In the past, the state delegated most of these responsibilities to the 58 county district attorney offices, each of which operated a Family Support Division. TANF recipients must cooperate with the state in locating the noncustodial parent, establishing paternity, and obtaining support payments. Custodial parents, usually mothers, must also assign their rights to all child, spousal, or medical support to the state up to the amount of aid received. The remainder goes toward reimbursing the government for TANF payments. Interviews with low-income parents indicate that welfare and child support regulations often interact to create adverse effects for their families, finances, and relationships.
Many parents object to signing over their rights to child support to the state.
Parents point out that child support payments do not increase their children's standard of living. Parents respond in various ways to these perceived disincentives. Mothers who cooperate in establishing paternity often experience conflict with fathers. Many couples devise arrangements that allow their children to receive financial assistance from the noncustodial parent that would otherwise be paid to the state. Some mothers use the threat of child support enforcement to secure such informal contributions from uncooperative fathers.