tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/child-support-16439/articlesChild support – The Conversation2021-06-24T03:34:30Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1632642021-06-24T03:34:30Z2021-06-24T03:34:30ZIt takes a village: why sending your kid to childcare isn’t ‘outsourcing parenting’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408065/original/file-20210624-21-l73xh4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-children-playing-educational-toys-1240622437">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A Coalition <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jun/23/female-coalition-mps-fire-up-after-party-room-told-working-women-are-outsourcing-parenting">party room meeting this week</a> debated the A$1.7 billion childcare package announced in the budget, which would increase subsidies for families with more than one child in care and remove a cap on subsidies for higher-income families. </p>
<p>Some MPs reportedly argued childcare shouldn’t be the only type of care being subsidised and parents should also get help for staying at home with kids. One MP <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jun/23/female-coalition-mps-fire-up-after-party-room-told-working-women-are-outsourcing-parenting">reportedly suggested</a> working women were “outsourcing parenting” by sending their kids to childcare.</p>
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<p>Leaving aside the fact sending your kid to childcare doesn’t preclude you from parenting at home when your kid isn’t in childcare, early childhood education and care – which includes childcare and preschool – is an <a href="https://education.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/2929452/E4Kids-Report-3.0_WEB.pdf">important part</a> of a child’s development.</p>
<p>Parents are thought to be a <a href="https://earlychildhood.qld.gov.au/early-years/activities-and-resources/resources-parents/read-and-count/families-as-first-teachers">child’s first and most influential</a> educator. But children are also raised in the community. They learn important social, emotional, physical and cognitive skills and abilities during the critical time of their development. The course of human history over millennia shows raising a child takes a village. </p>
<h2>It takes a village</h2>
<p>Both nature and nurture influence successful development in children. Nature stems from biological factors children inherit from parents. Nurture is the environment children are exposed to. This is influenced by parents, siblings and caregivers in the home, as well as educators and peers in early education and care settings, and the broader community. </p>
<p>Young children need relationships with parents and <a href="http://46y5eh11fhgw3ve3ytpwxt9r-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/InBrief-The-Science-of-Early-Childhood-Development2.pdf">other caregivers</a> in society to develop important social and cognitive skills. Australia’s early childhood learning framework (equivalent to a curriculum) is called <a href="https://www.acecqa.gov.au/nqf/national-law-regulations/approved-learning-frameworks">Belonging, Being and Becoming</a>. This highlights its focus on children’s relationships, social skills and becoming members of society. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/increasing-the-childcare-subsidy-will-help-struggling-families-and-the-economy-142557">Increasing the childcare subsidy will help struggling families — and the economy</a>
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<p>There is no one size fits all guide for parenting as each family is different. </p>
<p>At times, parenting can be challenging with competing demands and responsibilities. Many of these can have an effect on children, and families could need support. Parents with mental and physical health challenges may sometimes be <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/6af928d6-692e-4449-b915-cf2ca946982f/aihw-cws-69-print-report.pdf.aspx?inline=true">less able than others to engage</a> their child in typical childhood activities without assistance from the community.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408073/original/file-20210624-25-b9dn0i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Father on the phone in front of his laptop while holding kid who is trying to touch everything on the desk." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408073/original/file-20210624-25-b9dn0i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408073/original/file-20210624-25-b9dn0i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408073/original/file-20210624-25-b9dn0i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408073/original/file-20210624-25-b9dn0i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408073/original/file-20210624-25-b9dn0i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408073/original/file-20210624-25-b9dn0i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408073/original/file-20210624-25-b9dn0i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Parenting can be challenging and childcare is is a valuable support, a part of the village.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-working-father-talking-on-phone-1657938115">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>The community includes many important supports to raise children such as relatives, health and parenting services. </p>
<p>For instance, a <a href="https://theconversation.com/1-in-3-new-mums-struggle-to-get-their-baby-to-sleep-but-some-women-have-a-tougher-time-102269">study of women</a> who required admission to residential parenting services (around 80% needed help to settle the child) found over half had a history of mental health issues. The study’s authors noted Australian women were not routinely receiving the psychological and social help they needed. They wrote:</p>
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<p>Parents have lost the village it takes to raise a child and increasingly feel isolated and unsupported.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/1-in-3-new-mums-struggle-to-get-their-baby-to-sleep-but-some-women-have-a-tougher-time-102269">1 in 3 new mums struggle to get their baby to sleep, but some women have a tougher time</a>
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<p>Early childhood education and care centres are one important part of our village. </p>
<p>They form a <a href="https://www.acecqa.gov.au/nqf/national-quality-standard/quality-area-6-collaborative-partnership-with-families-and-communities">support network established</a> to ensure parents’ and children’s lifelong success. Around three in five Australian children (925,900 children) aged 0-4 <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/children-youth/australias-children/contents/education/early-childhood-education">attended some form of childcare</a> in 2017. And nearly 296,000 (90%) of eligible children were enrolled in a preschool program in the year before full-time school.</p>
<p>Typically, the centres open at 6am and close at 6pm. Children can start <a href="https://www.dese.gov.au/key-official-documents-about-early-childhood/early-childhood-and-child-care-reports/child-care-australia/child-care-australia-report-december-quarter-2020">enrolment from birth</a> and will enter the nursery with an educator to child ratio of 1:4. </p>
<p>For parents who have experienced challenges parenting at home, or who may need help due to other commitments such as work, the option of early childhood education and care is precious. In 2015, the <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/childcare/report/childcare-overview.pdf">Productivity Commission estimated</a> around 165,000 Australian parents would like to work more, but were prevented due to poor accessibility or affordability of suitable childcare.</p>
