THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 13, 1995 TAG: 9505130278
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short : 36 lines
Fewer than half of absent parents pay child support, according to a government report Friday that found that billions of dollars were owed.
According to the study by the Census Bureau and Department of Health and Human Services, 11.5 million families with children had a parent living outside the home in spring 1992. Of that total, 6.2 million, or 54 percent, had received an award or agreement for child support.
Among those who had a child support award, half received the full amount, a quarter received partial payment and a quarter received no payment. Custodial parents were owed $17.7 billion in 1991, but collected 67 percent of that, or $11.9 billion.
The study found that men accounted for 14 percent of the custodial parents. The custodial fathers were less likely to collect support, but custodial mothers were more likely to be poor.
Custodial parents who do not have an award or agreement in place are believed not to be receiving regular child support, HHS spokesmen said, but there is anecdotal evidence that some absent parents help their families with small amounts of cash, diapers or child care.
When asked why they did not have an award, the women said they had not pursued one, that they were unable to locate the father, or that the father was unable financially to pay.
KEYWORDS: CHILD SUPPORT CENSUS FIGURES STATISTICS by CNB