PAST ARTICLES AND EDITORIAL BOARDS
Evaluation of the New York Child Support Standards Act: Have the Guidelines
Really Made a Difference?
Victoria Vazquez
4 J.L. & Pol'y 281 (1995)
In 1975, the federal government tried to remedy the controversy surrounding
the dilemma of child support awards with the establishment of Title IV-D of the
Social Security Act. With the changing economic times and the changing needs of
children, different variables needed to be taken into account; consequently, the
laws of child support in New York changed. Since 1989, New York has applied the
Child Support Standards Act ( CSSA ). The CSSA lays down specific rules on the
allocation of child support. To ascertain the effectiveness of the CSSA, the
Evaluation Project Report ( Evaluation Report ) was compiled and distributed in
June, 1993. The Evaluation Report revealed inconsistent findings on the
efficiency of the CSSA which is most likely due to a limited source of data.
Ultimately, the Evaluation Report concluded that the guidelines have been
effective.
This Note reviews the controversial statutes which resulted in arbitrary
child support resolutions and encouraged the federal government, and subsequently
the states, to address the child support problem. Part II examines the basic
provisions of the New York Child Support Standards Act. Finally, Part III
addresses the courts' compliance with the Act, the conclusions made by the
Evaluation Report, and finally, offer some recommendations to improve the
effectiveness of the CSSA.