<h2>Is there such a thing as too much childcare?</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.dese.gov.au/key-official-documents-about-early-childhood/early-childhood-and-child-care-reports/child-care-australia/child-care-australia-report-december-quarter-2020">average weekly attendance</a> in early education and care centres per child was 26.1 hours in December 2020. For long day care, the average was 30.5 hours per child, or around three days per week. This suggests parents still have many hours per week for parenting their children at home.</p>
<p>Evidence shows participation in quality early childhood education for at least 15 hours per week <a href="https://www.thefrontproject.org.au/images/downloads/Cost-benefit%20analysis_brochure.pdf">benefits children’s</a> overall development and provides them with important social and emotional skills.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408076/original/file-20210624-21-1kh6mmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Mum reading book with daughter in a living room tent." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408076/original/file-20210624-21-1kh6mmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408076/original/file-20210624-21-1kh6mmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408076/original/file-20210624-21-1kh6mmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408076/original/file-20210624-21-1kh6mmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408076/original/file-20210624-21-1kh6mmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408076/original/file-20210624-21-1kh6mmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408076/original/file-20210624-21-1kh6mmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Children spend around 26 hours per week in childcare, leaving a lot of time for parenting at home.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/family-bedtime-mom-child-daughter-reading-1060676333">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>But there are some families who do require a lot more childcare. In 2008, a <a href="https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/lifestyle/children-in-care-60-hours-a-week-20080729-gea6jq.html">census of childcare services found </a> 757 children across Australia were attending long daycare services for at least 60 hours a week. And a further 9,426 children were in care for between 50 and 60 hours a week at the time of the census in May 2006. </p>
<p>More recently, <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/education/childhood-education-and-care-australia/jun-2017">ABS data show</a> 28,200 children attended long daycare for 45 hours or more in 2017.</p>
<p>In 2018, a Canadian study published some worrying findings about <a href="https://ifstudies.org/blog/measuring-the-long-term-effects-of-early-extensive-day-care">risks of too many hours of full time childcare</a>. Statistical analysis showed significant differences in increased levels of hyperactivity, anxiety and aggression for children who attended more than 30 hours per week of childcare, in comparison to those who attended ten hours per week.</p>
<p>We would need more research to show the ways these risks depend on the nature and nurture of the child, the quality of the centre and staff, and influences of the community, government and funding. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/preschool-benefits-all-children-but-not-all-children-get-it-heres-what-the-government-can-do-about-that-117660">Preschool benefits all children, but not all children get it. Here's what the government can do about that</a>
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<p>We also don’t know why some children attend long hours at childcare. It may be for many reasons, including being in the child support system and parental health. In all these circumstances, as already discussed, childcare is an important and necessary social support.</p>
<p>We all play a role in raising children. It’s not a matter of outsourcing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163264/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laurien Beane does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Early childhood education and care centres, which includes childcare and preschool, are part of our village. They form a support network established to ensure parents’ and children’s lifelong success.Laurien Beane, Course Coordinator, Queensland Undergraduate Early Childhood, Australian Catholic UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/849092017-10-04T02:19:23Z2017-10-04T02:19:23ZFirst act of the family law review should be using research we already have<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/188454/original/file-20171002-12163-ickjgv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">We already have a great deal of high-quality information about what works, and what doesn't, in our family law system.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>On September 27, Attorney-General George Brandis <a href="https://www.attorneygeneral.gov.au/Mediareleases/Pages/2017/ThirdQuarter/First-comprehensive-review-of-the-family-law-act-27-September-2017.aspx">commissioned</a> the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) to undertake what he described as “the first comprehensive review of the family law system” since the commencement of the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdb/au/legis/cth/consol_act/fla1975114/">Family Law Act</a> in January 1976. </p>
<p>The terms of reference are extremely wide-ranging. Producing a report by March 31, 2019, seems overly ambitious.</p>
<p>There has been universal support for such a review from key players in family law, as well as those more on the periphery such as politicians espousing party-dictated views or representing individual (usually aggrieved) constituents.</p>
<p>As much as such a review will serve a valuable purpose, it is important to remember that our family law system has not remained static for the last four decades. There have been numerous significant reforms not only to the statute itself, but to the operation of courts determining family law cases, and allied areas such as family dispute resolution and counselling.</p>
<p>The Family Law Act initially introduced several revolutionary changes. For example, it established the <a href="http://www.familycourt.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/fcoaweb/home">Family Court of Australia</a>; introduced <a href="http://www.familycourt.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/fcoaweb/family-law-matters/family-law-in-australia/no-fault-divorce/">“no-fault” divorce</a>; and totally revamped laws about determining children’s cases and property settlement.</p>
<p>It also set up a new system of alternative dispute resolution and established the <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/">Australian Institute of Family Studies</a> (AIFS) as a dedicated research body, along with the <a href="https://www.ag.gov.au/FamiliesAndMarriage/FamilyLawCouncil/Pages/default.aspx">Family Law Council</a> (FLC) as a representative body to monitor and advise the federal government on operational and policy matters.</p>
<p>Since then, various aspects of our family law system have been examined and changed.</p>
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<p><em><strong>Further reading: <a href="https://theconversation.com/no-simple-solution-when-families-meet-the-law-58641">No simple solution when families meet the law</a></strong></em></p>
