Child Support Enforcement

Millions of parents nationwide live apart from one or more of their minor children. Child support payments from these noncustodial parents can be an important source of income for children and the households they live in. In fiscal year 2009 alone, the child support enforcement (CSE) program collected about $26 billion in child support payments on behalf of more than 17 million children, almost one in four children nationwide. States administer the CSE program, which is overseen at the federal level by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The federal government and states share the costs of the CSE program, with the federal government providing a majority of the funding. This book explores child support enforcement trends with a focus on tribal programs and driver's license suspension policies.