	Introduction

The Child Support Enforcement (CSE) program was enacted in 1975 as a federal-state program (Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, P.L. 93-647 ). It is intended to help strengthen families by securing financial support for children from t heir noncustodial parent on a consistent and continuing basis and by helping some of these families to remain self-sufficient and off public assistance. Child support payments enable parents who do not live with their children to fulfill their financial responsibility to them by contributing to the payment of childrearing costs. When the program was first established its goals were to reimburse the states and the federal government for the welfare payments they provided families, in addition to helping families obtain consistent and ongoing child support payments from the noncustodial parent and helping some of these families remain self-sufficient and stay off welfare. Moreover, it is widely agreed that since the late 1990s the CSE program has been effective in improving the well-being of families by making child support a more reliable source of income. The CSE program has the potential to impact more children and for longer periods of time than most other federal programs. In FY2014, the program served 16.3 million children (22% of the 73.6 million children in the United States). Total CSE expenditures amounted to $5.7 billion and the program collected $28.2 billion in child support payments from noncustodial parents. The CSE program collected $5.25 for every $1 it spent in that year. According to Census Bureau data, 29% of custodial families have income below the federal poverty level. Child support represented 49% of family income for poor custodial families that received it. As noted, the CSE program began in part as a "welfare cost-recovery" program. For many years the program has been an integral part of helping families escape poverty. As part of its oversight duties, Congress periodically examines the effectiveness and efficiency of the CSE program. Since its enactment in 1975, almost 50 laws have made changes to the CSE program. This report provides a legislative history of the program. It includes a discussion of precursor legislation, describes the provisions that were part of the initial law, and describes the many subsequent provisions in other laws that made changes to the CSE program. It also includes a summary table of laws that pertain to the program. The information related to individual CSE provisions generally provides enough detail to demonstrate how some of the main provisions of the CSE program changed over time. For most of its history changes to the CSE program have been achieved in tandem with changes to other social welfare programs.
The Child Support Enforcement (CSE) program was enacted in 1975 as a federal-state program (Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, P.L. 93-647). It is intended to help strengthen families by securing financial support for children from their noncustodial parent on a consistent and continuing basis and by helping some of these families to remain self-sufficient and off public assistance. Child support payments enable parents who do not live with their children to fulfill their financial responsibility to them by contributing to the payment of childrearing costs.
When the program was first established its goals were to reimburse the states and the federal government for the welfare payments they provided families, in addition to helping families obtain consistent and ongoing child support payments from the noncustodial parent and helping some of these families remain self-sufficient and stay off welfare. The CSE program has evolved over time from a "welfare cost-recovery" program into a "family-first" program that seeks to enhance the well-being of families by making child support a more reliable source of income.
The CSE program has the potential to impact more children and for longer periods of time than most other federal programs. In FY2014, it served 16.3 million children (nearly one in four children in the United States). Total CSE expenditures amounted to $5.7 billion and the program collected $28.2 billion in child support payments. The CSE program collected $5.25 for every $1 it spent in that year.
According to Census Bureau data, 29% of custodial families have income below the federal poverty level. Child support represented 49% of family income for poor custodial families that received it. As noted, the CSE program began in part as a "welfare cost-recovery" program. For many years the program has been an integral part of helping families escape poverty.
As part of its oversight duties, Congress periodically examines the effectiveness and efficiency of the CSE program. Since its enactment in 1975, almost 50 laws have made changes to the program. Although it generally garners bipartisan support, for most of its history changes to the program have been achieved in tandem with more controversial changes to other social programs. This report provides a legislative history of the CSE program. It includes a discussion of precursor legislation, describes the provisions that were part of the initial 1975 law, and summarizes the many subsequent provisions in other laws that made changes to the CSE program. It also includes a summary table of laws that pertain to the program. Moreover, the information related to individual CSE provisions generally provides enough detail to demonstrate how some of the main provisions of the CSE program have changed over time.