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<p>Family law legislation has undergone significant expansion and reform. It now covers divorce, <a href="http://www.familycourt.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/fcoaweb/family-law-matters/separation-and-divorce/nullity/">nullity</a>, parental responsibilities and obligations in respect of all children, and children’s rights. </p>
<p>It covers de facto relationships (marriage is dealt with specifically by the Marriage Act), spousal maintenance, division of property binding financial agreements, and family violence. There are now two federal family law courts, but they are overburdened and have long waiting lists.</p>
<p>Researchers too have not been idle. For example, the 1980s and 1990s saw a plethora of reports by the ALRC about <a href="http://www.alrc.gov.au/inquiries/domestic-violence">domestic violence</a> (1986), <a href="http://www.alrc.gov.au/report-39">matrimonial property</a> (1987), <a href="http://www.alrc.gov.au/inquiries/contempt">contempt</a> (1987), <a href="http://www.alrc.gov.au/inquiries/multiculturalism-and-law">multiculturalism and family law</a> (1991), <a href="http://www.alrc.gov.au/inquiries/equality-law">justice for women</a> (1994), and <a href="http://www.alrc.gov.au/report-73">complex child contact cases</a> (1995).</p>
<p>More recently, the ALRC has produced two substantial reports on <a href="http://www.alrc.gov.au/inquiries/family-violence">family violence</a>. </p>
<p>In addition, the AIFS, the FLC and the family law courts have each produced numerous reports on a wide range of areas including child protection, parenting arrangements post-separation, and family violence.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/188447/original/file-20171002-12115-12p5apx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/188447/original/file-20171002-12115-12p5apx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188447/original/file-20171002-12115-12p5apx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188447/original/file-20171002-12115-12p5apx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188447/original/file-20171002-12115-12p5apx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188447/original/file-20171002-12115-12p5apx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188447/original/file-20171002-12115-12p5apx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The Family Law Act established the Family Court of Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>There have also been important bipartisan state and federal parliamentary inquiries, most notably the federal inquiry into <a href="http://www.aphref.aph.gov.au-house-committee-fca-childcustody-media-030703-%20hull%20media%20(1).pdf">child custody arrangements in the event of family separation</a>. This in turn produced <a href="http://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/assets/documents/hilda-bibliography/other-publications/pre2010/FCA_childcustody_report_fullreport.pdf">“Every picture tells a story”</a> in 2003 and the <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/fvlawreform">parliamentary inquiry</a> into how family law can better support and protect those affected by family violence in 2017.</p>
<p>All these resources reflect a rich but largely unconnected tapestry of information about our family law system, which the ALRC can use to assess how best to reform the system.</p>
<p>Yes, the ALRC review of the Australian family law system is most welcome. However, it need not waste precious time or resources to remind us, as Leo Tolstoy wrote in Anna Karenina, that “all happy families resemble one another, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”. </p>
<p>Notwithstanding the wide terms of reference, some other areas merit attention. These include the use of “good” evidence-based social science in determining the best interests of children and crafting parenting orders. </p>
<p>Another area is access to justice. The high cost of legal representation and cuts to legal aid mean large numbers of self-represented litigants. Also there is the question of mandatory education for judges and legal professionals in areas such as family violence and child abuse, which comprise over half of the courts’ work loads.</p>
<p>We know that families are complex entities when intact. And it is equally complex and complicated catering to the needs of adults and children once those family structures break down. </p>
<p>It is hoped that at least as a preliminary task, the ALRC will traverse this vast archipelago of individual studies, reports and inquiries and produce one consolidated, cohesive and accessible resource base from which to conduct a well-informed, meaningful and far-reaching discourse and review.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84909/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Renata Alexander does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The review of the Australian family law system is welcome, but it should not waste precious time and resources on data that already exist.Renata Alexander, Senior Lecturer in Law, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/739022017-03-20T19:17:29Z2017-03-20T19:17:29ZHigher child support doesn’t lead to welfare dependency for single mums<p>Child support <a href="http://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/tpp/jpsj/2017/00000025/00000001/art00006">reduces poverty</a> among single mothers in Australia and does not discourage employment or reduce the number of hours worked. <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1475-4932.12314/full">My analysis</a> of data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey studies how the amount of child support a single mother receives, affects how much she works. </p>
<p><a href="https://aifs.gov.au/publications/impact-child-support-payments-labour-supply-de">Previous research</a> has found that single mums with bigger child support payments worked less than those with lower payments. This is partly due to the <a href="https://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/enablers/working-out-child-support-payments-using-basic-formula">formula</a> that determines how much child support should be paid.</p>
<p>The formula means that when the non-resident father’s income is higher, child support increases. But if a single mother stops working and the father’s income stays the same, her child support payments increase. </p>
<p>The formula directly causes child support to increase if hours of work decrease. My analysis adjusts for this and finds that receiving a higher child support payment leads to an increase in the employment rate of single mothers and an increase in the number of hours worked each week.</p>
<p>One explanation for these results is the way that child support and welfare payments interact. When the level of child support increases, there is a change in the trade-offs single mums face when deciding how much to work. </p>
<p>Family Tax Benefit A is reduced by 50 cents <a href="https://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/enablers/income-test-family-tax-benefit-part">for every dollar of child support received above a certain amount</a>. So mothers with a high child support payment, get less Family Tax Benefit A. This means that there is less Family Tax Benefit A to lose as a mother’s income increases and so the incentive to work is stronger. </p>
<h2>Welfare dependency</h2>
<p>A popular concern is that higher levels of child support could enable long-term welfare dependence. Single mothers may rely on child support and parenting payments and then transition to other income support payments as their children grow up.</p>
<p>However I found that more child support can increase employment for single mothers, this means that higher levels of child support could in fact reduce long-term welfare dependency for this high-risk group.</p>
