Hardback
Single Parents and Child Support Systems
An International Comparison
9781800882393 Edward Elgar Publishing
Taking a novel approach to child support policy analysis, Single Parents and Child Support Systems locates the transfer of payments between separated parents within a wider social policy ecosystem and compares the political, institutional and administrative dimensions of child support policy enactment across the globe.
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Critical Acclaim
Contributors
Contents
More Information
Taking a novel approach to child support policy analysis, Single Parents and Child Support Systems locates the transfer of payments between separated parents within a wider social policy ecosystem and compares the political, institutional and administrative dimensions of child support policy enactment across the globe.
Featuring contributions from an interdisciplinary collective of researchers in social policy, social work, sociology, economics and law, the book assesses how child support policies align conceptually with other social policies. Single Parents and Child Support Systems begins by setting out how children’s and single parents’ economic welfare is conceived across countries in relation to the triple burden of financial, caring and administrative responsibilities faced by single mothers. Chapters map how post-separation child support policy reinforces or breaks from the gender and family logics that underpin welfare and family policies in 10 different countries spanning corporatist, liberal and Nordic welfare regimes.
Offering extensive coverage of a diverse range of international legal provisions and social policies, this stimulating book will be an essential resource for academics and researchers of social policy, social work, family law and gender studies. Its practical insights and suggested avenues for reform will also benefit policy makers, child support administrators and legal professionals.
Featuring contributions from an interdisciplinary collective of researchers in social policy, social work, sociology, economics and law, the book assesses how child support policies align conceptually with other social policies. Single Parents and Child Support Systems begins by setting out how children’s and single parents’ economic welfare is conceived across countries in relation to the triple burden of financial, caring and administrative responsibilities faced by single mothers. Chapters map how post-separation child support policy reinforces or breaks from the gender and family logics that underpin welfare and family policies in 10 different countries spanning corporatist, liberal and Nordic welfare regimes.
Offering extensive coverage of a diverse range of international legal provisions and social policies, this stimulating book will be an essential resource for academics and researchers of social policy, social work, family law and gender studies. Its practical insights and suggested avenues for reform will also benefit policy makers, child support administrators and legal professionals.
Critical Acclaim
‘For years, policy makers have been trying to design child support systems which help separated parents yet encourage them to take fiscal responsibility for their children. This illuminating book examines ten countries’ child support policies across six continents and provides fascinating insight into the different systems adopted. It digs deep and also considers the socio-economic and political contexts shaping those policies. The authors use this analysis to pinpoint potential changes to address “the triple bind” single parents face. An invaluable resource for scholars, students, policy makers, and anyone using child support systems. As an international family lawyer tackling international and national child support issues, I found it hugely enlightening.’
– Lucy Greenwood, Partner, International Family Law Group LLP, UK
‘This is a fascinating foray into the intersection of state, market, and family policies relating to child support programs in ten different countries. Positioning child support as a means of operationalizing the opportunity costs of children’s care is indeed a novel way of examining the child support program. The authors, all experts in child support and other socioeconomic interventions, make the strong case that child support is in fact falling short of meeting the needs of the moms who are relying on assistance. To potentially remedy this situation, the authors ask us what is the fundamental purpose of child support?’
– Steven J. Golightly, Ph.D, Retired Director of the Los Angeles Child Support Program, US
‘Designing policy for separating families is thorny yet consequential. This book not only provides an excellent overview of current policy but also addresses new policy dilemmas and explores ideas for dramatic change. The authors achieve an excellent balance between policy specifics within countries and thoughtful discussion of the broader and enduring issues that emerge when comparing different contexts. Read it!’
– Daniel R. Meyer, University of Wisconsin–Madison, US
– Lucy Greenwood, Partner, International Family Law Group LLP, UK
‘This is a fascinating foray into the intersection of state, market, and family policies relating to child support programs in ten different countries. Positioning child support as a means of operationalizing the opportunity costs of children’s care is indeed a novel way of examining the child support program. The authors, all experts in child support and other socioeconomic interventions, make the strong case that child support is in fact falling short of meeting the needs of the moms who are relying on assistance. To potentially remedy this situation, the authors ask us what is the fundamental purpose of child support?’
– Steven J. Golightly, Ph.D, Retired Director of the Los Angeles Child Support Program, US
‘Designing policy for separating families is thorny yet consequential. This book not only provides an excellent overview of current policy but also addresses new policy dilemmas and explores ideas for dramatic change. The authors achieve an excellent balance between policy specifics within countries and thoughtful discussion of the broader and enduring issues that emerge when comparing different contexts. Read it!’
