John Washington III Asks Whether Child-Support Enforcement Is Judged by Collections or by Families' Real Outcomes
John Washington III, a 2028 presidential candidate, traced the federal child-support program from 1975 to the 1999 incentive structure, and asked who benefits, who struggles, and whether collections alone prove fairness or family stability.
John Washington III, a 2028 presidential candidate, is questioning how the child-support enforcement system measures itself. In his post, John Washington III wrote that for decades Americans have been told child-support enforcement protects families, but that history shows some policies punished families for having a man in the home. The federal program began in 1975, he wrote, and part of its design was reimbursing welfare costs; in 1999, a new incentive structure rewarded states for collections.
Families receive billions in support, John Washington III wrote, but collections alone do not prove fairness or family stability. He posed the questions he said the system should have to answer: who benefits, who struggles, and whether the government is held accountable for families' real outcomes, not just the totals collected.
"Fifty-one years in, Americans deserve clear answers," John Washington III wrote. The post presents the history and the questions as his own; no response from any agency is recorded in it, and none is reported here.