<p>Single mother households make up <a href="http://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/tpp/jpsj/2017/00000025/00000001/art00006">over 87% of child support recipients</a> in Australia, and are significantly more likely to be in poverty than other households. <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/allprimarymainfeatures/5F4BB49C975C64C9CA256D6B00827ADB?opendocument">43% of single parent households</a> rely on welfare payments as their main source of income. </p>
<p>The recent government <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/09_2016/baseline_valuation_results_report_accessible_version_12_july_2016_2pwc._2.pdf">Baseline Evaluation Report</a> into the lifetime costs of Australia’s welfare system identified young parents as a group who will access welfare payments intensively across their lifetime.</p>
<h2>A case for higher child support?</h2>
<p>Single mothers work more when their child support increases and other welfare payments such as the Parenting Payment fall by less than the increase in earnings. This means that when child support increases, single mothers have higher household income.</p>
<p>Some of this increased income will be taken up by childcare costs. Despite this, increased employment is likely to increase the wellbeing of single mothers and their children. </p>
<p>When these women work more it <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1475-4932.2005.00261.x/full">increases their superannuation and their future earnings</a>, reducing the chances of old-age poverty. Children growing up in households that are not reliant on income support are <a href="http://ftp.iza.org/dp4618.pdf">less likely to become income support recipients in early adulthood</a>.</p>
<p>In terms of eligibility, <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/allprimarymainfeatures/E6A9286119FA0A85CA25699000255C89?opendocument">21% of children in Australia have a parent living elsewhere</a> and so qualify to receive child support. Changes to the level of child support payments can therefore affect the long-term employment outcomes of many parents.</p>
<p>However, the level of child support payments is an understandably contentious issue. Parents paying child support <a href="https://www.ag.gov.au/Publications/Documents/Post-SeparationParentingPropertyAndRelationshipDynamicsAfterFiveYears/post-separation-parenting-property-and-relationship-dynamics-after-five-years-chapter-7b.pdf">describe the amount they pay as unfair</a>, and parents receiving child support find the amount received insufficient. </p>
<p>The finding that higher levels of child support do not discourage single mothers’ employment gives confidence that an increase in child support would not increase their welfare dependence. However there’s room to research the effect on single fathers, so that the full implications of such an increase can be fully understood.</p>
<p><em>Dr Fisher will be online for an Author Q&A between 12.30pm, and 1.30pm on Tuesday, 21 March, 2017. Post any questions you have in the comments below.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/73902/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hayley Fisher receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>Higher child support payments actually lead to an increase in the employment rate of single mums, research finds.Hayley Fisher, Senior Lecturer in Economics, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/661282016-10-07T00:20:39Z2016-10-07T00:20:39ZWhat would another review of child support achieve? We know the problems, and how to fix them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140431/original/image-20161005-15886-1269scj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There are high rates of non-payment, partial payment and late payment of child support.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Australian National Audit Office recently listed child support program arrangements between the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and the Department of Human Services as a <a href="https://www.anao.gov.au/work/performance-audit/child-support-collection-arrangements-between-australian-taxation-office-and">priority issue</a>. This comes as the One Nation party calls for a <a href="http://www.onenation.com.au/policies/family-law">review of child support</a>. </p>
<p>While the ATO changes were flagged in the 2015 <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/childsupport">parliamentary inquiry into the child support program</a>, the two announcements have been linked. But this does not recognise that Australia’s child support program has been an ongoing policy challenge. </p>
<p>Since 2003, it has been the subject of two <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House_of_representatives_Committees?url=fca/childcustody/report.htm">parliamentary</a> <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/childsupport">inquiries</a>, a <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/families-and-children/programs-services/the-child-support-scheme/ministerial-taskforce-on-child-support">ministerial taskforce</a> and <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/families-and-children/programs-services/history-of-the-child-support-scheme">major reforms</a>. The program is consistently among the <a href="http://www.ombudsman.gov.au/publications/annual/all-commonwealth-ombudsman-reports/commonwealth-ombudsman-2014-15-html">top-five Australian government agencies</a> about which the Commonwealth Ombudsman receives complaints. So what are the key child support challenges in Australia?</p>
<h2>The child support formula</h2>
<p>Child support is typically calculated using a <a href="https://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/enablers/working-out-child-support-payments-using-basic-formula">standardised formula</a>. This includes each parent’s reported income, the number of nights children spend at each parent’s house, and age- and income-referenced costs of children. </p>
<p>Despite changes in 2008 that reduced the average payments and capped liabilities, payers (mostly fathers) continue to claim they pay too much. Recipients (mostly mothers) continue to argue they receive too little.</p>
<p>Responses are complicated by debates over how to calculate the costs of children. And on a practical level, parents’ incomes cannot stretch as far when one household becomes two. This applies particularly to child support program clients, who are on average worse-off financially than the general population. </p>
<p>About one-third of child support program cases involve payments of less than A$500 per year. This amount cannot meaningfully contribute to the costs of children.</p>
<h2>Compliance</h2>
<p><a href="https://aifs.gov.au/publications/snapshot-contemporary-attitudes-child-support">Past research</a> shows Australians are broadly in agreement with the proposition that child support should always be paid. But this hasn’t translated to practice. </p>
<p>There are high rates of non-payment, partial payment and late payment of child support. <a href="https://www.ag.gov.au/Publications/Pages/Post-SeparationParentingPropertyAndRelationshipDynamicsAfterFiveYears.aspx">Data from 2012</a> show only around 40% of recipient mothers report child support paid in full and on time. Less than three-quarters of payer fathers – the group most likely to present payment patterns in a positive light – report making payments in full and on time. </p>
<p>Thus, low amounts of child support are exacerbated by its unreliability. </p>
<h2>The intersection of child support and welfare</h2>
