Federal reform legislation passed in 1984 [treats child support services] as another public benefits program with a federal mandate and legally entitled beneficiaries.

low-income families, whether receiving AFDC or not.5

Child support enforcement, practiced at its best, will not eliminate child poverty or the need for other income assistance programs. As a short-term strategy, it may offer no benefit to many low-income families. But to those in which some income is available at some time for some period during a child's dependency, child support payments can make a real difference.

Most states have now made most of the legislative and administrative changes required under the 1984 Amendments. The success of the legislation now depends on the extent to which state resources are used to implement the reforms effectively. It also depends in large part on the vigor and commitment that advocates now devote to fashioning creative implementation strategies.

As advocates undertake serious efforts to improve the child support system, they need to be aware that there are particular failings of the current system that have a disparate impact on the children of teen mothers, especially if the mother is unmarried. These include (1) barriers to access; (2) limited public education about paternity adjudication and child support rights; (3) limited services for non-AFDC mothers; (4) agency neglect in pursuing paternity cases; and (5) agency failure to vigorously pursue and enforce awards for children of young parents in both AFDC and non-AFDC families.

Much of the skepticism about pursuing child support on behalf of teen mothers stems from accepted views about young parents and their capacity and commitment to help provide for their children. Data on young fathers have been scarce, but some recent research offers encouragement about young fathers and their involvement in their children's lives and ultimately about the value of pursuing paternity determinations and child support from them.

For example, a nationwide study of 400 teen fathers revealed that 82 percent reported having daily contact with their children, even though they lived apart, and 74 percent stated that they contributed financially to their children's support. Ninety percent claimed an ongoing relationship with the mother."

Mercer Sullivan, an anthropologist who works with inner-city teen fathers, found that it is generally unacceptable within that community for a young man to "step off" from his

5. Child Support Enforcement Amendments of 1984, Pub. L. No. 98-378; for more detailed discussion, see CDF, CHILD SUPPORT ADVOCACY MANUAL (1985); ROBERTS, WOMEN, POVERTY AND CHILD SUPPORT (1986).

6. The federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) reported that, as of August 1986, 37 states had enacted legislation addressing all of the new requirements, yet only 8 states (Alaska, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Oregon, and Utah) had fully implemented them. OFFICE OF CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT, CHILD SUPPORT REPORTS (Oct. 1986).

7. SELECT COMM. ON CHILDREN, YOUTH & FAMILIES, TEEN PREGNANCY: WHAT IS BEING DONE? A STATE-BY-STATE LOOK 17, 99th Cong., 1st Sess. (Dec. 1985).

8

obligation to support his children as best he can, even though many fathers face formidable obstacles in trying to get a decent job. Other research on young absent fathers concurs with this assessment, reporting elaborate informal networks between maternal and paternal families who provided child care, food, clothing, and other in-kind support as well as cash payments." Much of this data is anecdotal, but it is based on extensive interviews and longitudinal study and is thought to be reliable.

The child support system has little experience working with teen parents, especially young fathers. Fathers may be more willing to cooperate than is commonly thought, but there is no way of knowing that. Many of these young parents have a natural suspicion and distrust of legal proceedings and social service agencies. With sensitive and thoughtful public education and outreach work, the system may successfully build upon informal support arrangements without destroying them in the process. Policy changes with particular impact on teens are discussed throughout and summarized at the end of this article for further thought and discussion.

II. Access to Information

Teen mothers who are in need of child support services face the same initial barriers to access that confront older mothers. They first need to know about their right to support from the absent parent, and they need to know how and where to get help in pursuing that right. If the teen mother has been married, she is likely to learn about her rights as a part of separation or divorce proceedings.

If the teen mother receives AFDC, most of her information will come through her caseworker. However, there are no data to support the widespread assumption that most teen mothers receive AFDC. What has been shown is that in 1983, for example, only 3.3 percent of AFDC families were headed by a mother or other person under age 18 (down from 3.8 percent in 1979). 10

Researchers Mary Jo Bane and David Ellwood estimate that 75 percent of never-married teen mothers spend their first year of motherhood with their parents." What is not known is how many teen mothers receive AFDC grants for their children while living in households headed by someone else. Estimates of this number can only be based on old data that do not focus on teen mothers. For example, 1976 Census data analyzed by the Urban Institute revealed that 34 percent of all teen mothers, regardless of marital status, lived in AFDC households, either as heads or in subfamilies.'

