“Texas’ $4.8 Billion Child Support Machine — Built on Families, Not for Them”

1. $4.8 Billion Collected — But Who Really Benefits?

• $4.8 Billion in FY2020: A 10% increase from the prior year.

• Texas now collects more than 27 other states combined.

• Serving 1.6 million children → That’s about $3,000 per child per year on average.

If this was truly about helping children, why isn’t that $4.8 billion directly visible in their households?

2. The Efficiency Number Is Misleading

• Paxton says: “We collect $11.68 for every $1 spent.”

• That “efficiency” is what federal performance incentives under Title IV-D reward.

• The program earns bonuses from Washington, D.C., every time money flows through their system — not when children’s needs are met.

This turns kids into revenue units. Every dollar collected is another justification for bigger budgets and higher bonuses.

3. Pandemic “Innovation” or Streamlined Collections?

• Offices closed → They shifted to virtual enforcement, live chat, and remote hearings.

• Translation: It became even easier to garnish wages, seize tax returns, and suspend licenses — without parents ever stepping into a courtroom to be heard.

• Parents lost jobs during COVID — yet collections still jumped by 10%.

How does a collection agency increase revenue during mass unemployment? By targeting the poorest families harder.

4. Scale of the System

• 1 in 4 Texas children are in the program.

• 1.5 million active cases every year.

• At $4.8 billion per year, Texas is essentially running a state-sponsored debt-collection empire under the banner of “child support.”

5. The Real Problem

• Federal law (Title IV-D) pays states to collect money, not to ensure children actually receive support or maintain family stability.

• No incentive to mediate, reconcile, or help parents co-parent peacefully.

• No credit when parents support kids voluntarily outside the system — in fact, the system penalizes informal support because it doesn’t generate federal reimbursement.

The more conflict and arrears they create, the more revenue they can report — and the more federal dollars they pull in.

Bottom Line

This isn’t a victory for kids — it’s a business model.

• $4.8 billion is not proof of compassion — it’s proof of how aggressively Texas squeezes families.

• Paxton’s “record-breaking” year means more licenses suspended, more parents jailed, more families pushed into poverty — while the state celebrates its federal cash bonus.

See article below:

https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/...

Disclaimer:

This post is for public awareness and policy discussion. It is not legal advice, financial guidance, or a call to avoid child support obligations. The goal is to expose how federal incentives can distort state priorities, often harming families rather than helping children.