Child Support Intervention
Low income fathers, who are disconnected from their children by circumstance or incarceration, often accrue child support obligations beyond their ability to pay. In fact, child support accrues during the time a father is incarcerated, even though he has no opportunity to earn wages. In the absence of a knowledgeable intermediary, like CFUF, child support arrears can be the single greatest disincentive to low-income fathers entering the legal economy.
CFUF is active in the Child Support policy arena locally and nationally, educating lawmakers about the direct link between child support arrears and the underground economy. We have played a notable role in the development of policies that simultaneously encourage work and payment of child support.
At CFUF, we don’t allow child support arrears to be the reason that men avoid legal employment. When a father enters our Fatherhood or Workforce development programs, we will take him through a process of approaching his child support obligations responsibly.
- We start by helping him understand the real obligation that he has through accessing a web-based child support system.
- We then work with him to develop a strategy for accessing state initiatives that enable him to reduce his payments and ultimately to abate arrearages if he meets his obligations consistently.
In January 2008, the State of Maryland will implement new child support legislation called the Child Support Incentive Program (CSIP). CSIP is aimed at supporting low-income fathers as they navigate the complex intersection between child support arrears and the legal economy.
If you wish to read a summary of the legislation, please click here .