12

Thus, what should be remembered in discussing teen knowledge about and access to child support services is that substantial numbers of teen mothers will not interface with the

8. Sullivan, Teen Fathers in the Inner City: An Exploratory Ethnographic Study 57 (Apr. 1985) (unpublished report to the Ford Foundation). 9. Lerman, Who Are the Young Absent Fathers? (Nov. 1985) (unpublished paper).

10. CDF, WELFARE AND TEEN PREGNANCY 3 (Nov. 1986). 11. Bane, Teen Pregnancy and Welfare: Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution (Feb. 26, 1986) (unpublished paper presented at CDF's National Conference); see also, Bane & Ellwood, Single Mothers and Their Living Arrangements (Feb. 1984) (unpublished paper).

12. WELFARE AND TEEN PREGNANCY, supra note 10, at 11.

AFDC system. Therefore, public education and outreach by IV-D agencies is essential for reaching non-AFDC_teen_mothers. These agencies have historically done very little outreach and public education, so this is an area in which considerable change is needed.

The 1984 Amendments do require state agencies to conduct public education campaigns on the availability of child support services. 13 The regulations implementing the requirement state that "such publicity shall be regular and frequent and involve the use of public service announcements."'14 Moreover, publicity must include an address and telephone number where further information can be obtained. 15

While there is no requirement that publicity aimed specifically at teen parents be written, it is obvious that such materials, for both males and females, should be developed. Some states have already done so, producing materials in both English and other appropriate languages. For example, the Texas Attorney General's Office has produced a one-page flier-in English and Spanish- with a simple explanation of paternity establishment and child support obligations and with sections for both the teen mother and the teen father. It discusses such issues as whether a teen father is liable to pay support; whether support can be ordered if the mother and child live with the mother's parents; and whether support must be paid if the baby and mother receive welfare.16 Other jurisdictions can develop similar materials and receive federal reimbursement for doing so.17

Teens must also be taught about the benefits to their children that can result from establishing paternity. These benefits generally fall into three categories. One benefit is the familial ties that are established. Not only does the child come to know her or his father, but the identity of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins is established. For many low-income children in particular, identifying members of the extended family creates a support network for the child. Another benefit is the medical information that becomes available. Science has increased our awareness of hereditary and genetically linked diseases. A child needs to know who her or his father is in order to have access to information about family medical history and to take advantage of this knowledge. Moreover, if a child should need an organ transplant, blood relatives are the ideal donors. Establishing who those blood relatives are is thus potentially important. A third benefit is that certain financial resources become available. Child support is one, but there are others. Parents-especially teen parents-may not realize that whether children can collect veterans' benefits or social security payments when their father dies or becomes disabled depends on whether paternity has been acknowledged. 18 Whether the child can inherit from her or his father or bring a tort action if the father is killed or injured also depends on whether paternity has been established. Thus, even if a father has no present resources to share with the child, he may have resources in the future. Even if he is currently working at a minimum-wage job,

19

13. 42 U.S.C.A. § 454(a)(23) (West Supp. 1986).

14. 45 C.FR. § 302.30 (1986) (emphasis added). 15. Id.

16. Texas Attorney General's Office, Teenage Parents: Child Support Rights and Responsibilities (1986).

17. 50 Fed. Reg. 19620 (May 9, 1985).

18. 42 U.S.C.A. § 416(h)(3) (West 1983).

19. See, e.g., CAL. PROB. CODE §§ 221, 222, 255.

he probably has social security or worker's compensation coverage that could provide benefits to his child if an accident or death occurred. Teens need to be made aware of these legal provisions.

Effectively educating teens about paternity may require significantly increased interaction between child support enforcement agencies and programs that serve teens. The Teenage Pregnancy and Parenting Program (TAPP) in San Francisco works with male partners of teen mothers, providing them with health, education, and other social services. TAPP emphasizes the importance of establishing paternity for the young fathers and reports that few of the participants have ever heard of it.20 Generally, young men have little information about the process or its legal benefits and subsequent responsibilities.

