California Legislature OKs SB 337, ‘The Child Support Reform Act’

The California Legislature has approved SB 337, “The Child Support Reform Act,” by state Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley. SB 337 will help low-income families by ensuring that more child support payments go to kids and less is taken by the state. The bill increases the amount of the child support payment that is passed through to custodial parents from $50 to $100 for families with one child and to $200 a month for those with two or more kids.

“California takes the lion’s share of support payments that rightfully belong to families and kids. SB 337 helps right that wrong by ensuring that more money is directed to the children, rather than to the state,” Skinner said.

SB 337 won unanimous approval in both the state Assembly (78-0) and the Senate (40-0). It now goes to Gov. Gavin Newsom for consideration. 

“The child support program is supposed to help children, but current law perverts that purpose by redirecting child support paid to the state instead of to custodial parents and turns unpaid child support orders into debt owed to the state,” said Jessica Bartholow of the Western Center on Law and Poverty, a co-sponsor of the bill. “SB 337 takes some important first steps to reform the program to make sure that it truly supports children. We are hopeful the governor will sign it.”

Under current California law, when a noncustodial parent makes a child support payment to the custodial parent who also receives CalWORKs benefits, the payment doesn’t actually go to the custodial parent or their children. Instead, all but $50 of it goes to the state in order to “reimburse” for CalWORKs payments. But denying families this needed financial support continues the cycle of poverty. California currently has one of the highest child poverty rates in the nation.

Existing law has also buried low-income non-custodial parents under a mountain of uncollectible debt. If low-income parents are temporarily unable to pay child support because, for example, they’re unemployed, injured, homeless, or incarcerated, their state debt continues to grow — at 10% interest. According to an analysis of county records conducted by The Financial Justice Project, the debt and interest owed by California parents to the state and federal governments for public benefits is $12.75 billion.

SB 337 will address this problem by reducing child-support state-owed debt for noncustodial parents if the state or a local agency deems the debt to be uncollectible.

“SB 337 will help lift families out of poverty by increasing the amount of child support paid to very low-income families and helping to end the cycle of debt, joblessness, and poverty,” Skinner added.  

Sen. Nancy Skinner represents the 9th Senate District.