<p>When people receive child support over a certain amount, Family Tax Benefit A will be reduced by 50 cents for <a href="https://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/enablers/child-support-and-your-family-tax-benefit-part">every dollar of child support assessment</a>. </p>
<p>But when there is a discrepancy between amounts on the books and amounts paid (or not paid), Centrelink recipients can lose both the expected amount of child support and a proportion of their Family Tax Benefit A and Rent Assistance. </p>
<p>If back-payments are received, these can further reduce Centrelink payments because they count as higher amounts of child support. Recipients can avoid these penalties if they show they did not receive the assessed amount of child support, but this provision is not widely known. Recipients can thus lose out twice. </p>
<h2>Relationship with the ATO</h2>
<p>This is the Australian National Audit Office’s (ANAO) proposed focus. </p>
<p>Child support assessments are linked to income. PAYG taxpayers can avoid or delay lodging tax returns and can, by reducing their taxable income limit, reduce child support assessments. </p>
<p>The non-lodgement of tax returns is a particular concern, because the current solution imputes the payer’s income from their last known tax return indexed for growth in real wages. This cannot capture wage advancement or business growth. Recipients bear the financial cost through lower child support assessments.</p>
<h2>The symbolic meanings of child support</h2>
<p>The original scheme’s introduction was expected to neutralise the emotional tenor of child support payments. However, child support is not just a financial matter: it is what sociologist <a href="http://sociology.princeton.edu/faculty/viviana-a-zelizer">Viviana Zelizer</a> calls “special money”. </p>
<p>People use child support to express and manage relationships with former partners and children. In difficult post-separation situations, refusing to pay child support can impose power over a former partner, or express resentment that financial contributions are not valued. </p>
<p>Conversely, paying child support or using it for child-specific costs can be an expression of love and of being a “good” mother or father. </p>
<p>Tweaking the formula or strengthening enforcement may alter flows of money between parents, but this won’t necessarily defuse the sense of unfairness or frustration that reflects the link between child support and what it means and how it feels to be a parent after separation. </p>
<p>The proposed ANAO audit and other recommendations can only partially tackle the challenges of child support. And implementing changes is likely to bring political heat – particularly if the changes limit the financial autonomy of payers, whose interests have dominated public and political claims about child support.</p>
<p>Any reforms must move beyond a focus on administrative processes to acknowledge the lived experiences of child support, which can be disguised by formal policy, and, most fundamentally, the social and economic wellbeing of children and their caregivers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66128/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kay Cook receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kristin Natalier does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Any reforms must move beyond a focus on administrative processes to acknowledge the lived experiences of child support which can be disguised by formal policy.Kristin Natalier, Associate Professor in Sociology, Flinders UniversityKay Cook, Senior Lecturer, Justice and Legal Studies Department, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/559622016-03-16T04:31:58Z2016-03-16T04:31:58ZSouth Africa’s social welfare system faces deepening challenges<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115091/original/image-20160315-9282-f8u1h1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The shadows of a mother and child are cast on a shack in a township in South Africa. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko</span> </figcaption></figure><p>Twenty years ago South Africa embarked on a bold strategy to renew its welfare system. This was part of a larger project to transform South African society to achieve peace and social justice and overcome the social divisions of the past. </p>
<p>Significant policy and legislative achievements have been made, and a rights-based approach to social welfare has been promoted. Formal racial discrimination in access to services has been abolished. And a nationally integrated single welfare system has been created for all South Africans. </p>
<p>South Africa is acknowledged as the leader and an innovator on social development in the global South. But the implementation of social development policies has not been seamless. </p>
<h2>Grants as a political tool</h2>
<p>Social grants have had a major effect on poverty reduction and some effects on reducing inequality. But without growth in employment it will be difficult to reduce income poverty substantially. </p>
<p>Despite the achievements of the social protection system, there is still considerable debate about whether or not this is the right way forward for the country. Issues include the widespread belief that grant beneficiaries abuse the money, that social grants encourage teenage pregnancies and dependency on the state.</p>
<p>Although there is no evidence that social assistance, or social grants, have these unintended effects, these views pose a threat. They could lead to a backlash against the programme among politicians, taxpayers and the public.</p>
<p>Recent local and national election campaigns also show how social protection can be used by the ruling party for its electoral gain. The discourse among politicians in the ruling party during the 2014 election campaign was that grant beneficiaries who voted for the opposition were betraying the hand that feeds them. Grant beneficiaries were also unsure as to whether their grants are protected if they voted for another political party. </p>
<p>This has given rise to a view that social grants are a form of ‘vote buying’. For example by distributing food parcels during elections. These issues are relevant to the future outlook of social assistance.</p>
<h2>Flaws in the system</h2>
<p>The White Paper for Social Welfare set out a policy framework, proposals and recommendations for implementation. But confusion remained about the theory undergirding the approach. There was a lack of clarity about definitions and the application of the approach. This was believed to be a major factor in the slow progress that was made in implementation. </p>
<p>Different interpretations exist, such as that individual therapeutic interventions and statutory child protection services were to be replaced with community development and with income generation programmes. Social workers felt ill equipped to implement the new approach. Some saw it as marginalising the social work profession. This was historically the primary profession in the welfare field. Resistance was therefore evident.</p>
<p>Large-scale transformation of a country’s welfare system requires substantial change management interventions. These help professionals and service providers make strategic shifts. This didn’t happen in a systematic way. </p>
<p>There has also been inadequate monitoring and evaluation of social development policies. A lack of agreed indicators to measure and track changes over time does not exist.</p>
<p>And without leaders able to champion the transformation, momentum was lost in the implementation of developmental welfare services.</p>
<h2>Welfare services crowded out</h2>
