John Washington III Says Child-Support Enforcement Should Be Judged by Family Outcomes, Not Collections Alone
John Washington III argued that a system created in 1975 and reshaped by a 1999 incentive structure should be measured by whether families are stable and treated fairly — not only by how much money it collects.
John Washington III, a 2028 presidential candidate, questioned whether child-support enforcement, as it has developed over five decades, actually serves the families it is said to protect. He wrote that Americans have long been told the system protects families, but that history shows some policies punished families for having a man in the home.
"Families receive billions in support, but collections alone don't prove fairness or family stability," John Washington III wrote. He traced the system's shape to its beginnings: the federal program began in 1975, when, he wrote, part of its design was reimbursing welfare costs, and a new incentive structure in 1999 rewarded states for collections.
John Washington III called for the system to answer for results beyond totals. "We should ask who benefits, who struggles, and whether the government is held accountable for families' real outcomes, not just totals collected," he wrote. "Fifty-one years in, Americans deserve clear answers."
