“The Census report, being released today, includes data from 1995 to present. Since 1995, there have been new
efforts to collect more money from these absentee parents. In some cases, collections have risen. However, the
simple reality is, there are more cases than staff and we simply cannot help everyone.”


Still, advocates are worried. "Nonpayment of child support is a crime that causes poverty in America," said Geraldine Jensen, President of the Association for Children for Enforcement of Support. "Certainly with welfare reform, children
are going to be even more at risk." Part of the problem is that some of the fathers of these children are also poor. However, most are working and neglect their responsibilities towards ‘their’ children.


When observing the huge responsibilities of the single parent, we notice that these parents "have similar if not more barriers to getting work," said Michael Kharfen, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). One can not be a single parent and simply abandon their child to go to work a full time job. Thus a predicament exists
for the single parent.


The report also points to the importance of connecting non-custodial parents to their children. About three-fourths
(3/4) of those who had joint custody or visitation agreements made payments in 1995. That compares with just
thirty five (35%) percent of those without these agreements.


Overall, the report found that $17.8 billion was paid in support in 1995. That's 63 percent of the $28.3 billion that parents said they were owed.


The Census report is the nation's only estimate of all child support paid and owed across the country. HHS releases similar numbers, but those figures only capture parents who pay through the government's collection system,
explaining why the HHS collection numbers for 1995 were lower. The Census report also concluded that just $28.3
billion was owed, whereas HHS says nearly $50 billion was due that year. That may be because parents responding
to the Census questionnaire did not include all the support owed from previous years.

Absentee << Censusreports