The delinquent parent would be required to pay any fee charged by the private collection agency once the overdue debt is satisfied.

Colorado children have now collected over a million dollars from delinquent parents with large casino winnings.

Nor would Wisconsin help children of delinquent parents who refuse to show up for work.

All states must now report delinquent parents' debts to credit agencies.

A community-based approach puts pressure on delinquent parents to start acting responsibly.

His proposal to overhaul welfare would create an information network to help states find delinquent parents.

The study also did not track 66,000 families who came off the rolls after the state managed to collect child support payments from delinquent parents.

And when a delinquent parent has left a state - as in 30 percent of Connecticut cases - the problem is particularly difficult to solve.

"It is a legitimate debt, and we owe it to the children to force delinquent parents to pay."

In others, however, delinquent parents - most often, fathers - go to great lengths to avoid paying, sometimes by finding ways to hide their income.