For Immediate Release
Contact: Communications Director, Samantha Graubard
Sgraubard@dccouncil.gov
PRESS RELEASE: COUNCILMEMBER PINTO INTRODUCES CHILD SUPPORT REFORM BILL TO PROVIDE MORE MONEY TO DC FAMILIES IN NEED
Washington DC — Today, Chairwoman of the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety Brooke Pinto introduced the Child Support Improvement Amendment Act of 2026 to ensure the entirety of child support payments go directly to the children and families they are intended to help. Councilmember Pinto joined with Attorney General Brian Schwalb and Councilmember Matthew Frumin to introduce this critically important bill to reform the District’s child support system.
Under the current law, families receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) only get a portion of child support payments they are owed because the District pays itself and the federal government back for the operational costs of TANF before sending the money to families. This new proposal will change that and ensure families on TANF will receive the full amount of child support they are owed.
“All children deserve to have the financial support they need at home to thrive, and our child support reform bill will mean many District families in need will receive hundreds more dollars a month to cover costs like housing, food, transportation, and more for DC children,” said Councilmember Pinto. “As we navigate recent changes to federal public benefits, it is critical as local leaders we make common sense and fiscally responsible policy changes that uplift and empower our most vulnerable families.”
“We must do everything in our power to alleviate child poverty and make the District more affordable for all of its residents. Dollars paid for child support should go directly to supporting kids – not to covering the cost of government collection operations,” said Attorney General Schwalb. “I’m proud that, through this legislation, the District will be among the first jurisdictions in the country to adopt such long-overdue reforms. Thank you to Legal Aid DC for working tirelessly with my team to develop these proposals and to Councilmembers Pinto and Frumin for championing this much-needed legislation.”
“Families should not have to work their way through a complicated system to receive support meant for their children,” said Councilmember Frumin. “These reforms focus on improving how child support is delivered, making it more straightforward, more dependable, and better aligned with families’ needs. It’s a practical update that strengthens an essential public service and helps ensure support reaches children when it matters most.”
“These reforms refocus our child support system on what truly matters — supporting children. Instead of diverting payments away from DC’s poorest families, the District can now ensure that child support reaches the parents and kids who need the help,” said Vikram Swaruup, Executive Director of Legal Aid DC. “The reforms will also help build stronger families that can more easily come together to support their children, which will make our communities healthier and safer.”
The Child Support Improvement Amendment Act of 2026 builds off successful efforts last year by Councilmembers Pinto and Frumin and Attorney General Schwalb to increase child support passthrough payments for families on TANF from $150 to $200 a month.
Child Support Improvement Amendment Act of 2026 Overview:
This bill makes targeted reforms to ensure that more child support collections reach families while maintaining a fair, predictable, and administrable system. The bill focuses on two core reforms.
First, the bill establishes a full pass-through of child support collections to families who currently receive or previously received TANF. Under this approach, the District would pass through the full amount of current child support payments collected on behalf of families receiving TANF, rather than retaining all but a capped portion. The bill also ensures that when non-custodial parents pay off unpaid child support debts, those state-assigned arrears are passed directly to families receiving child support.
Second, the bill modernizes the period of enforceability and statute of limitations for child support collections. Current law allows individual unpaid child support payments to remain enforceable for extended and rolling periods that can continue long after a child has reached adulthood. The bill establishes a clear and uniform enforceability period tied to the emancipation of the youngest child on the child support order, plus a defined post-emancipation period. This change ensures custodial parents have a reasonable opportunity to collect support when it is most needed, while providing clarity and finality for non-custodial parents.
You can read the full bill here.