One aspiration of the new child support scheme was to reduce child poverty. Child support can do this directly by increasing the income of parents with care – although the £10 disregard on Income Support is a constraint on this. However, it may increase child poverty in the non-resident parent’s family. Child support can also reduce child poverty indirectly by encouraging employment or reducing lone parenthood. While it is possible to estimate the direct effects on parents with care there is no evidence concerning non-resident parents. Child support does reduce child poverty rates by over 60% for those lone parents in employment who receive it, and it could achieve more if the regime was more effective.