Characteristics of Custodial Parents and Their Children

Using data from a 2018 U.S. Census Bureau survey, this brief analyzes characteristics of parents and children who are receiving child support services and compares them to families who don’t use the program. As of April 2018, there were 12.9 million custodial parents in the nation. 7.9 million of these parents participated in the child support program.  This brief includes information on the age, sex, race and ethnicity, marital status, employment status of these parents, as well as data on living arrangements and visitation for the child with the noncustodial parent.