III. Access to Services

A. Teens Receiving AFDC

1. Issues for Teen Mothers

21

Any applicant for or recipient of AFDC must assign to the state any right that she or he has to receive child support. For the teen mother, this means that, when she applies for AFDC, she will either sign a document giving the state her right to collect support, or she will be deemed to have made such an assignment under state law. 22

Unless the baby was conceived as the result of incest or forcible rape or is being put up for adoption, the mother will be required to cooperate with the state in establishing paternity and obtaining support. 23 If she believes that the father will harm her or the baby (physically or emotionally), she may claim "good cause" for not cooperating." Otherwise, she must comply or face termination of her portion of the AFDC grant.

24

25

Teen mothers need to know the cooperation requirements, which will generally be explained by the AFDC caseworker. However, organizations that serve teen mothers should be sure that the mothers do understand their obligations, and legal services programs could help by preparing community legal education materials on the subject. In addition, advocates might want to provide special assistance to teen mothers wishing to claim "good cause" for noncooperation. 26

A teen mother subject to the cooperation requirement is supposed to receive services from the state IV-D agency. 27 Frequently, she does not. States, in general, place little empha

20. Brindis & Korenbrot, Case Management of Male Clients in the San Francisco TAPP Project and Associated Impact on Birth Weight Outcomes (July 31, 1986) (unpublished paper).

21. 42 U.S.C.A. § 602(a)(26)(A) (West Supp. 1986). 22. 45 C.FR. § 232.11 (1986).

23. 42 U.S.C.A. § 602(a)(26)(B) (West Supp. 1986); 45 C.ER. § 232.42(a)(2) (1986).

24. 45 C.FR. §§ 232.42(a)(1)(i)-(iv) (1986). See also Mannix, Freedman, & Best, The Good Cause Exception to the AFDC Child Support Cooperation Requirement, 21 CLEARINGHOUSE REV. 339 (Aug./Sept. 1987).

25. 42 U.S.C.A. § 602(a)(26)(B) (West Supp. 1986).

26. See Johnson & Blong, The AFDC Child Support Cooperation Requirement, 20 Clearinghouse REV. 1389 (Mar. 1987). 27. 42 U.S.C.A. § 653(4) (West 1983 & Supp. 1986).

sis on establishing paternity, especially for teenagers.28 In many states, mothers can bring an action on their own if the state IV-D agency fails to act.29 However, younger teens may not be able to do this because they are under the age of majority. These teens would have to have a parent or guardian sue on their behalf. Once they reach the age of majority, however, they should be encouraged to proceed if the IV-D agency has not taken action.

In the meantime, advocacy organizations may wish to encourage states to provide paternity establishment services to teens. If states are still reluctant, the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement may be contacted and requested to intervene. 30

2. Teen Fathers

Teen fathers need to know that, if their child receives AFDC, they are incurring a "state debt" for the amount of AFDC furnished to the child.31 In some states, the debt begins accumulating when the child receives benefits; in some it accrues when a paternity action is commenced; in still others it does not accrue until paternity is established. A teen father needs to know what the law is in his state so that he is aware that he has an obligation. In some states, the existence of this imposed obligation could prevent him from obtaining a state education loan or other state benefits.32

In some states, the amount of state debt is limited to the amount of child support ordered by a court or administrative agency, 33 For example, a child may be receiving $100 per month in AFDC benefits. If the child's father has a courtordered payment of $25 per month, then the state debt is only $25-not $100. For this reason, a teen father might wish to institute a paternity action himself, both to benefit the baby and limit his own liability. Again, people working with teen parents need to be aware of this and to advise fathers accordingly.

In the long run, more states may change their laws to limit the state debt to the amount of support ordered. Then, if a teen father acts responsibly and makes even small regular payments, he will not later find himself with a huge debt.

B. Teens Not Receiving AFDC

Statistics for the general population suggest that less than one quarter of all women who gave birth out of wedlock had paternity adjudicated.34 More recently, Census Bureau data

28. See Welfare: Reform or Replacement?, supra note 4, statement of Kevin Kenney.

29. See, e.g., Department of Human Servs. v. Bagley, 235 S.E.2d 734, aff d, 240 S.E.2d 876 (Ga. 1977); In re Marriage of Latham, 642 S.W.2d 694 (Mo. Ct. App. 1982).