<p>In the latter part of the 1990s the government adopted the Growth, Employment and Redistribution policy (GEAR). It signalled a retreat from the basic needs approach of the earlier Reconstruction and Development Programme. Although this did not result in a significant lowering of social spending, government was concerned with reducing its debt burden.</p>
<p>GEAR could be described as a voluntary structural adjustment programme and was severely criticised by the labour movement and civil society organisations. They campaigned against creeping neo-liberalism in social and economic policies. </p>
<p>Later, as economic growth and the state’s capacity to raise taxes improved, increased resources were directed to the social sector. Political support also increased, resulting in the expansion of social grants.</p>
<p>But the expansion of social assistance at the time had a negative impact on education and health services. The trade-off between growing one social development programme at the expense of other important programmes was highlighted by both government and groups in the social sector. </p>
<p>While National Treasury tried to balance these trade-offs, welfare services continued to be crowded out as social assistance expanded. Although there have been some increases in recent years to address the imbalance, welfare services and community development programmes remain neglected. They continue to lack funding and social policy innovation. </p>
<h2>Implementation stymied</h2>
<p>Challenges of an institutional, economic and political nature influenced the way in which the developmental approach was implemented. </p>
<p>Social welfare services are delivered as a concurrent function by provincial governments. The ability of provinces to redirect welfare funds to other services and priorities means that developmental welfare services continue to be underfunded.</p>
<p>A lack of capacity in provincial governments to plan, implement, monitor and evaluate service delivery outcomes also hampered service delivery. </p>
<p>Power struggles between government officials and non-profit organisation (NPO) partners also held back the potential benefits that might have been realised by the partnership model. </p>
<p>In addition, services delivered by NPOs reached a limited number of people and were not extended to rural and underserviced areas. Many NPOs are concentrated in urban areas. </p>
<p>A lack of institutional capacity, including loss of staff by NPOs to government, inadequate numbers of social workers, community development workers, child and youth care workers and paraprofessionals has been a serious impediment. </p>
<p>But increasing the number of practitioners to implement a social treatment approach to social work and service delivery will not have the desired outcome. Greater attention needs to be given to appropriate training of students and existing personnel in developmental welfare. </p>
<p>There is also need for a culture of research and innovation in the welfare field. A lack of resources to support innovation, together with a lack of transformation leaders to champion social development, are other barriers.</p>
<p>Corruption is widely reported at different levels in government. In the welfare field, this is significant in the administration of the social grants system. </p>
<p>Service delivery protests in local communities are drawing attention to corruption by public officials and to the failure of local authorities to meet community needs.</p>
<p>Labour disputes also spiral into local protests and violence in communities especially in areas with mining operations. Party political divisions and dynamics also play out in communities and underlie community-level conflict and tensions.</p>
<p>Government has implemented various interventions to increase efficiency, particularly in the administration of social grants. But welfare and development agencies and practitioners continue to face numerous challenges in service delivery and how to best facilitate participatory development. </p>
<p><em>This is an extract from Social Welfare and Social Development, the second edition of the <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/social-welfare-and-social-development-9780199076833?cc=za&lang=en&#">book</a> by the author.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/55962/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leila Patel serves on the board of the Rivoni Trust, a non-profit entity.</span></em></p>Progress in South Africa’s welfare system is being hindered by corruption, labour disputes and a lack of research and innovation in the field.Leila Patel, Professor of Social Development Studies, University of JohannesburgLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/543262016-02-29T19:08:01Z2016-02-29T19:08:01ZHow child support can better help single mothers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112277/original/image-20160222-23457-3ovi3i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Poverty strikes single mothers disproportionately, which is exacerbated by child support failures.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Child support is often a highly charged, contested aspect of parenting after a relationship breaks down. It has the potential to counter child poverty but is often less a resource than an intransigent problem in the lives of single mothers, undermining their financial security and sense of well-being.</p>
<p>In Australia child support can be paid through Department of Human Services (Child Support) or organised privately. <a href="https://www.ag.gov.au/Publications/Documents/Post-SeparationParentingPropertyAndRelationshipDynamicsAfterFiveYears/post-separation-parenting-property-and-relationship-dynamics-after-five-years-chapters-0-2.pdf">Most people</a> who pay child support are fathers, and most people who receive child support are mothers. </p>
<p>In my <a href="https://www.academia.edu/13298344/Single_mothers_experiences_with_the_DHS-CS_full_report">recent research</a>, conducted with Kay Cook and Torna Pitman, single mothers raised three central concerns about Australia’s child support system.</p>
<h2>Compliance</h2>
<p>This is a common finding in <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/publications/snapshot-contemporary-attitudes-child-support">Australian</a> <a href="https://www.ag.gov.au/Publications/Documents/Post-SeparationParentingPropertyAndRelationshipDynamicsAfterFiveYears/post-separation-parenting-property-and-relationship-dynamics-after-five-years-chapters-0-2.pdf">research</a>. Many payers do not consistently transfer child support in full and on time. </p>
<p>Women also report that former partners underestimate their incomes or fail to lodge tax returns. They are frustrated by slow responses, the need to follow up multiple times, the unrealistic expectation that they gather information on their former partner’s income, and the limited power and will of departmental workers to address payment problems.</p>
<p>One said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’ve had a number of people, probably maybe four or five different staff, say, ‘You should be just counting yourself lucky if you get anything at all’. </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Calculating the costs</h2>
<p>When fathers earn low incomes, child support will not meaningfully contribute to the costs of raising a child. This shortfall is sharpened by a standardised formula calculating the <a href="http://guides.dss.gov.au/child-support-guide/2/4/2#costs2016">costs of children</a> that does not realistically capture living, schooling, extracurricular and health costs. </p>
<p>When parents are faced with unexpected or changed costs of raising children, they can apply to the department to change the assessed amount of child support. However, these processes are onerous to pursue and not widely known.</p>
