The New Welfare Law: Child Support Enforcement

This is the third in a series of welfare policy papers exploring how implementation of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconcilliation Act (PRWORA, 1996) affects some battered women and their children. This paper provides a brief overview of family violence issues within the context of child support enforcement and the establishment of paternity. Its sections describe key issues regarding: the mandatory reduction of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) assistance for failure to cooperate with paternity establisment or child support enforcement (without good cause or other exception); state and federal databases for tracking absent parents; and child support enforcement provisions for Indian Tribes.