Child Support

Home
/
Research Topics
/
Child Support

Child support can be a critical part of the safety net of resources available to parents to help them cover the cost of raising a child. Child support provides financial resources to custodial parents to help meet a child’s basic needs, including nutrition, housing, and healthcare.

Featured Resource

An Updated Estimation Model of the Cost of Raising Children in Texas

This report estimates the cost of raising children across two households in Texas, reflecting the reality of many children whose parents have a child support order.

Related Resources

States Are Helping Thousands of Families Balance Work, Care, and the Costs of Raising Young Children

New report finds continued state momentum across policies that shape families’ financial stability and access to health and child care.  NASHVILLE, Tenn. – September 18, 2026 – Raising an infant or toddler requires time, care,

State Strategies to Address the Benefits Cliff

Explore how states are addressing the benefits cliff by coordinating public assistance, phasing out benefits gradually, and supporting economic mobility.

Policies on the Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap that Promote Housing Security

Safe and stable housing is a foundational social predictor of health and critical for early child development and economic stability throughout life.

2026 Prenatal-to-3 Research to Policy Summit

Join us September 29 to explore how the prenatal-to-3 policy landscape changed from 2016 to 2026.

State Leaders Convene in Nashville for Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center’s State Policy Academy on Early Childhood Governance

Three-day academy brought together state teams and national experts to examine how governance structures can improve outcomes for young children and families. Nashville, Tennessee – The Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College

Effective Early Childhood Governance: Lessons Learned from Governance Change

Governance change does not happen overnight, and states rarely accomplish it alone. Drawing on case studies of five states that consolidated their early childhood systems, a new brief from the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center identifies seven lessons learned, from sustained advocacy to strong, collaborative leadership, that can help state leaders pursue governance change reflecting their own early childhood goals.