<p>For many, child support does not significantly contribute to the basics, let alone come close to meeting:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… all those extra costs that are important for children to grow and develop and be part of the community rather than being the poor kid that’s sort of left out.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Department communication</h2>
<p>Women’s interactions with the department are characterised by poor accessibility and communication. It is difficult to contact staff, and case managers are typically unavailable. </p>
<p>Women report “hard and harsh and aggressive” responses from staff; inaccurate or uninformative responses and reports; lost information; information silos separating the department, the Australian Tax Office and Centrelink; and a refusal by workers to take into account women’s experiences of domestic violence and rape. These interactions intensify the insecurity, fear and sometimes despair felt by women. </p>
<p>There are some positive points. Some mothers note that the impersonal processes of the department could facilitate payments and reduce the associated tensions, especially in high-conflict relationships. Some describe useful information, and value the moral support they receive. And, for many, low or unreliable payments are better than no money at all. </p>
<p>These benefits suggest that child support and the department can make a positive contribution to the lives of single mothers and their children.</p>
<h2>How can it be fixed?</h2>
<p>So what needs to happen? Women recommended four changes to child support processes.</p>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>Rethink the costs of children</strong>. More generous calculations can increase mothers’ ability to care for children in line with social expectations, mitigating the social exclusion of children. Making it easier to request a reassessment based on changed or unexpected costs would better reflect the financial contingencies of raising a child. </p></li>
<li><p><strong>Take compliance seriously</strong>. This requires timely responses to payment issues, increasing the investigative powers available to the department, <a href="http://www.australianreview.net/journal/v11/n2/cook.html">closing tax return loopholes</a> and imposing “sticks” (for example, fines) for late payment. Importantly, introducing state-guaranteed child support payments will limit the financial instability arising from unreliable child support.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Facilitate information sharing between the department, the Tax Office and Centrelink</strong>. This will mean women are not required to report information multiple times, welfare payments can be adjusted in response to child support inconsistencies, and information is not lost in the system. Government should systematise communication between police and the department in instances of domestic violence (with women’s consent).</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Improve departmental communication and support to parents</strong>. There should be straightforward, written materials communicating amounts of child support paid and outstanding, relevant options and processes (particularly exemptions from seeking child support <a href="http://guides.dss.gov.au/family-assistance-guide/3/1/5/70">in instances of domestic violence</a>), and the relationship between child support and government payments. Parents should also be able to have face-to-face meetings with department staff, social workers and case managers. Staff should be trained to identify and respond to domestic violence, which impacts on the <a href="http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=923393563390121;res=IELAPA">dynamics of child support payment and non-payment</a>.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Implementing the recommended changes will address immediate challenges faced by women. However, the poverty experienced by disproportionately high levels of <a href="http://benews.unimelb.edu.au/2013/2013-hilda-report-sounds-the-alarm-on-child-poverty/">single mothers</a> exacerbates the impacts of child support failures. </p>
<p>Changing discrete practices can only be a first step in a much bolder approach to supporting and valuing single mothers and their children.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/54326/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kristin Natalier has previously received funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute.
She is Treasurer of The Australian Sociological Association.</span></em></p>Single mothers have identified a number of impediments to receiving adequate child support, including compliance, costs and difficult interactions with government agencies.Kristin Natalier, Associate Professor in Sociology, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/406102015-04-28T10:00:33Z2015-04-28T10:00:33ZThe crisis revealed by the killing of Walter Scott: how we’re failing vulnerable fathers<p>The sight of a South Carolina white police officer shooting Walter Scott, a 50-year-old black man in the back was so chilling that many of us never thought to ask: what made Scott so desperate to get away from the officer? </p>
<p>We learned right away that he had been apprehended for a broken taillight, but obviously there was something else going on, or he wouldn’t have fled in that manner.</p>
<p>The story that has since emerged is that he had feared going to jail for unpaid child support. The fact that a parent owing child support can be incarcerated – and often is – is just as reprehensible, I would argue, as the blatant disregard shown by Officer Slager for Walter Scott’s life. </p>
<p>The fear of incarceration bears indirect responsibility for Scott’s death. And Walter Scott was not alone in feeling this fear. </p>
<p>At present, there are approximately <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Failing-Our-Fathers-Confronting-Economically/dp/0199371148/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1430160615&sr=1-1&keywords=failing+our+fathers">9 million</a> nonresident fathers (that is to say, fathers who do not live in the same household as their child or children) of whom over half are economically vulnerable. </p>
<p>Vulnerable nonresident fathers are men who have child support obligations, and who would be poor or near poor if they paid their support in full since doing so would leave them barely able to meet their daily living expenses, placing them in an impossible situation. </p>
<p>Currently a massive <a href="http://www.urban.org/research/publication/assessing-child-support-arrears-nine-large-states-and-nation">seventy percent</a> of all past due support – referred to as arrears – are owed by nonresident fathers making $10,000 or less per year. </p>
<p>In many states fathers can be incarcerated for failing to pay child support. In Walter Scott’s case, he lost a well paying job while incarcerated for failure to pay, making a difficult situation far worse. </p>
<p>This is a crisis that needs addressing. </p>
<h2>South Carolina’s notoriety</h2>
<p>South Carolina, where the Walter Scott incident took place, is notorious for the use of incarceration to punish nonresident fathers for failing to pay child support. </p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publishing/preview/publiced_preview_briefs_pdfs_2010_2011_10_10_PetitionerAmCuEPattersonandtheSCAppleseed.authcheckdam.pdf">survey</a> conducted by law professor Elizabeth Patterson in 2005 and 2009 in South Carolina found that nearly one out of over six to eight individuals in county jails were family court detainees. In some county jails, proportions were even higher. </p>
