In advances of Monday’s special session of the Idaho Legislature, Idaho Voices for Children has released a two-page “policy perspective” report on child support in Idaho, reporting that nearly one in four Idaho children receives child support payments. “In Idaho, both parents, whether legally married or not, are required to support their children,” the report says. “These payments represent private dollars collected and distributed by the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare.” You can see the full report here.

That’s the system that was jeopardized by lawmakers’ failure to pass legislation during their regular session conforming Idaho’s child support enforcement laws to federal regulations, including a 2007 international treaty. “This agreement was intended to protect children first and foremost: It prevents parents from hiding from child support obligations by relocating to another state or country,” the report says. Federal authorities have notified Idaho that if it doesn’t conform its laws by June 12, it will lose access to the federal child support enforcement system.

The report includes a breakdown by county of the 111,994 Idaho children who received child support in April. That’s 23.8 percent of Idaho children (ages 0-19). The percentage varies considerably by county, from a low of 7.3 percent in Madison County to a high of 43.0 percent in Lewis County. In Ada County, 23.1 percent of kids get child support payments. In Canyon County, it’s 30.5 percent; Bonner County, 25.7 percent; Kootenai County, 26.7 percent; Benewah County, 34.4 percent; Shoshone County, 36.2 percent; Twin Falls County, 28 percent; and Bonneville County, 24.1 percent.

Lauren Necochea, director of Idaho Voices for Children, said, “If we fail to act, we can expect to see substantial economic hardship for families, severe strains on overburdened charitable services, and an increased need for public assistance.”

Also joining in issuing the report was the AARP of Idaho, whose advocacy director, Lee Flinn, said, “Lack of legislative action will hurt Idahoans of all ages. Many parents of minors are over the age of 50, many grandparents are acting as parents and of course, the loss of payments is bad for children.” She said Idaho's child support program is well-run and has participated in the interstate collection program for almost 20 years.

The group’s report covers only in-state child support payments. Not included are the $39.3 million in annual interstate payments the state enforces, including $28.8 million  a year paid to Idaho kids from parents living out of state, and $10.6 million paid by Idaho parents to kids living out of state. Idaho enforces a total of $205 million a year in child support payments, has 155,000 cases and impacts a total of 183,000 children.

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