DEADBEATS AND TURNIPS IN CHILD-SUPPORT REFORM

Child support reforms have focused almost exclusively on punitive meas ures, driven by the stereotypical image of a ''deadbeat dad'' who can afford to pay child support but refuses to do so. This image fits some noncustodial fathers, but ignores the diverse nature of this populati on. We show that lack of income is a significant barrier to child supp ort payments for 16 to 33 percent of young noncustodial fathers, whom we call ''turnips'' after the common saying that ''You can't get blood from a turnip.'' Furthermore, the characteristics of turnips are simi lar to those of custodial mothers who are long-term welfare recipients -both are disproportionately composed of young, poorly educated, never -named minorities with little work experience. These findings suggest that a new approach to child support enforcement is needed, one that o ffers these fathers flexible child support orders that both reflect th eir current economic circumstances and provide employment and training assistance to enable them to meet their child support obligations in the future.