Funding for Child Support Programs Looks Grim

The reductions to child support enforcement funding at the federal level were made as a part of the Deficit Reduction Act. These cuts which started to take effect in FY 2008, will not be restored. This represents a 17 percent reduction in funding for programs serving over 17 million children in 2006.

It is projects that these cuts will cost families about $1 billion per year in uncollected child support, according to preliminary estimates from the US Congressional Budget Office. In nine out of ten cases, that's moms and their kids who will be negatively effected by these cost reductions.

Despite my ranting about the inadequacies and incompetencies of the Florida Child Support Enforcement office, this means less money for training staff, less money for some initiatives that were beginning to show some promise by providing employment and case management services to low-income non-custodial parents, mostly fathers.

Despite what many say about "welfare" programs, child support provides more income to low-income families than almost any other government program.

The Child Support Protection Act of 2007 (S. 803 and H.R. 1382) would restore funds that were cut from the child support enforcement program.