Public Assistance, Relationship Context, and Jail for Child Support Debt:

Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World

ElizabethCozzolino¹ 

关键词: child support;    family policy;    welfare;    criminal justice;   

DOI  :  10.1177/2378023118757124

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Sage Journals

【 摘 要 】

Previous studies of poverty governance have focused on the welfare system, the criminal justice system, and the connections between them. Yet less attention has been paid to a third institution that bridges the gap between these two systems: child support enforcement. Jailing for child support nonpayment is one of many mechanisms of child support enforcement, but little is known about this tactic. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, the author examines the process of nonresident fathers’ (1) acquiring a formal support order, (2) accruing child support debt, and (3) being jailed for this debt. The author proposes two pathways into jail for child support nonpayment—public assistance and relationship context—and demonstrates how each pathway affects the risk for jail. Overall, 14 percent of debtors spend time in jail for child support by the time their children are nine years old.

【 授权许可】

CC BY