In the best interests of children: Reforming the Child Support Scheme

On August last year, the Minister for Children and Youth announced the terms of reference and membership of a Ministerial Taskforce and Reference Group to examine Australia\u27s child support scheme. This followed the Prime Minister\u27s announcement of 29 July 2004 of proposals to reform the Family Law System in Australia in response to the House of Representatives Committee on Family and Community Affairs Inquiry into child custody arrangements in the event of family separation. &nbsp

Discrepancy between expected and actual child support payments : predicting the health and health-related quality of life of children living in low-income, single-parent families

Objective Although the amount and frequency of child support payments received by single parents are often erratic and fluctuate, no study to date has quantitatively explored how the discrepancy between expected and actual payments relates to child health. This study aims to examine whether the discrepancy between expected and actual child support payments predicts a range of child health outcomes, including global health, health-related quality of life, involvement in activities and parental psychological distress.Methods This study used results from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, which included a sample of parents of children aged 4&ndash;5 years (n = 4983). The questionnaire was completed by the parent who spent the most time with the child and knew the child best. From the 4983 families, 332 low-income single parents reliant on welfare with a formal or informal child support order in place were identified.Results After controlling for income, the discrepancy between expected and actual child support predicted school functioning, conduct problems, total mental health problems and involvement in activities. Discrepancy between expected and actual child support payments did not predict the remaining health-related quality of life domains, mental health domains, global child health or parental psychosocial distress.Conclusion This was the first study to examine how the discrepancy between expected and actual child support payments relates to child health, providing important data on the effectiveness of the child support system for children\u27s well-being. These findings highlight the potential impact of the discrepancy on school functioning, conduct problems, total mental health problems and involvement in activities.<br /