1、Congressional Research Service The Library of CongressCRS Report for CongressReceived through the CRS WebOrder Code 97-590 EPWUpdated June 20, 2000Child Support Enforcement and Visitation: Should There be a Federal Connection?(name redacted)Specialist in Social LegislationEducation and Public Welfar
2、e DivisionSummaryFrom time to time, the issue arises of whether the federal Child SupportEnforcement (CSE) program should be actively involved in enforcing visitation rights.Both federal and state policymakers agree that denial of visitation rights should not beconsidered a reason for stopping child
3、 support payments. Historically, Congress hastreated visitation and child support as legally separate issues, with only child supportenforcement activities under the purview of the federal government. However, CensusBureau data (1995) show that noncustodial parents are more likely to make paymentsof
4、 child support if they have either joint custody or visitation rights. In recent years,Congress has moderated its position against using federal CSE funds to promoteenforcement of visitation rights. In 1988, it authorized CSE funding for child accessdemonstration projects in six states, and in 1996