<p>In fact, it was South Carolina’s practices that led to the 2011 Supreme Court case of Turner v Rogers, which involved a man being ordered to spend a year in prison because of his delinquency in child support payments without giving him any opportunity to establish his ability to pay. </p>
<p>In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court <a href="http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/turner-v-price/">ruled</a> that even in such cases, states cannot deprive citizens of their due-process rights. </p>
<p>To create a fairer system, it is essential to separate fathers who will not pay from those who simply cannot pay. </p>
<p>Incarcerating dead broke fathers simply punishes men for the crime of being poor. Furthermore, a prison record may significantly diminish the future ability of a noncustodial father to secure a good job and lift themselves and their families out of poverty.</p>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.presidentschallenge.org/ACF_OCSE/">Department of Health and Human Services</a></span>
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<p>Since Turner v Rogers the <a href="http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/css">Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement</a> (OCSE) has undertaken a massive campaign to educate states on the appropriate legal procedures. For example, before forcing noncustodial parents to choose between incarceration or a purge payment - an immediate lump sum - courts should ensure that fathers can afford to make such a payment. </p>
<p>The OCSE campaign also advises states on alternatives to incarceration as a means of collecting delinquent child support. For example, states can require fathers without jobs or adequate income to participate in employment programs, helping them to find work and meet their obligations. </p>
<p>The Supreme Court decision also inspired the OCSE to propose a series of rule changes in the child support enforcement program. Among other things, these changes are meant to ensure that child support orders actually reflect the ability of nonresidential fathers to pay. </p>
<p>The fact of the matter is this: In the US, the child support system lags behind a reality that has been in place for close to forty years. </p>
<h2>The growing vulnerability of fathers</h2>
<p>Since the mid-1970s, the <a href="http://www.stateofworkingamerica.org/subjects/wages/?reader">earnings</a> of men without graduate degrees have stagnated or declined, except for a brief period during the economic boom of the 1990s. During this same period, state efforts to enforce child support collections have increased with the help of the federal government.</p>
<p>This downward wage trend has made it increasingly difficult for fathers to support their families. </p>
<p>Many of the fathers making $20,000 or less never married the mothers of their children, which is now the case for <a href="http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/22670489">41%</a> of all births in the United States. These fathers had to be subpoenaed by the courts to determine if they were the legal fathers. Oftentimes, they failed to appear in court —- because of fear, transportation issues, or because they had no permanent address and never received the subpoena. </p>
<p>When a putative father fails to appear, the courts determine that he is the legal father by default, and child support orders are set without the information about the father’s actual income or ability to pay. </p>
<p>Instead, the courts impute (or infer) these fathers’ income level by using a proportion of welfare and other benefits the child receives, or by looking at the earnings at the father’s last-known job. If there is no record of prior earnings, the order is based on earnings at a full-time, full-year job paying minimum wage, which the courts assume any father could find. </p>
<p>Not surprisingly, the resulting child support order is often more than some of these fathers can afford, so they fall into arrears. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.urban.org/research/publication/assessing-child-support-arrears-nine-large-states-and-nation">Studies</a> show that in states that regularly use default orders and so-called income imputation, fathers with earnings of $20,000 or less accounted for the majority of arrears. </p>
<p>Though South Carolina has always been an outlier in incarcerating nonresident fathers for nonpayment, all fifty states still use civil contempt, potentially resulting in jail time, as a sanction. </p>
<p>For fathers who lack the economic resources, incarceration still looms large. However, in the wake of the Turner v Rogers decision, the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement is encouraging states to not choose prison time as a first option. Many have chosen to take this path. </p>
<p>Besides working with states to limit the coercive use of incarceration to collect child support, the OCSE is now proposing rule changes that would help fathers with limited income meet their child support obligations. One of them would require courts to base child support orders on actual earnings, income, or assets -— rather than imputed income. </p>
<p>A second change would require courts to take into consideration the fathers’ subsistence needs when setting child support orders. Called a self-support reserve, this provision adjusts the father’s income to first consider basic needs, like rent and food, and then to set the child support order on the amount that remains. </p>
<p>In this way, low-income fathers no longer need to choose between meeting their daily expenses (rent, utilities, and transportation to work) and paying their child support. As they cannot cover both, they usually choose the former, with the result that their child support debts grow.</p>
<h2>Political roadblocks to reform</h2>
<p>Had Walter Scott lived, he might have seen the day where he no longer needed to fear being incarcerated for failing to pay child support – something that had already happened to him before this fatal incident occurred. </p>
<p>Or perhaps not. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, the proposed changes —- which represent decades of work by child support researchers, advocates, and policymakers -— are now caught up in a political battle of wills on Capitol Hill. </p>
<p>Leading Republican congressmen, such as Congressman Dave Camp, Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Senator Orrin Hatch, Chair of the Senate Finance Committee have asked the Office of Child Support Enforcement to withdraw the proposed changes —- not because they take issue with the substance but because they feel that the Obama administration is overstepping its authority to make these changes without Congressional approval. </p>
<p>Let’s hope the memory of the fleeing Walter Scott, and his subsequent shooting, is enough for common sense to prevail and these long-awaited reform measures to be adopted. </p>
<p>This would go some way towards salvaging the legacy of a man who, while he neglected his duty to provide for his children, should not have been leading the life of a fugitive.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/40610/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ronald B Mincy receives funding from W.K Kellogg Foundation, National Institute of Child and Human Development, Russell Sage Foundation. He is affiliated with the National Fathers Leaders Group.</span></em></p>In many states fathers can be incarcerated for failing to pay child support. This is a crisis that needs addressing.Ronald B Mincy, Maurice V Russell Professor of Social Policy and Social Work Practice, School of Social Work, Columbia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.