Less than half get all child support owed

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Child support is a very important source of income for U.S. parents, but only 46.8 percent of those owed it receive the full amount, statistics indicate.

An April 2008 survey conducted jointly by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families, released Monday, also showed that about one-quarter of parents who are owed child support received nothing at all.

The report, titled "Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support: 2007," determined that of the $34.1 billion total child support owed, 62.7 percent was reported as received.

"These figures show the importance of child support as income to families, especially those in poverty," said Carmen Nazario, assistant secretary for children and families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. "Our primary interest is making sure that children get the financial and medical support they need."

The research found that child support is increasingly important to low-income custodial parents because, on average, such support represented 47.9 percent of their total income. The average child support payment was found to be $3,350 annually, or about $280 per month.