Child Support Facts
$13 Billion
Worldwide estimate of the child support management industry. This does not include segments such as lawyers, judges, mediators or child support collection agencies.
$500 Billion
Current worldwide estimate of the entire child support industry. This is just a small subset of the entire divorce industry.
$990 Billion
Amount of money that exchanges hands in child support payments every year, globally.
$200 Billion
Amount of money that exchanges hands, each year, in child support and alimony in the United States.
587 Million
Total number of people worldwide that are part of a modern family.
39 Million
Number of people who are managing child support payments in the United States. This number includes parents, gaurdians and caseworkers.
$26.4 Billion
Child support payments collected and distributed by the state governments in the United States in FY 2009.
22.6 Million
Total number of child support orders in the United States including cases managed by the government and cases managed between parents.
15.8 Million
Number of support cases managed by the state government. This includes cases where child support is not being paid, cases where public services have been received or are currently being received by custodial or foster parents.
6.8 Million
Estimate of number of child support cases that are managed without government, or state intervention, where payments are managed between parents.
1.3 Million
Number of new child support cases, in the United States, every year. This number is expected to reach 2.5 ? 3.0 million as the United States economy recovers.
39 Million
Number of parents, in the United States, that are not living in a traditional family situation. This includes single parents, custodial parents & non-custodial parents.
7.33%
Percentage of the parent population that have multiple children by multiple parents.
$5.8 Billion
Total taxpayer dollars, in Fiscal Year 2011, spent every year on child support enforcement administrative expenses.
$3.8 Billion
Total taxpayer dollars, spent in Fiscal Year 2011, by the federal government on child support enforcement administrative expenses.
$2.0 Billion
Total taxpayer dollars, spent in Fiscal Year 2011, by the state governments on child support enforcement administrative expenses.
$500 dollars
If a non-custodial parent is more than $500 behind on child support they are not suppose to be able to renew their driver?s license.
$2,500
In the United States, noncompliant parents who are more than $2500 past due in child support payments, may be denied passports under the Passport Denial Program.
20.50%
Percentage of males who will divorce at some point in their lives.
22.40%
Percentage of females who will divorce at some point in their lives.
50%
Of all the children born to married parents this year, 50% will experience the divorce of their parents before they reach their 18th birthday.
20 days
Average time it takes to settle a child support case when parents come to a mutual agreement.
100 days
Average time it takes to settle a child support case through lawyers & judges.
80 days
Average number of days you will get back in your life if you are able to come to a mutual agreement on child support.
6 Million
Between 1990 and 1998, the number of families in grandparent-headed households without either parent present increased by 53 percent, and the 2000 Census placed the total number of children living in a grandparent- or other relative-headed household at 6 million.
21.8 Million
Number of children, in the United States, being raised by single parents, based on the 2010 US Census. This does not include children who?s custodial parent has remarried.
4.65 Million
Number of children, in the United States, living with their custodial parent and a step-parent.
26.30%
Percentage of children, in the United States, being raised by single parents, based on the 2010 US Census.
82.60%
Mothers represent 82.6% of all custodial parents.
17.40%
Fathers represent 17.4% of all custodial parents.
15.90%
1.8 Million
Number of paternities established or acknowledged in the United States, by the state government, in FY 2009.