BATON ROUGE — A recently released audit of the Department of Children and Family Services' Child Support Enforcement program ranked Louisiana among the worst U.S. states and territories at collecting child support payments. 

According to the Louisiana Legislative Auditor, Louisiana ranked No. 52 out of 54 states and territories in the collection of current child support and No. 47 in the collection of past-due child support in 2024. The findings come despite the department collecting and distributing nearly $2.2 billion in child support payments between 2020 and 2024. 

In the audit, DCFS attributed its collection struggles to the state's high poverty rate and low median household income. It also blamed the amount of child support owed on recently changed laws about mandated child support amounts.

Before 2024, the law mandated a minimum child support payment of $100 a month, regardless of income. That minimum was repealed and now child support payment orders after Jan. 1, 2024, are based on parents' ability to pay. 

Although DCFS has struggled to collect payments, the audit found child support cases in Louisiana are down 14.1 percent. Total cases dropped by 36,307 between 2020 and 2024. 

The audit accredited at least part of this decrease to a drop in participation in federal programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

"Nationally, TANF cash assistance participation shrank by approximately 63.0% between 2010 and 2022," the audit said. "This decline in TANF participation is due, in part, to welfare reform, which instituted stricter eligibility requirements and shorter time limits for benefits. In Louisiana, the number of child support cases for individuals currently or formerly enrolled in TANF cash assistance programs decreased 27,751 (26.1%), from 106,413 in federal fiscal year 2020 to 78,662 in 2024."

Additionally, Legislative auditor Mike Waguespack said in a letter to Louisiana lawmakers, "DCFS didn’t maintain complete or accurate case review data for reviews conducted by regional staff during state fiscal years 2022 through 2025. According to DCFS, 2,033 (25.5%) of 7,975 cases reviewed by regional staff during state fiscal year 2025 had errors.”