1980, collections were up to $600 million, five percent of benefits. Success varies from state to state. In New York, administrative costs exceeded collections in 1980, while Michigan rounded up $3 for every $1 spent. Nationwide, the program recouped $1.34 for each $1 of expenses.
One-third of all AFDC families with an absent parent should now be receiving child support, but only one in seven of those families does so. If collections could be improved and new awards won from other miss- ing parents,...