Citing Racial Bias, County Ends Birth Cost Recovery Program

Caroline Gómez-Tom. Photo courtesy of the Gómez-Tom campaign.

With the passage of the 2024 budget, the Milwaukee County Board has ended the practice of Birth Cost Recovery.

When a mother and father are not married, and the mother uses Medicaid, child support agencies can require the father to reimburse some of the cost of child birth under the Birth Cost Recovery Program.

An amendment to the 2024 budget, championed by Sup. Caroline Gómez-Tom, ends the practice for the county’s Department of Child Support Services.

“From the day a child is born, we want to give families every opportunity to thrive. [Birth Cost Recovery] creates a financial and emotional burden, especially on families of color,” Sup. Gómez-Tom said in a statement after the board adopted next year’s budget Thursday. “I’m very pleased the amendment passed and the County Board discontinued BCR.”

In the past, the department has advocated against ending the practice, arguing that it would impact the department’s budget and trigger staff reductions. The department also previously said the reimbursement is limited to half of the cost and that only fathers making 150% of federal poverty rate are eligible for Birth Cost Recovery. However, that is still less than $25,000 annually.

Data from the department released in 2020 showed that 49% of men forced to pay some of the birth costs are Black.

“There are glaring racial disparities in the Birth Cost Recovery system,” said County Executive David Crowley in a statement. “To achieve race and health equity and become the healthiest county in the state, it’s critical Milwaukee County discontinues this practice.”

In October, Sup. Gómez-Tom said that when pregnant women and mothers apply for Medicaid, they have to check a box stating they will comply with Child Support Services, and part of that means giving the name of the father of the child. If a mother does not provide that name, she can lose her Medicaid support. The loss of healthcare will naturally have an impact on her life and the life of her child, Gómez-Tom, adding that there remain racial disparities in infant mortality and postpartum care.

Additionally, taking the money from the father for birth cost recovery also means that money is not being invested in the new child or family, “because we know that there are lots of non traditional families that start this way,” the supervisor said.

Ending Birth Cost Recovery is an “opportunity to not take away this money from a starting family, but really invest in them,” Gomez-Tom said.