Barriers to Formal Child Support Payment

Child support income has the potential to substantially reduce economic hardship for children living apart from their fathers, but many fathers have limited earnings and are unable to pay the support they owe. Understanding their employment barriers has implications for their child support payments and for child support agency services. Using data from a survey of nearly 3,800 noncustodial fathers in seven states, we find that more than half of the fathers reported barriers related to transportation, limited job skills, and criminal records. Although results vary somewhat across models, fathers who reported that transportation difficulties or a criminal record were barriers to employment had substantially lower earnings and poorer child support outcomes. Moreover, Black fathers with a criminal record had particularly poor outcomes. The results highlight the need for a more comprehensive approach to helping noncustodial fathers.