can intervene.

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

Separately, the Title IV-D court is the federally mandated 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. Ability to work and be responsible for children in California, better known as CalWORKSis 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 can then choose to complete “opt-in” paperwork for the payments to go through child support services.

Many parents choose not to enroll for a variety of reasons, such as if they have

agreement with their ex-spouse or if they believe the non-custodial parent cannot afford payments. Some parents do not want to communicate with the other parent because it is uncomfortable or dangerous. some experienced domestic violence fear that reporting their ex-partners to child support services will put them or their children in harm’s way.

“We think 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 is working with opponents to resolve their differences.

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

This article was originally published on CalMatters and is republished under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives license.