Child Support
LYDIA SCOON-ROGERS
Award of Child Support Payments
for Custodial Parents: Spring 1992
30
Awarded, but not due in 1991
Not awarded
Awarded and due in 1991
6.6%
(Base: 9.9 milion)
Custodial mothers
Custodial fathers
(Base: 1.6 million)
44.1%
49.2%
59.1%
12.9%
28.0%
A large percentage of
families with children were
families where only one
of the child(ren)’s parents
were present in the home.
As of spring 1992, 11.5 million
women and men were custo-
dial parents of children under
21 years old whose other par-
ent was absent from the
household. The families they
maintained comprised almost
one-third of all families with
own, never-married children
under 21 years old. The ma-
jority (9.9 million) of custodial
parents were women, but a
significant number of men pro-
vided homes for own children
whose mothers were absent
(1.6 million).
Custodial mothers had
higher child support award
rates and payment rates
than did custodial fathers.
In the spring of 1992, 54 per-
cent or 6.2 million women and
men had awards for child sup-
port. Specifically, 56 percent
of custodial mothers had
awards, compared with 41
percent of custodial fathers.
While 6.2 million custodial par-
ents had awards for child sup-
port, only 5.3 million of them
were supposed to receive
payments in 1991 — about
4.9 million women and 0.4 mil-
lion men.1 Of those women
due payments, 76 percent ac-
tually received some payment
(all or part). The receipt rate
for custodial fathers was
somewhat lower, 63 percent.
Custodial mothers and
fathers had some similar
reasons for not being
awarded child support
and some different reasons.
Both custodial mothers and
custodial fathers stated one of
the two most important rea-
sons they were not awarded
child support was they did not
pursue an award (approxi-
mately one-third of each
stated this). The other most
important reason for custodial
mothers was that they were
unable to locate the father (20
percent), and for custodial fa-
thers, it was that they did not
want an award (34 percent).2