Post Crescent Picks Up On Child Support Story:

We sent out a press release on this last week, it is nice to see coverage of it in the media.

Aid cuts put child support at risk
State to lose $112M to enforce collection

Wisconsin counties may lose millions in federal aid for child support enforcement, and officials say the trickle-down effect could devastate single-parent households.

"This would tend to push a group of children who are financially on the edge into poverty," Winnebago County Executive Mark Harris said Monday.

The Budget Reconciliation Act of 2005, which the House of Representatives passed by two votes Nov. 18, reduces federal aid for child support enforcement by about $4.9 billion over five years. As a consequence, support collections would drop about $7.9 million over a five-year period and $24 billion over a decade, according to Congressional Budget Office estimates.

Wisconsin stands to lose about $143 million in federal aid, $112 million of which would normally go to counties to help collect child support, sometimes from unwilling parents. Officials point out that the cut would affect Wisconsin disproportionately. Last year, the state's counties collected about $5.90 for every dollar they spent on enforcement. The national average was $4.38.

"We have determined cuts will reduce collections $466 million over the next 10 years," state Department of Workforce Development communications director Rose Lynch said Monday.

"This is a really serious number because that is the amount that would go directly to the families," she said. "Child support goes to 300,000 single-parent households a year. Half are either current or former welfare recipients, so we are talking about some changes that affect our most vulnerable group of folks."