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Research Article
Open Access

Reforming Policy for Single-Parent Families to Reduce Child Poverty

Maria Cancian, Daniel R. Meyer
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences February 2018, 4 (2) 91-112; DOI: https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2018.4.2.05
Maria Cancian
aProfessor of public affairs and social work and affiliate of the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
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Daniel R. Meyer
bProfessor of social work and affiliate of the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
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Abstract

We argue that child support, the central program specifically targeting single-parent families, should increase financial resources for children living with a single parent, with a secondary goal of holding parents responsible for supporting their children. Current child support policy is substantially successful for divorcing families in which the noncustodial parent has at least moderate formal earnings. However, the system does not work well for lower-income families, especially unmarried couples: far too few children regularly receive substantial support and the system is sometimes counterproductive to encouraging parental responsibility. We propose: a public guarantee of a minimum amount of support per child, assurances that no noncustodial parent will be charged beyond their current means, and a broadening of child support services.

  • child support
  • divorce
  • guaranteed income
  • nonmarital births
  • single-parent families
  • © 2018 Russell Sage Foundation. Cancian, Maria, and Daniel R. Meyer. 2018. “Reforming Policy for Single-Parent Families to Reduce Child Poverty.” RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 4(2): 91–112. DOI: 10.7758/RSF.2018.4.2.05. Paper presented at the Russell Sage Foundation Conference “Anti-poverty Policy Initiatives for the United States” and at the related session at the 2016 Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management Research Conference. We thank Chris Wimer and Sophie Collyer for the cost and poverty estimates, Maria Serakos and Veronique Yeo for research assistance, and the reviewers, the editors, and conference participants, especially Lawrence Berger, Robert Doar, Irwin Garfinkel, and Elaine Sorensen, for their helpful comments. Any opinions expressed here are our own. Direct correspondence to: Maria Cancian at maria.cancian{at}wisc.edu, 3436 Social Sciences Building, 1180 Observatory Dr., Madison, WI 53706.

Open Access Policy: RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences is an open access journal. This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

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RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences: 4 (2)
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences
Vol. 4, Issue 2
1 Feb 2018
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Reforming Policy for Single-Parent Families to Reduce Child Poverty
Maria Cancian, Daniel R. Meyer
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences Feb 2018, 4 (2) 91-112; DOI: 10.7758/RSF.2018.4.2.05

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Reforming Policy for Single-Parent Families to Reduce Child Poverty
Maria Cancian, Daniel R. Meyer
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences Feb 2018, 4 (2) 91-112; DOI: 10.7758/RSF.2018.4.2.05
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  • Article
    • Abstract
    • THE LOGIC AND FUNCTIONING OF THE CURRENT SYSTEM
    • EVALUATING THE CURRENT SYSTEM
    • A NEW APPROACH TO SUPPORTING CHILDREN AND ENCOURAGING PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY
    • SUMMARY
    • FOOTNOTES
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Keywords

  • child support
  • divorce
  • guaranteed income
  • nonmarital births
  • single-parent families

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