Driver's license suspension is one of the most frequently used child support enforcement tools. Although it works well when applied to parents who can afford to pay the child support they owe, research suggests it is counterproductive — or even harmful — for families when applied to parents who cannot. 

Drawing on a 2026 CPR national survey of state child support directors, FRPN’s Jacque Whearty and Jessica Pearson conducted follow-up interviews with the directors or other leaders in six states — California, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Washington, and Wisconsin — that have developed statewide policies to limit driver's license suspension for low-income noncustodial parents (NCPs).

The brief highlights how these states have approached the challenge of identifying which NCPs are unlikely to pay following license suspension, how they implemented new policies to make that determination more deliberately, and what they have learned along the way. The brief also highlights key lessons for other states considering similar reforms, including the importance of inclusive policy design, reducing agency burden, building evaluation capacity, and ensuring that the legal language of any new policy accounts for the realities of implementation.