History
We are proud to hold up the child support program as a government success story. Congress began the child support program in 1975 to reimburse benefits paid by the government’s welfare programs. Congress changed the program in 1996 as part of welfare reform laws to expand the role of technology and ensure children receive more of the support paid by their parents. In 1998, Congress began funding the child support program based on its performance. In fiscal year 2010, the program collected $27 billion, of which 94% was distributed to families. From our cost recovery and law enforcement roots, we have emerged as a family-support program providing significant income for vulnerable families.
The benefits of child support are far-reaching. Studies show that it reduces child poverty and improves children’s performance in school. In addition, it is an important way that parents demonstrate love for their children.
OCSE Fact Sheet
Want to learn more about OCSE? Check out our Fact Sheet! There, you can read about our mission, purpose, goals and more to get a better sense of how our programs serve children and families.
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