CHILD-SUPPORT IN BLACK-AND-WHITE - RACIAL DIFFERENTIALS IN THE AWARD AND RECEIPT OF CHILD-SUPPORT DURING THE 1980S

Objective. Black mothers living with own children whose fathers reside elsewhere are far less likely than white mothers to have a child supp ort award and to receive payments due them. The purpose of this paper is to explain these large racial differentials in child support. Metho ds. This research analyzes data from the first four child support supp lements to the Current Population Survey, 1979-86, to assess to what e xtent racial differentials in awards and receipts can be explained by racial differences in parental characteristics. Results. Racial differ entials in award rates can be fully explained by the higher incidence of out-of-wedlock births among black mothers and the lower incomes of black men. By contrast, racial differentials in receipt rates and amou nts are not fully explained by these and other socioeconomic factors. Conclusions. Unexplained differentials in child support receipts resul t from behavioral differences by race and perhaps from unequal treatme nt by or access to the child support system. Increased resources by st ate child support enforcement offices directed towards black mothers m ay well be warranted.