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Show INTRODUCTION In Spring 1986, 8.8 million mothers lived with children younger than 21 whose fathers were absent from the home. Only 61 percent had been awarded child support. Of all mothers who had been legally awarded child support in 1985, only about one-half received the full amount due. One-quarter received partial payment and the rest received nothing. In 1983, the national unpaid child support bill was $3 billion. More recent estimates are that $4 billion in child support remains outstanding each year. Child support enforcement has grown in response to a host of complex demographic, economic and sociological factors. The following discussion outlines recent developments that have affected the child support problem in America and forced families to seek Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) benefits. These developments are increased rates of divorce, desertion, and out-of-wedlock births. Divorce In the last several decades, divorce rates have increased dramatically, with often disastrous results for women. According to a 1986 White House report on the American Family, "Divorce reform [in the 1970's] was supposed to be a panacea for women trapped in bad marriages. It has trapped many of them in poverty." Because more lenient laws allow no-fault divorce, property settlements instead of alimony payments, and do not mandate certain levels of child support, men can more easily walk away from marriage and commitment to minor children. As a result, studies have indicated that after one year of divorce, a woman's standard of living decreases 73 percent, while a man's standard of living increases 42 percent. Desertion The dimensions of the nonsupport problem become even more staggering when one considers the vast numbers of couples who simply separate without obtaining a divorce. In 1960 the number of separated individuals heading a household in which children reside was approximately 1,058,000. By 1983, the number had increased to over 1,917,000, which represents an· 83 percent increase. Of this 1983 figure, approximately 1.8 millionwere headed by women. Out-of-Wedlock Birth Rates The most significant rate of increase in single-parent households has occurred among never-married mothers. While 7.6 million women headed singleparent fa·milies in 1984, 2.1 million had never been married. Of particular concern is the rate of out-of-wedlock births among teenagers. In 1981, 537,024 children were born to teenage mothers, and about one half of these babies were born out-ofwedlock. |
