1、Congressional Research Service The Library of CongressCRS Report for CongressReceived through the CRS WebOrder Code RS20837Updated March 4, 2003Distribution of Child Support Collections-name redacted-Specialist in Social LegislationDomestic Social Policy DivisionSummaryP.L. 104-193, the 1996 welfare
2、 reform law, substantively changed the rulesgoverning how child support collections are distributed among families, states, and thefederal government. The general rules in effect as of October 1, 2000 are that childsupport collected during the time a family receives cash welfare belongs to the state
3、;current child support and arrearages (past-due payments) that are owed to a family thatis no longer receiving welfare belongs to the family; and child support owed to a familythat never received welfare belongs to the family. This is referred to as the “familiesfirst” child support distribution pol
4、icy. (These “families first” distribution rules do notapply to child support collections made by intercepting federal income tax refunds.)Many policymakers contend that Congress should simplify the child support distributionsystem which currently requires the tracking of six categories of arrearage
