Had Money

“If I Had Money” explores how court-ordered child support can create barriers to building economic security for Black parents, children, and their families—especially when the court-ordered debt is owed to the government. To further investigate the economic security of Black children, teenagers, and their fathers in Mississippi, CFFPP and the Coalition for a Prosperous Mississippi conducted focus groups and listening sessions with Black men, women, and high school students. Several policy recommendations are suggested, all focused on making sure children have the support they need—as well as their parents and families.

and never-married families

State child support enforcement agencies facilitate the legal establishment of paternity for children born outside of marriage, and enforce the payment of child support by noncustodial parents. They are directed to move cash resources from a nonresident parent to the home of his or her child. Ideally, this income transfer provides financial support for children, and security for custodial families. This paper describes how the agency is challenged in the fulfillment of this responsibility by the adversarial nature of its own process, and by the intractable poverty and unemployment (among other barriers to economic security ) of a significant portion of its caseload.

The child support system is complex, can be very confusing and can have dire consequences for families experiencing low incomes and employment instability. Compiled through decades of studying the child support system and processes, this 90-second video offers our Top 10 Points for Noncustodial Parents Dealing with the Child Support System.

and basic-needs budgeting information now!