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Early research
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Who Gets the Money the State Collects? A custodial parent not getting public assistance receives the entire amount that Child Support Enforcement collects. Payments first go through the Family Support Payment Center so the state can keep track of the case. The Center then makes the payment directly to the family in the form of a check. If Child Support Enforcement collects support for a family receiving TANF or Medicaid, the family does not necessarily receive any of that child support payment. State policies differ. A few states, such as Connecticut and Minnesota, choose to pass through some or all collected support to families, even while they are getting TANF payments. Some states also disregard some or part of that income when they figure the family’s future TANF eligibility. Early research suggests that when states pass through part or all of child support payments collected for TANF families, the non-custodial parent (usually the father) is more likely to make the payments. In Missouri as long as you get TANF, the State keeps all current and back-due child support it collects until it is fully reimbursed for all TANF payments made to your family. In the meantime, you continue to get your TANF benefit. Once a family leaves TANF, they get all child support collected by the State each month as long as it is not more than the amount of support owed during the same month. When more is collected than owed in a given month, the rules get complicated. It depends on how much was owed to you before you went on TANF versus when you were on TANF. For this reason, it is important to keep track of past-due child support that you are owed before you receive public assistance, while you receive public assistance, and after you receive public assistance. Keep a little spiral notebook handy to note payments and past-due amounts. That way, you can verify that the State is distributing past-due support correctly.
Back to Poverty at Issue-Winter 02-03 Table of Contents
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