Child Support Enforcement: Better Data and More Information on Undistributed Collections are Needed

March 2004 Child Support Enforcement: Better Data and More Information on Undistributed Collections are Needed Congress established the child support enforcement program in 1975 to ensure that parents financially supported their children. State agencies administer the program and the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) in the Department of Health and Human Services oversees it. In 2002, state agencies collected over $20 billion in child support, but $657 million in collections from 2002 and previous years were undistributed ? funds that were delayed or never reached families. One method used to collect child support, intercepting federal tax refunds, involves all state . . .