30. OCSE has recently sent letters to six states informing them that federal funds will be withheld unless services are improved. Lack of paternity establishment was one of the major causes of these letters being sent. Welfare: Reform or Replacement?, supra note 4, statement of Wayne Stanton, Administrator, Family Support Admin. 31. See, e.g., N.C. GEN. STAT. §§ 110-135 (Supp. 1983). 32. See, e.g., Alaska S. 263 (1986).

33. See, e.g., N.C. GEN. STAT. §§ 110-135 (Supp. 1983). 34. Wattenberg, Protecting the Rights of the Minor Child of Unmarried Minor Parents: Toward a Rational Policy (unpublished paper presented to the Child Support and Research Workshop of the OCSE, (footnote 34 continues)

reveal that less than 18 percent of never-married women had child support orders. It is no surprise then that only 4 percent of never-married mothers with at least one child present receive child support payments. 35

A recent analysis of the paternity caseload in Wisconsin reveals that 77 percent of the paternity cases, once adjudicated, did receive a support award.36 Therefore, the low incidence of awards and payments for never-married women reflects in large part the small percentage of paternity adjudications, thus confirming their importance.

The fact that many teen mothers do
not have contact with the AFDC
system heightens the importance of
an agency commitment to providing
timely and quality paternity services
to non-AFDC parents.

The fact that many teen mothers do not have contact with the AFDC system heightens the importance of an agency commitment to providing timely and quality paternity services to non-AFDC parents. A provision of the 1984 Amendments specifically strengthens this mandate and lessens previous financial disincentives to process non-AFDC cases.37 As advocates work for equal services for non-AFDC families, they should be alert to the beneficial impact that this would have for teen mothers as well.

IV. Paternity

In 1984, 9 out of 10 babies born to teens under age 15, and more than half born to those between the ages of 15 and 19, were born outside of marriage.38 Before child support can even be pursued from the father, paternity must be established, either voluntarily or through a court proceeding. The nature of the proceedings, however, can present some unique problems for teens.

A. Paternity and Criminal Prosecution

In some states, teens face a peculiar problem if they

footnote 34 continued

Washington, DC, Aug. 18, 1984); see also Danziger & NicholsCasebolt, Teen Parents and Child Support: Eligibility, Participation, and Payment 5 (1985) (paper presented at Research Conference of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management). 35. U.S. DEP'T OF COMMERCE, BUREAU OF CENSUS, CHILD SUPPORT AND ALIMONY: 1983 (Oct. 1986).

36. Danziger & Casebolt, Child Support Reform and Children Born Out-of-Wedlock: An Analysis of the Paternity Caseload 12 (Oct. 1986) (paper presented at the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, 8th Annual Research Conference).

37. 42 U.S.C. § 651; see also H. REP. No. 527, 98th Cong., 1st Sess. 29-30, 41 (1983). Additional incentives have also been proposed as part of H.R. 1720, 100th Cong., 1st Sess. (1987).

38. PREVENTING CHILDREN HAVING CHILDREN, supra note 1, at 11.

This consequence makes it doubtful that fathers of babies born to very young mothers will voluntarily come forward, and it gives them a strong stake in opposing establishment of paternity. Moreover, since the critical question is the mother's age at the time of intercourse, the parties cannot solve the problem by simply waiting a year or two to bring the paternity action.

Even if the mother is beyond the age at which statutory rape is a problem, there is an additional difficulty in some states. There are still states where fathering a child out of wedlock (regardless of the mother's age) is a crime11 and states where the only way to establish paternity is through a criminal proceeding.42 In these states, the parents may be reluctant to proceed for fear of giving the father a criminal record with all of the its potential consequences.

Initially, advocates in each state need to examine their laws to determine what potential criminal ramifications young fathers and mothers face. In those states that have statutory rape laws that do appear to be a bar to establishing paternity, an examination of those laws may be in order. Some may feel that the value of such laws43 outweighs their negative side. Others may feel that they should be redrawn to acknowledge that voluntary relationships between people of similar ages should not be considered criminal. Still others might favor outright repeal. Another approach is to bar the use of any evidence in a paternity proceeding from being used in any other proceeding." Thus, if a civil action were brought, a criminal action would be foreclosed.

