# Forgiving Student Loans? Forgive Child Support Debt, Too

- Link: https://thechildsupporthustle.com/forgiving-student-loans-forgive-child-support-debt-too/
- Published: 2024-05-06T14:23:35+00:00
- Author: MsRockMon

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Kenya N. Rahmaan

Under former President Bill Clinton and with bipartisan support, the Personal Responsibility
and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), not only was there reformation
to the American welfare system, but the child support system also undertook significant
restructuring. One of the changes required that any custodial parent (CP) applying
for public benefits, specifically Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
and Medicaid, was mandated to sue the non-custodial parent for child support. Unfortunately,
the CP was required to assign their rights and the rights of the children to any
child support collected over to their respective states to allegedly recover welfare
expenditures. [https://youtube.com/live/fzi77S8R1is](https://thechildsupporthustle.com/forgiving-student-loans-forgive-child-support-debt-too/\"https://youtube.com/live/fzi77S8R1is\")

 

As you are aware, welfare benefits are grants and not loans. Therefore, those benefits
do not require repayment by either parent. Not only are the benefits grants, but
CPs are also required to participate in a work program in exchange for cash and 
medical benefits unless there is a good cause exemption approved on the case, excluding
them from meeting those requirements. Because of the child support assignment mandate,
tens of billions of dollars in child support arrears or debt is now owed to state
governments. Non-custodial parents are subject to punishments such as license suspensions,
passport revocation, income withholdings, tax offsets, negative credit reporting,
incarceration, and sometimes death based on insurmountable and mostly uncollectable
debt. There are little to no debt relief options offered to parents, even after 
their children have reached the age of majority, which means they live their lives
indebted to the government.

 

 

Uncollectable debt is not beneficial to parents, nor is it beneficial to children
named on welfare-related child support orders. Based on the counter-productiveness
and the barriers, both financially and healthwise, high amounts of state-owed debt
have on parents, we have launched an initiative requesting that you issue an EO 
forgiving all child support arrears owed to the state. According to the Office of
Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) (2020), government-owed arrears were nearly $24
billion. Forgive these arrears, especially during this time of uncertainty due to
the Coronavirus, because every American deserves as much assistance from our government
as possible. [https://youtube.com/live/T25ZyuNDYJw](https://thechildsupporthustle.com/forgiving-student-loans-forgive-child-support-debt-too/\"https://youtube.com/live/T25ZyuNDYJw\")

 

Owing child support arrears triggers enforcement tactics, such as the government
offsetting COVID-19 relief payments to be sent back to the US Treasury. That is 
not helpful to American families and is harmful to children. This petition has been
signed by Americans who support erasing arrears owed to the state. We are hopeful
that you will do what is best for American families and guarantee a fresh start 
for all affected by COVID-19 and unfair and uncollectable child support debt.

 

### Why is this important?

Child support debt, according to Vicki Turetsky & Maureen R Waller, 1.) can take
a large personal toll with implications for employment, health, family life, and
civic participation, 2.) indebtedness can exacerbate family hardship and tensions,
driving a wedge between the parents and pushing nonresident parents away from their
children. Additionally, according to a study conducted by the Urban Institute, relieving
child support debt turned around this challenging situation, putting most fathers
on a more constructive, productive path toward improved financial stability and 
well-being that allowed them to better support their children both financially and
emotionally. By erasing child support debt owed to the government, parents will 
be free to concentrate on creating lives for themselves and their children while
simultaneously stimulating the economy.

 

References:

[https://escholarship.org/content/qt7vd043jw/qt7vd043jw.pdf?t=qcft7z](https://thechildsupporthustle.com/forgiving-student-loans-forgive-child-support-debt-too/\"https://escholarship.org/content/qt7vd043jw/qt7vd043jw.pdf?t=qcft7z\")

[https://www.urban.org/research/publication/relief-government-owed-child-support-debt-and-its-effects-parents-and-children?fbclid=IwAR0p0zMGwFobpBe7BvFZoOnVa9EEsShVyI2DIGC8uFgucdiQI3bUJK1dmoI](https://thechildsupporthustle.com/forgiving-student-loans-forgive-child-support-debt-too/\"https://www.urban.org/research/publication/relief-government-owed-child-support-debt-and-its-effects-parents-and-children?fbclid=IwAR0p0zMGwFobpBe7BvFZoOnVa9EEsShVyI2DIGC8uFgucdiQI3bUJK1dmoI\")
[https://https:https://thechildsupporthustle.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/IMG_1174-2.jpegwp-content/uploads/2025/08/IMG_1174-2-1.jpegwp-content/uploads/2024/04/two-housholds-child-support.jpg.com/2020/12/12/forgiving-student-loan-debt-forgive-child-support-debt-too-a-letter/](https://thechildsupporthustle.com/forgiving-student-loans-forgive-child-support-debt-too/\"https://https://thechildsupporthustle.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/IMG_1174-2.jpegwp-content/uploads/2025/08/IMG_1174-2-1.jpegwp-content/uploads/2024/04/two-housholds-child-support.jpg.com/2020/12/12/forgiving-student-loan-debt-forgive-child-support-debt-too-a-letter/\")
[https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ocse/fy_2019_preliminary_data_report.pdf](https://thechildsupporthustle.com/forgiving-student-loans-forgive-child-support-debt-too/\"https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ocse/fy_2019_preliminary_data_report.pdf\")