I recently read that only 30% of single parent families receive the full amount of child support that was ordered to be paid to them by the non-custodial parent. According to the 2000 census there are 21.7 million children in America under 21 years of age whose other parent lived somewhere else. These two statistics used together mean that approximately 15.1 million children and their custodial parents in our country are not receiving the financial support that is necessary to help raise a healthy family, and in many cases, has been ordered to be paid by a court of law.
The lack of child support might not be as detrimental if it was not coupled with the facts that 85% of the custodial parents are women, and in the first year after a child is born to an unmarried single woman, or separation/divorce occurs, a single woman can expect her income to decrease at least 20% while her ex-husband’s income increases by 10%. Also playing into the mix of economic disaster is the fact that women still only make on average .80 cents compared to each dollar a man earns as noted by a 2004 report published by the U.S. Department of Labor.
So not only do single mothers experience a dramatic reduction in income during the first year after separation/or divorce, the majority of single parents do not receive any or a lower amount of child support than originally ordered. The child support system is broken and needs to be fixed. The non custodial parents who are not paying child support or an inadequate amount of support need to take personal responsibility for the welfare of their children.
I believe the economic challenges that single parent families face are the most detrimental to our children than any other issue our families face. When you see the scary statistics that show greater than 50% of our children will grow up to be a felon, drug addict or rapist, you will typically see that these incidences occur at a higher rate the lower the income level goes. Author Paul Amato notes, “Economic hardship has negative consequences for children’s health, academic achievement, and psychological adjustment….Furthermore, the extra income derived from child support may decrease custodial mothers’ stress and improve parental functioning, with beneficial consequences for children.”
When both parents work together to meet the economic needs of their children the best interest of the child will be served.