Authors:
Elaine Sorensen, Liliana Sousa, Simon Schaner
The Urban Institute
July 11, 2007
Prepared for:
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning
and Evaluation (ASPE)
and
Office of Child Support
Enforcement (OCSE)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Contract #: 233-02-0092
This report is available on the Internet at:
http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/07/assessing-CS-debt/index.htm
Printer Friendly PDF version (45 pages)
(This report is available in PDF format only.)
How to Obtain a Printed Copy
Executive Summary (in
PDF format, 12 pages)
Acknowledgments
Chapters:
-
Introduction
-
An Overview of the Nine Study States
-
High Debtors Owed Most of the Arrears
-
Nearly All Obligors owed Arrears but the Amount the Typical Obligor Owed
was less than $5,000
-
Who Owes Child Support Arrears?
-
Obligors with No or Low Reported Income Held Most of the Arrears
-
Obligors Who Did Not Pay Support in the Last Year Owed a Disproportionate
Share of Arrears
-
Obligors with Arrears-Only Cases Owed a Disproportionate Share of Arrears
-
Obligors with Older Orders Owed a Disproportionate Share of Arrears
-
Obligors with Multiple Current Support Orders Owed a Disproportionate Share
of Arrears
-
Obligors who had Orders that Represented Fifty Percent or More of their Reported
Income Owed a Disproportionate Share of Arrears
-
Interstate Cases, Out-of-State Cases, and Obligors Without a ZIP Code Owed
a Disproportionate Share of Arrears
-
Orders Established at Least One Year Before or After the IV-D Case was Opened
Owed a Disproportionate Share of Arrears
-
How Collectible Are Arrears?
-
Assumptions Used in the Simulation Models
-
Payment Rates Generated by the Simulations
-
Arrears Growth Under Two Simulation Models
-
The Impact of Assessing Interest on Arrears
-
Why Have Arrears Grown?
-
Charging Interest Routinely Resulted in Significantly Higher Arrears
-
Assessing Retroactive Support Contributes to Arrears
-
Low Compliance Rates on Current Support Orders Contribute to Arrears
-
Arrears Payments are Low
-
Arrears Management Strategies In Study States
-
Prevent Arrears from Accruing in the First Place
-
Manage Existing Arrears
-
Final Comments Regarding Arrears Management
The authors wish to thank Jennifer Burnszynski and Dennis Putze, the Project
Officers for this project, for their invaluable oversight. We also wish to
thank the nine study states and their staff who provided the data that we
use throughout this report. Views expressed in this report are those of the
authors and do not reflect the opinions of the Urban Institute, its trustees,
or its funders.
To obtain a printed copy of this report, send the title and your mailing
information to:
Human Services Policy, Room 404E
Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Ave, SW
Washington, DC 20201
Fax: (202) 690-6562
You may also print the PDF version (45 pages).
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Human Services Policy
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(ASPE)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS)
Last revised: 08/09/07