Employers are invaluable beacons of hope in our country. As partners in child support, they help agencies collect and distribute financial support, offering hope to millions of families and children each year. Maximus values any opportunity to honor the priceless contributions employers make in the realm of child support, even more so this month. Across our country, August is known as National Child Support Awareness Month, a time to celebrate the work agencies, employers, and parents do to ensure children are given the support they need in life.

Child Support Awareness month was declared a national observance in 1995 to mark the 20th anniversary of the Child Support Enforcement Program, to highlight the importance of ensuring all children have the parental and financial support they need to thrive and succeed in life. Soon after, recognizing the vital role played by child support agencies, Congress enacted the new hire reporting law requiring employers in all 50 states to report their new hires to aid agencies in implementing income withholding for child support orders. Since then, employers have also been legislated to provide health insurance for employees’ beneficiaries as part of child support orders. Time and again, employers have risen to the occasion, providing this invaluable aid to child support agencies; and through it all, since the beginning, Maximus has been there helping employers comply with and navigate their reporting obligations.

Without employers’ commitment to complying with child support reporting requirements, child support agencies would not have been able to collect the $34.9 billion paid out to families in 2020. More than half of the collections distributed are completed with the support of employers. In 2020, over 65% of child support was collected by income withholding, and in 2019, the year before the economic crisis, that percentage hit 85%. To the 13.8 million children served by child support agencies, this support is essential to securing the resources they need on their journey to a successful adulthood, creating a more stable and prosperous future for us all. 

Employers’ contribution to child support through accurate and timely new hire reporting, income withholding, and medical support also helps to optimize other areas of our social safety net, put into place to help our most vulnerable citizens. In 2020, 95% of child support collected went to families, while 5% was used to reimburse public assistance programs serving families. That’s $175 million dollars put back into the system, easing the burden on taxpayers.

Yes, employers are indeed a beacon of hope, impacting our communities in so many important ways. We couldn’t be prouder to be working to serve employers as they partner with agencies to connect families to the financial support that so many crucially need to give their children a future filled with hope.