The Child Support Performance and Incentive Act at 20: Examining Trends in State Performance

Twenty years have passed since Congress enacted P.L. 105-200, the Child Support Performance and Incentive Act (CSPIA), dramatically restructuring the child support performance incentive system. Prior to its passage in 1998, there was growing concern that the incentive system lacked an effective impetus for improving state progress toward achieving the program’s goals since all states…

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The Story Behind the Numbers: Focused on Performance

This paper describes the dramatic improvements in performance that the child support program has made since the enactment of its federally mandated performance system in 1998. The growth in child support collections is reviewed, highlighting three factors that influence collections: (1) program investments; (2) employment and earnings of parents who owe child support; and (3)…

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