A DNA paternity test is the only method available to establish the relationships between a father and child with any degree of certainty. The number of men who choose to satisfy their curiosity or who are forced to respont to a legal question continues to steadily increase. About 300,000 paternity test are performed annually in the United States, with more occurring worldwide.
Advances in technology and the larger number of tests being performed have lowered the price of DNA paternity tests. Sample collection has been simplified to the point where home DNA paternity test collection kits can be ordered off the Internet. Many companies that offer DNA paternity testing will provide collection kits free of charge. However, unless payment for the analysis accompanies the samples when they are returned, the test will not be completed. Prices for DNA paternity tests have dropped dramatically, typically ranging from $100 to $250. But for many low-income men and families, even that amount is high enough to prevent them from testing.
In some cases, there are limited opportunities for free DNA paternity testing. For example, DNA Diagnostics Center (DDC), the world’s largest private paternity testing company, recently offered free DNA paternity testing to families unable to afford the regular fees. Twenty Cincinnati-area families were chosen based on need to receive free DNA paternity testing. Other qualified families received testing at half price.
There are families everywhere who desperately need free DNA paternity testing for evidence in child support, child custody, inheritance and other legal cases, but who are unable to come up with the means to afford the test.
The state of Florida has proposed offering free DNA paternity testing at birth. The proposal includes free testing for the mother’s partner and financial incentives to hospitals who perform the tests. The idea behind the free DNA paternity testing is to establish and document responsibility from the beginning, and avoid later legal struggles over child support and custody.
In addition to families who cannot afford DNA paternity testing, some men who are being required to prove the non-existence of a biological relationship feel that they should not be required to pay for a DNA paternity test. Many father advocacy groups relate stories of “paternity fraud,” where women allege that a man is her child’s father simply to receive support payments. If the supposed father cannot afford a DNA paternity test, they are often required pay child support. To combat cases of paternity fraud, several states now require counties to provide free DNA paternity testing in some contested cases.