The program’s original purpose was to strengthen state and local efforts for obtaining child support for families receiving AFDC and for any non-AFDC individuals who apply for child support services. Most Families Whose Aid Was Terminated Lacked Child Support

In the first three states to enforce time limits, most families who reached their 21-month to 3-year time limits did not have any child support collected for them during the 12 months before their welfare termination. Most Families Left Assistance Without Child Support

Only about 20 to 30 percent of families reaching their time limits had any child support collected for them in the 12 months before termination. For families with child support collected, median child support collections ranged from $581 to $1,348 and mean collections ranged from $1,065 to $1,388 for the 12-month period. In these states, we reviewed new AFDC child support cases that were first opened in 1992 and remained open for 5 years—the maximum length of time a family may receive federal TANF aid. Yet, despite the greater success rate of these states, about one-third of their child support clients would have reached the end of a 5-year time limit without any child support, as shown in figure 6. Some Child Support Was Collected for Most Cases Within 5 Years

About two-thirds of the cases that remained open for 5 years had some child support collected for them in the last 12 months. For cases with collections, the median child support collections ranged from $1,875 to $2,118 and mean collections ranged from $2,211 to $2,316 in the last 12 months. Implications for States and Families Facing Time-Limited Welfare

Time limits are being implemented on the two different sets of families represented in our study: those already receiving aid before time limits began and those whose assistance will begin under time limits. A state’s success in obtaining child support can provide an important supplement to a family’s earnings. States Must Improve Their Performance in Locating Noncustodial Parents for Families Already Receiving Welfare

Our findings from the three states that implemented time limits under waivers indicate that many welfare families that did not get child support before the time limits began may be unlikely to obtain it before their welfare benefits expire unless states can locate noncustodial parents. One-half to three-quarters of the cases that needed a support order or paternity established could not get these services because the state could not or did not locate the noncustodial parent. Our analysis of cases that first opened in 1992 and remained open for 5 years in two states showed that more than 70 percent of the paternities and support orders ever established on these cases were obtained within the first 2 years after opening. In addition, state officials told us that noncustodial parent information has to be pursued early and aggressively to achieve successful outcomes. We then identified the child support cases associated with the families whose welfare benefits expired. We focused on states with strong performance in these areas, with the rationale that outcome data from these states could show how high-performing states have been able to meet the child support needs of their clients in a 5-year period. Support order establishment involves the development of a support order that legally obliges the noncustodial parent to pay child support and provide medical insurance coverage when it is available at reasonable cost. A recorded menu will provide information on how to obtain these lists.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on how successful states are likely to be in obtaining child support for families whose benefits are subject to time limits, focusing on: (1) how successful states that experimented with time-limited benefits before welfare reform have been in obtaining child support for families who reach their limits; (2) how successful states have been in obtaining child support for families within a 5-year period, the maximum time a family may receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits; and (3) the implications time limits have for states and families.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) many TANF families may not be able to count on child support as a steady source of income when their time-limited welfare benefits expire; (2) in the first three states to enforce welfare benefit time limits--Connecticut, Florida, and Virginia--only about 20 to 30 percent of families had any child support collected for them in the 12 months before their welfare benefits were terminated; (3) about one-half or more of the child support cases without collections lacked a child support order legally obligating a noncustodial parent to pay child support at the time the families' assistance was terminated, despite having a long history in the child support program before time limits were implemented; (4) for families whose child support was secured, the median collections among the three states ranged from a total of $581 to $1,348 for the 12-month period; (5) in two high-performing child support states, Minnesota and Washington, GAO observed better outcomes for a sample of Aid to Families with Dependent Children child support cases that first opened in 1992 and remained open for 5 years; (6) about two-thirds of the families received some child support in the last 12 months of that period; (7) support order establishment rates were higher for these cases as well: in both states, orders were established within 5 years for more than 80 percent of the cases that needed them; (8) the median amounts of child support collected for these families ranged from $1,875 to $2,118 for the 12-month period; (9) despite these outcomes, about one-third of the child support clients in these states reached the end of the 5-year period without any child support; (10) to better ensure that child support is available for families in a time-limited welfare system, states will need to improve their child support performance for families already in the welfare system and for those who enter it for the first time; (11) in the three states GAO studied that had imposed time limits on families already receiving aid, from one-half to three-quarters of the families could not get child support because the state did not or could not locate the noncustodial parent; (12) it is also important for states to move quickly to pursue child support for families that have just begun receiving aid; (13) state officials told GAO that information on noncustodial parents is best pursued early and aggressively to achieve successful outcomes; and (14) GAO's analysis showed that successful outcomes are most likely within 2 years after a family begins receiving child support services.