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Supporting children born outside of marriage: Do child support awards keep pace with changes in fathers' incomes?

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  • D. R. Meyer

Abstract

Many children born to mothers who are not married are very poor, and in many instances their mothers do not receive child support. Some excuse this by asserting that the fathers of these children do not and never will earn enough to pay adequate support. But the records of paternity cases that came to court in Wisconsin between 1980 and 1988 show that half of the fathers aged twenty-five and older had incomes over $10,000. More important, the men who had the lowest incomes when they became fathers--such men were usually teenagers--were the ones whose incomes increased the most over the years. Even so, the records reveal that there was no relationship between changes in the incomes of the fathers and changes in the amounts of child support awards, a situation the Family Support Act of 1988 is seeking to rectify.

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  • D. R. Meyer, "undated". "Supporting children born outside of marriage: Do child support awards keep pace with changes in fathers' incomes?," Institute for Research on Poverty Discussion Papers 1026-93, University of Wisconsin Institute for Research on Poverty.
    • Handle: RePEc:wop:wispod:1026-93
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    File URL: http://www.irp.wisc.edu/publications/dps/pdfs/dp102693.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Elizabeth Phillips & Irwin Garfinkel, 1993. "Income growth among nonresident fathers: evidence from Wisconsin," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 30(2), pages 227-241, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. D. R. Meyer, "undated". "Health insurance and child support," Institute for Research on Poverty Discussion Papers 1042-94, University of Wisconsin Institute for Research on Poverty.
    2. Yoonsook Ha & Maria Cancian & Daniel R. Meyer, 2018. "Child Support and Income Inequality," Poverty & Public Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 10(2), pages 147-158, June.

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    1. D. R. Meyer, "undated". "Health insurance and child support," Institute for Research on Poverty Discussion Papers 1042-94, University of Wisconsin Institute for Research on Poverty.
    2. Rich, Lauren M., 2001. "Regular and irregular earnings of unwed fathers: Implications for child support practices," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(4-5), pages 353-376.
    3. Irwin Garfinkel & Sara Mclanahan & Daniel Meyer & Judith Seltzer, 1998. "Fathers under Fire: The Revolution in Child Support Enforcement in the USA (This CASEpaper is a summary of the book by the same title and authors, published by the Russel Sage Foundation, 1998)," CASE Papers 014, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
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    8. Irwin Garfinkel & Sara Mclanahan & Daniel Meyer & Judith Seltzer, 1998. "Fathers under Fire: The Revolution in Child Support Enforcement in the USA (This CASEpaper is a summary of the book by the same title and authors, published by the Russel Sage Foundation, 1998)," CASE Papers case14, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
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