States funded under the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) are currently able to require child care subsidy recipients to cooperate with the child support program as a condition of eligibility. However, recognizing the barriers that this policy inflicts on families that simply want to return to work, most states have chosen not to adopt it or have removed child support enforcement from the subsidy process. In addition to adding burdensome family requirements, this policy can negatively impact young children and potentially damage healthy relationships that are so essential to early brain development.
In Pennsylvania, where the child support enforcement policy was enacted for a short time, enrollment of children in licensed child care dropped by 28% (Philadelphia Citizens for Children and Youth, 2000).
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