 In 1910, the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws approved the Uniform Desertion and Non-Support Act.The act made it a punishable offense for a husband to desert, willfully neglect or refuse to provide for the support and maintenance of his wife in destitute or necessitous circumstances, or for a parent to fail in the same duty to his child less than 16 years of age.The 1910 act sought to improve the enforcement of the duties of support, but it did not take into account payers who fled the jurisdiction.