APPAM Presidential Address: Reflections on Who Counts and Why it Matters

Child support debt and the well‐being of disadvantaged fathers of color

“…The public child support program was designed to enforce child support orders among higher income fathers with stable employment who were unwilling to share economic resources with their children (Cancian, 2021). Today, however, about 70% of all arrears are held by men earning $10,000 or less (Sorensen et al, 2007), and child support enforcement has a disproportionate impact on low‐income fathers of color who are often unable to comply with these orders.…”

“…Child support is one of the largest income support programs in the United States, reaching about half of poor children and their families (Sorensen et al, 2018). By reinforcing assumptions that are consistent with the experiences of White, middle‐class families (i.e., a higher income divorcing father who is able to pay child support but may need to be compelled to do so), these policies and the aggressive enforcement tools used to collect arrears may not only fail to meet the needs of lower‐income families of color but also exacerbate race and class inequities (Cancian, 2021; Few‐Demo & Allen, 2020). Our study suggests child support debt may negatively impact the physical, mental, and economic well‐being of nonresident fathers who are unable to meet these obligations.…”

“…The enforcement tools available to states to collect support were also strengthened considerably to ensure fathers who were able but unwilling to support their children could be compelled to do so. This new objective of child support policy and the assumptions about why fathers failed to pay support were primarily relevant for the experiences of White, middle-class families and reflected the race and class positions of key advocates and policy makers who supported the program's expansion (Cancian, 2021).…”

“…The ineffectiveness of many of these enforcement mechanisms signals an important mismatch between the assumptions underpinning their use and the populations to whom they are often targeted. Reflecting the experiences of middle‐class White families following divorce, aggressive child support enforcement has been framed as an essential tool for compelling fathers who are able but unwilling to pay child support to share economic resources with their children (Brito et al, 2014; Cancian, 2021). Punitive enforcement efforts, however, have a disproportionate impact on lower‐income, unmarried fathers of color who make up the majority of obligors in the public child support program and are often unable to comply with these orders (Mincy & Sorensen, 1998).…”

“…Moreover, while aggressive enforcement actions are often justified by the image of the “deadbeat dad” (Battle, 2018; Dow, 2016), they may actually exacerbate the employment disadvantages low‐income fathers of color face, making it more difficult for them to repay these debts. As Maria Cancian observes (Cancian, 2021, p. 1): “The mismatch between rhetoric and reality of families' situations has been part of family policy development that has often reinforced, rather than ameliorated, inequities across race and class.”…”