Obama's parental initiative may do more harm than good

Obama's parental initiative may do more harm than good - The Hill's Congress Blog:

President Obama sometimes takes the opportunity on Father’s Day to draw attention to the problem of absent fathers.  The president’s recently proposed FY’14 budget includes a new Child Support and Fatherhood Initiative.  The initiative would require states to seek child custody and visitation orders in court for fathers who must pay child support to the state. The initiative’s goals are admirable.  If fathers pay child support more regularly, childhood poverty may be reduced.  If fathers participate more actively in their children’s lives, children may less often suffer poor educational performance, incarceration, drug abuse, teen pregnancy, and other problems more often experienced by children raised by single parents. But the initiative’s proposed solution poses serious problems.
To understand how this works, all states require parents who receive Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) benefits for their children (often mothers) to sign over their rights to collect child support to the states.  States then file child support cases against the children’s other parent (often fathers) to reimburse the state for TANF payments.  The initiative would require states to seek visitation orders in every case where the state files for child support.  It is hoped that this will encourage fathers to engage with their children, and thereby encourage fathers to pay child support.

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