Evaluation of the $150 Child Support Pass-Through and Disregard Policy in the District of Columbia

The federal government allows states to distribute child support payments to TANF participants, rather than retain them for cost recovery, and not count those payments when calculating their TANF benefits, known as a pass-through and disregard policy. States may pass through all child support collected to current TANF families, with federal cost sharing of $100 per month for one child and $200 per month for two or more children. This study analyzes the District of Columbia’s $150 pass-through and disregard policy. Such policies play an important role in benefitting and penalizing TANF families and require training, outreach, and federal cost analyses.