The Use and Equity of Child Support Enforcement Incentive Payments at Selected States

This final report summarizes our audit of the use of Child Support Enforcement (CSE) incentives and inequities in the incentive formula. We concluded that incentive payments were used primarily to fund the State or local jurisdictions' share of CSE costs. Some States realized significant savings from the State share of collections for Aid to Families with Dependent Children, while their counties incurred the costs of operating the CSE program. We also found that the method used for calculating incentives was often inconsistent with the Federal CSE performance objectives. We are recommending that incentives be based on the States' demonstrated capability to meet Federal CSE requirements and performance objectives.