The Role of Child Support in Texas Welfare Dynamics: Statistical Supplement for Local Workforce Development Areas

he Role of Child Support in Texas Welfare Dynamics was published in September 1998. That four-year study measured the influence that increased child support enforcement strategies had on Texas welfare dynamics in the period following the implementation of the Family Support Act but prior to passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, the country’s latest round of welfare reform.

This supplement provides descriptive statistics about Texas’ adult welfare recipients and the noncustodial parents of their children for each of Texas’ 28 local workforce development areas. It should be used as a companion piece to the statewide publication and provides statistics about both welfare caretakers and noncustodial parents that are often difficult to obtain, especially at the substate level. With the increased emphasis on improving the employability of noncustodial parents in welfare families, these statistics should provide background information to guide local planners in developing appropriate services for this group.