44

In addition, in those states that have not done so, a civil proceeding should be made available. The procedures suggested in the Uniform Parentage Act45 could be a model for this effort.

B. Statute of Limitations

Until very recently, many states had statutes of limitations that required a paternity action to be brought within a short period of time after a child's birth. The purpose of these statutes was to prevent the assertion of stale or fraudulent claims. However, with the advent of genetic testing, the reason

39. See, e.g., Kan. Stat. Ann. § 21-3503 (1974); Mass. Gen. Laws ANN. ch. 265, § 23 (West Supp. 1981); MICH. COMP. LAWS § 750.13 (1970). In some states, the minor mother can also be prosecuted. See, e.g., ARIZ. REV. STAT. § 13-1405 (1978); ILL. REV. STAT. ch. 38, § 11-5 (1979).

40. Most federal and state courts considering the issue have upheld the validity of statutory rape laws. Michael M. v. Superior Court of Sonoma County, 450 U.S. 464, 467 n.1 (1981). The Supreme Court has even upheld a law that applies only to males because of the state's interest in preventing teenage pregnancy. Id. at 470-71. 41. See, e.g., Miss. CODE ANN. § 29-11 (1972). 42. See, e.g., VA. CODE ANN. § 20-61.1.

43. See Michael M., 450 U.S. at 470-72.

44. See, e.g., Wis. Stat. Ann. § 767.47(4) (1981).

45. 1973 Uniform Parentage Act, Uniform Laws Ann., Vol. 9A.

Health Care Coverage for Children with Chronic Illnesses or Disabilities

The Center for Public Representation has released a new publication directed towards parents, professionals, and others who are responsible for the health care of children who have a chronic illness or disability. The book is designed to assist parents in making decisions regarding the health care of their disabled or chronically ill children. The book is divided into two parts. Part I describes the four major types of available health care coverage, including traditional health insurance, health maintenance organizations, the health insurance risk-sharing plan, and medical assistance. Part II describes other sources of financing treatment and obtaining services, including a brief description of major governmental programs and agencies that serve disabled or chronically ill children and of programs for financing care available in Wisconsin. The Center for Public Representation is a nonprofit public interest law firm that provides advocacy, research, and training on behalf of a broad range of citizen groups. Copies of the 95-page book, A Guide to Health Care Coverage for the Child with a Chronic Illness or Disability, by Alice M. Leonard, are available from the Center for Public Representation, 520 University Ave., Madison, WI, 53703, (608) 251-4008. The cost is $10.

for short statutes became obsolete.46 Today, if properly performed, tests done many years after a child's birth can both exclude wrongly named putative fathers and yield a high degree of probability that the named respondent is the father. For this reason, the Supreme Court has struck down short statutes of limitations for paternity actions.47

This is particularly important for unwed teens and their babies. It means that actions are not barred just because the child is now two or three years old. In fact, capitalizing on Supreme Court decisions, Congress, as part of the Child Support Enforcement Amendments of 1984, now requires states to allow paternity to be established at least until the child's 18th

46. Mills v. Halbluetzel, 456 U.S. 91, 104 (1982) (O'Connor, J., concurring).

47. Id.; Pickett v. Brown, 103 S. Ct. 2199 (1983).

50

Second, if a paternity suit has not been instituted, but the child was born during the time the shorter statute of limitations applied, which would have barred such a suit, can a suit now be brought? Some legislatures have not been clear on this issue, and state rules and decisions are often confusing." Allowing a previously foreclosed paternity or child support claim to proceed is not a "retroactive" application of the law in the usual sense of the word. Rather, the paternity claim, as a conduit to a child support action or access to other benefits due dependents, is primarily a claim to an ongoing obligation. 51 Further, the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement has interpreted federal law to require that paternity cases previously considered to be closed because of the child's age must be reopened and paternity determination services provided. 52

C. Paternity Procedures

An extended statute of limitations will have little impact on increasing agency paternity actions as long as the conviction remains that paternity cannot be established easily or without great cost.

