Child Support Cases without Support Orders: Three-Year Outcomes

The authors reviewed a sample of cases in the Maryland child support caseload for which child support orders had not been established and examined the outcome of these cases over a three-year time period.  They found that 60.9% of these cases closed within three years; 21.6% had established support orders with a median amount of $300; and another 17.5% remained open without a support order. Cases were most often closed because of lack of customer contact or cooperation.