Summary: Greater federal leadership coupled with equally intensive state efforts could help the national child support enforcement program to better serve the families that depend on it. The dramatically rising number of children needing support--the child support enforcement caseload soared 180 percent between 1980 and 1992--has focused attention on federal and state efforts to force parents to support their children. However, these efforts have been stymied by management weaknesses that keep the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OSCE) from (1) effectively leading the program and the states, (2) judging how well the program is working, and (3) setting effective policies. Although the federal role is substantial--most program funding is federal--child support enforcement is very much a state activity. Today, states face common problems, such as increasing workloads that outpace resources, inadequate computer systems, and fragmented authority and unstandardized procedures among others. In response, states have developed a number of strategies, including augmenting their staffs with volunteers and contracting with private collection agencies, improving automation, and using innovative enforcement techniques. Many welfare reform proposals would further expand child support enforcement. Unless OSCE strengthens its management of its current program, it may have difficulty implementing any new responsibilities.