Initially, it should be noted that there are two ways of establishing paternity: through acknowledgment or by litigation. Unfortunately, many states do not provide simple procedures for acknowledging paternity. In these states, the parties must go to court. For teens, the prospect of appearing before a judge and admitting to sexual activity is scary and intimidating; they will not voluntarily acknowledge paternity if they have to go to court. In addition, even a simple court proceeding can be costly to the state. Since states perceive the benefits to be minimal, this cost discourages most of them from bringing even uncontested suits.

In these states, establishment of simple procedures in uncontested cases should be considered. In both Oregon and Missouri, for example, voluntary acknowledgments of paternity may be entered through administrative process when both parents file sworn affidavits. An order is then drafted and docketed, and a new birth certificate is issued to the child. 53

48. 42 U.S.C.A. § 666(a)(5) (West Supp. 1986).

49. Compare Doe v. Roe, 677 P.2d 468 (Hawaii 1984), with Shaw v. Seward, 689 S. W.2d 37 (Ky. Ct. App. 1985); see also Paulussen v. Heroin, 518 A.2d (Pa. Super. Ct. 1986); Clark v. Jeter, 518 A.2d 276 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1986).

50. For example, see the description of Texas law in Mills, 456 U.S. at 95 n.1; see also Johnson v. Sanson, 69 Erie County (Pa.) L. J. 136-44 (Aug. 29, 1986).

51. See Florida Dep't of Health & Rehabilitative Servs. v. West, 378 So. 2d 1220, 1227-8 (Fla. 1979).

52. 50 Fed. Reg. 19608, 19631 (May 9, 1985).

53. MO. STAT. ANN. § 454.485; OR. REV. STAT. § 416.430 (1981). Massachusetts has recently followed this trend and has a statute that specifically allows minor parents to acknowledge paternity by simply filing a notarized statement. 1986 MASS. ACTS ch. 310, § 11(a).

This would make the process more accessible to teens and less expensive to the IV-D system.

Of course, sometimes a person is named as a putative father who believes that he is not the father. Sometimes a mother is not entirely sure which of two or more people is the father. In these cases, a contested court proceeding is inevitable. The likelihood that such a proceeding will result in a finding of paternity is enhanced by the use of blood tests or human leucocyte antigen (HLA) tests.

In all but a few states, there is statutory and/or case law on the admissibility of the results of such tests. 54 Most states with laws on the subject allow test results to disprove paternity, and the trend has been to allow such results as evidence of the probability of paternity as well." Given the remarkable scientific advances in blood and tissue testing, advocates should urge states to allow HLA tests to be used both to prove and disprove paternity. There is ample legal and scientific justification for that position. 56

At the same time, advocates must recognize that such tests are expensive. Federal reimbursement for part of the cost of these tests is available, however. 57 Moreover, in determining the federal incentive payment that a state can receive, the cost of blood tests is not calculated as part of the administrative Cost, 58

61

To the degree that the IV-D agency does incur certain costs, these costs cannot be assessed against current AFDC recipients or against former AFDC clients for a three- to five-month period after receiving their last AFDC payment.61 If non-AFDC families are involved, costs can be passed on, but not at a rate that discourages application for services by those most in need. 62

Passing on the costs, particularly if they are high, is a substantial disincentive to teen mothers pursing paternity claims, especially if the potential short-term support recovery is mod

54. See Roberts, Establishing a Family: Blood Tests and the Paternity Determination Process, 18 Clearinghouse Rev. 1290, 1297-98 (Mar. 1985).

55. See, e.g., Massachusetts v. Beausoliel, 397 Mass. 206 (1986). 56. See, e.g., Terasaki, Resolution by HLA Testing of 1,000 Paternity Cases Not Excluded by ABO Testing, 16 J. FAM. L. 552-53 (1977-78).

57. 45 C.FR. § 304.20(b)(2)(i)(B) (1986). In some states, the cost of such a test may be assessed against the putative father if paternity is established. Roberts, supra note 54, at 1292. See also Little v. Streater, 452 U.S. 1, 15 (1981).

58. 42 U.S.C.A. § 658(c) (West Supp. 1986).
59. 45 C.FR. § 304.20(b)(2) (1986).
60. Id. §§ 304.20(b)(2)(iv), (v).

61. 42 U.S.C.A. §§ 654(6)(B), 657(c) (West Supp. 1986).

62. 45 C.FR. § 302.33(d); 49 Fed. Reg. 36764, 36770 (Sept. 19, 1984).