Child Support Policies that Support Fathers Benefit Children and Families
Child Support Policies that Support Fathers Benefit Children and Families
At the Center for Child Support Policy (CCSP) we believe that strengthening families means supporting every member — mothers, children, and fathers. Engaged fathers have a profound positive effect on children’s lives by improving academic performance, long-term health, and emotional intelligence. Research also shows that fathers who are supported in their parenting roles experience increased well-being, greater community connection, and economic stability.
Children and communities are more likely to suffer when fathers are absent from family life. As Richard Reeves explained in his book, Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male is Struggling, Why it Matters, and What To Do About It, “the separation of fathers from children . . . is bad for men, bad for women, and bad for children.” [1]
In his Father’s Day speech in 2008, President Obama reflected on fathers and children, observing that today fathers are “missing from too many lives and too many homes … And the foundations of our families are weaker because of it.”[2] The consequences of these ongoing fatherhood and family trends are often more salient for children and adults “lower down the economic and social ladder,” according to Reeves.
The child support program was originally designed to focus only on a father’s paycheck—what he could offer financially to raise a child. Even today, child support policies often reflect the view that fathers are financial liabilities, not parenting partners, and not essential to the well-being of their children. The long-standing emphasis on money, to the exclusion of other important aspects of raising children, has resulted in fathers believing the child support program is unfair, unequal, and biased towards mothers.
Many fathers, particularly those who are Black or Latino, face systemic barriers to employment, parenting time, and meaningful time with their children. When they fall behind on payments due to job loss, unemployment, or incarceration, the consequences can be severe and negatively impact the family. Enforcement actions such as driver’s license suspension, negative credit reporting, jail time, and growing arrears can further destabilize families. And even when payments are made, the money often doesn’t reach the children — instead, it is kept by the government to reimburse cash assistance programs.
While decades of advocacy have rightfully focused on addressing gender-based disparities faced by women and girls, a growing body of research is showing us that many men, and even boys, are quietly struggling. For the child support program, punitive enforcement tools used against fathers compound the problem. Instead of investing in their success, the system treats fathers as payers and, as a result, often works to trap many fathers in cycles of debt and disconnection that make it harder for them to contribute meaningfully to family life.
As Reeves puts it: “helping men thrive is not a threat to gender equity — it’s a crucial part of achieving it. The key is for the child support program not to choose one parent over the other, but to build policies that support both.”
That’s why organizations like Equimundo are essential to this conversation. Their global work challenges harmful gender norms, promotes healthy masculinity, and supports equitable caregiving — including through their State of America’s Fathers reports. Equimundo reminds us that expanding fatherhood isn’t just about helping men — it’s about building more resilient, gender-equitable families and communities. Men who are supported as caregivers become allies in gender equality and are more likely to raise children who value fairness, empathy, and mutual respect.
Equimundo joins groups like Ascend at the Aspen Institute and the Fatherhood Research and Practice Network in calling for smarter, more inclusive policies. These include expanding employment services, rethinking state-owed child support debt, and embedding father engagement into family support programs. At CCSP, we are advancing these ideas with evidence-based proposals to direct more child support collections to families and support parenting time and access alongside financial contributions.
This isn’t a zero-sum game. We don’t have to choose between mothers and fathers. In fact, supporting fathers strengthens mothers, children, and communities. When we invest in each other’s success — across gender, role, and relationship — we create a stronger, more connected society where everyone has a better chance to thrive. As Claire Cain Miller writes, “The crisis among boys and men doesn’t have to take away from the progress of girls and women. Both can happen at once.”
And both must.
[1] Richard V. Reeves, Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do about It (Brookings Institution Press, 2022).
[2]Text of Obama’s Fatherhood Speech, Politico, June 15, 2008.
Want to go deeper?
Richard Reeves - Home - American Institute for Boys and Men
Equimundo – State of the World’s Fathers | Equimundo
Ascend at the Aspen Institute–Bringing Fathers Into Focus for Child & Family Well-Being - Ascend at the Aspen Institute
Fatherhood Research and Practice Network | – Research and policy tools for fatherhood programs
Good Fathers, Flourishing Kids: The Importance of Fatherhood in Virginia
About the Center for Child Support Policy
The Center for Child Support Policy (CCSP) is a nonpartisan policy and research organization working to modernize child support systems in ways that strengthen families, reduce poverty, and promote racial and gender equity. We advocate for reforms that support both financial contributions and parental involvement, especially for low-income and noncustodial parents, so that all children can thrive.