As
a senator, President Obama championed this bill, and he spoke of it often
during his 2008 campaign. To encourage responsible male behavior, the bill
provides for domestic violence prevention awareness, and it would increase
penalties for men who avoid paying child support, ensuring that the money from
such payments winds up in the hands of families rather than tied up in red
tape. Given its focus on male behavior and the family unit, the bill is an
interesting departure from others of its kind, but there is debate as to
whether or not its provisions would prove effective.

 

The
bill proposes to:

• Provide grants for Healthy Family
  Partnerships, domestic violence prevention and treatment, and developing and
  implementing best practices in domestic violence prevention;
• Eliminate
  separate "Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)" program work
  participation rate for two-parent families;
• Ban
  recovery of Medicaid costs for the birth of a child;
• Improve
  collection and distribution of child support;
• Provide
  grants to states to conduct demonstration projects to promote economic
  opportunity for low-income parents.

 

Links:

• The Center
  for Law and Social Policy’s Description of the Bill

 

Senate Version of the Bill:

• S. 3607