African-American Men and Child Support

Paper Summary:

The paper uses research conducted on the topic to argue that the minimal amount of disparity between the liklihood of child support payment between black men and white men can be attributed to the considerably higher unemployment and lower compensation of African-American men.

From the Paper:

"Census data specify the race of parents due child support, but they do not specify the gender or race of those paying it. However, nearly all child support is owed by men, and the overwhelming majority of children have parents of the same race. Many mothers do not seek payments from absent fathers. In 1991, 1 million of 2.9 million Black custodial parents had child support orders. The belief that black men are unwilling to pay child support has fueled efforts by Congress to correct the problem. Welfare legislation includes proposals to create state and federal registries to track "deadbeat dads" who cross state lines and take new jobs. States would also be able to suspend driver's and occupational licenses held by nonpaying parents, a step that President Clinton has urged, though critics have argued that suspending driver's licenses could actually have the opposite of the intended effect."

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