– Daniel R. Meyer, University of Wisconsin–Madison, US
Contributors
Contributors include: Adedayo Adelakun, Olanike S. Adelakun, Marisa Lo Bartolo, Christina Boll, Rhonda Breitkreuz, Adrienne Byrt, Yiyoon Chung, Kay Cook, Laura Cuesta, Alisha Griffin, Angela Guarin, Mari Haapanen, Mia Hakovirta, Yoonkyung Kim, Eric Lee, Thomas Meysen, Zarina Md Nor, Hannah Roots, Sarah Sinclair, Christine Skinner
Contents
Contents:
Introduction to Single Parents and Child Support Systems xi
Kay Cook, Thomas Meysen, and Adrienne Byrt
1 Poverty, gender and child support systems in comparative
perspective 1
Adedayo Adelakun, Olanike S. Adelakun, Marisa Lo
Bartolo, Christina Boll, Rhonda Breitkreuz, Adrienne
Byrt, Yiyoon Chung, Kay Cook, Laura Cuesta, Alisha
Griffin, Angela Guarin, Mari Haapanen, Mia Hakovirta,
Yoonkyung Kim, Eric Lee, Thomas Meysen, Zarina Md
Nor, Hannah Roots, Sarah Sinclair, and Christine Skinner
2 The tensions embedded within parents’ access to and
the administration of child support: A cross-country
conceptual framework 20
Adrienne Byrt, Kay Cook, and Thomas Meysen
3 Australia’s child support system in the context of the
welfare system and demographic change 32
Kay Cook and Sarah Sinclair
4 The child support system in Canada: An overview 50
Hannah Roots and Rhonda Breitkreuz
5 The Colombian child support system: A hybrid approach
in a challenging social and economic context 70
Laura Cuesta and Angela Guarin
6 Single mothers and the child support system in Finland 92
Mari Haapanen and Mia Hakovirta
7 Child support as part of a multifaceted but fragmented
system in Germany 109
Christina Boll and Thomas Meysen
8 Single parent families and the child support system in
South Korea 128
Yiyoon Chung, Yoonkyung Kim, and Eric Lee
9 The child support system in Malaysia 144
Zarina Md Nor
10 The child support system and women’s access to child
support in Nigeria 161
Olanike S. Adelakun and Adedayo Adelakun
11 United Kingdom and the child support system 177
Christine Skinner
12 The child support system in the United States of America 194
Alisha Griffin
13 Sticking points, blind spots and ways forward 211
Kay Cook, Adrienne Byrt, and Thomas Meysen
Index 221
Introduction to Single Parents and Child Support Systems xi
Kay Cook, Thomas Meysen, and Adrienne Byrt
1 Poverty, gender and child support systems in comparative
perspective 1
Adedayo Adelakun, Olanike S. Adelakun, Marisa Lo
Bartolo, Christina Boll, Rhonda Breitkreuz, Adrienne
Byrt, Yiyoon Chung, Kay Cook, Laura Cuesta, Alisha
Griffin, Angela Guarin, Mari Haapanen, Mia Hakovirta,
Yoonkyung Kim, Eric Lee, Thomas Meysen, Zarina Md
Nor, Hannah Roots, Sarah Sinclair, and Christine Skinner
2 The tensions embedded within parents’ access to and
the administration of child support: A cross-country
conceptual framework 20
Adrienne Byrt, Kay Cook, and Thomas Meysen
3 Australia’s child support system in the context of the
welfare system and demographic change 32
Kay Cook and Sarah Sinclair
4 The child support system in Canada: An overview 50
Hannah Roots and Rhonda Breitkreuz
5 The Colombian child support system: A hybrid approach
in a challenging social and economic context 70
Laura Cuesta and Angela Guarin
6 Single mothers and the child support system in Finland 92
Mari Haapanen and Mia Hakovirta
7 Child support as part of a multifaceted but fragmented
system in Germany 109
Christina Boll and Thomas Meysen
8 Single parent families and the child support system in
South Korea 128
Yiyoon Chung, Yoonkyung Kim, and Eric Lee
9 The child support system in Malaysia 144
Zarina Md Nor
10 The child support system and women’s access to child
support in Nigeria 161
Olanike S. Adelakun and Adedayo Adelakun
11 United Kingdom and the child support system 177
Christine Skinner
12 The child support system in the United States of America 194
Alisha Griffin
13 Sticking points, blind spots and ways forward 211
Kay Cook, Adrienne Byrt, and Thomas Meysen
Index 221
