From Grant-Funded Study to Enduring Practice: How Agencies in the Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt Demonstration Continued Their Work After Research Ended
The Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) grant tested the application of procedural justice principles to child support enforcement, specifically to situations where a parent was about to be referred for a contempt action. This paper discusses the decisions grantees made about continuing to use the principles after the end of the grant period. All…
Read MoreElevating Family Input in TANF and Child Support Programs: Resources for Program Staff, Leaders, and Families (final pre-pilot version)
Getting customer feedback is often critical when making program improvements. Both the TANF and child support programs can benefit from seeking input from the families they serve. The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) funded the TANF and Child Support Moving Forward: Further Incorporating Family Input study to explore approaches to gathering input from…
Read MorePerceptions of Fairness in Child Support
Many child support agencies have begun to apply the principles of procedural justice to practices and procedures. The idea being that customers who perceive they have been treated fairly are more likely to have a positive perception of the child support program. For this report, researchers interviewed parents, child support agency leaders, and employees on their perceptions of fairness in the program Research questions included how parents became involved with the program, what aspects of child support practices are perceived as fair or unfair, what are agencies doing to improve fairness, and what would a fair program look like.
Read MoreAssociations Between Problematic Substance Use and Child Support Order Compliance
Substance abuse is a well-documented barrier to payment of a child support order in that it a parent’s ability to pay and willingness to pay. This study considers the relationship between child support compliance and problematic substance abuse. The researchers found problematic substance abuse affects compliance with child support. It suggests supports for these NCPs including programs to connect NCPs to treatment resources and assistance with modifications.
Read MoreProviding Equal Access to Justice
This fact sheet is part of the Centering Child Well-Being in Child Support Policy series from the Ascend at the Aspen Institute and Good+Foundation. A key indicator of whether parents will comply with a child support order is their perception of the fairness of the process. This policy brief describes practices that improve the fairness of the child support process based on the procedural justice principles of respect, voice, neutrality, understanding, and helpfulness.
Read MoreProviding Employment & Income Supports for Non-Custodial Parents
This fact sheet is part of the Centering Child Well-Being in Child Support Policy series from the Ascend at the Aspen Institute and Good+Foundation. Offering employment services to non-custodial parents benefits the entire family. These programs can help parents overcome barriers to employment and find jobs that lead to consistent child support payments. This fact sheet highlights two strategies: providing employment services and supplementing income.
Read MoreSupporting Healthy Co-Parenting
This fact sheet is part of the Centering Child Well-Being in Child Support Policy series from the Ascend at the Aspen Institute and Good+Foundation. Research shows children have better outcomes when they are raised by both of their parents. This fact sheet encourages the use of family-centered strategies when working with families, which will increase the likelihood that non-custodial parents will be employed and pay support.
Read MoreSetting Realistic and Accurate Child Support Orders
This fact sheet is part of the Centering Child Well-Being in Child Support Policy series from the Ascend at the Aspen Institute and Good+Foundation. This fact sheet describes examples of effective state policies for establishing and modifying child support orders for low-income parents. Two of the strongest predictors of compliance with a child support order is the paying parent’s income and the amount of support compared to that income. Orders not aligned with a parent’s ability to pay cause problems for states, too.
Read MoreImplementing Sensible Debt Reduction Strategies
This fact sheet is part of the Centering Child Well-Being in Child Support Policy series from the Ascend at the Aspen Institute and Good+Foundation. This fact sheet describes policies in several states which reduce state-owed child support debt. Almost all states have policies in place to reduce state-owed arrears. These policies promote increased employment, higher child support payments, better performance for programs, and are essential to family well-being. These policies make sense when compared to the cost of trying to collect this debt.
Read MoreShared Placement, Child Support Payments, and Sharing of Child-Related Expenses: Overview and Mother’s Perception of Fairness
More families are entering into shared custody arrangements. Child support and the sharing of expenses is different with these arrangements. This report researches the perception of mother’s on the fairness of child support and expense-sharing in both traditional and shared custody situations. The research showed mothers in shared custody arrangements were more satisfied with both parents’ overall contributions to child costs. The report notes communication between the parents is critical and supports should be in place to assist parents when issues arise.
Read MoreEnsuring Families Receive Child Support Payments
This fact sheet is part of the Centering Child Well-Being in Child Support Policy series from the Ascend at the Aspen Institute and Good+Foundation. This fact sheet gives examples of state policies that direct support directly to families rather than the government. Research shows that families use this support to pay for essentials such as food and clothing and non-custodial parents actually pay support when they know it goes directly to their families. Ultimately, both the families and the child support program benefit from family pass-though and distribution policies.
Read MoreCentering Child Well-Being in Child Support Policy
The child support program has been fostering a culture change for the past few years from a program of strict enforcement to one that puts child well-being at its center. This paper frames a toolkit which explores recommended policies and practices to support the culture change. The toolkit includes information on family distribution, reducing arrears, right-sizing orders, income supports, family stabilization, and justice. The framing paper considers the importance of fathers, the history of the program, the effect of traditional policies, and the advantages of a realistic and evidence-based approach to program policy.
Read MoreVoluntary Paternity Affidavit Program 2021 Hospital Survey Analysis
With the goal of increasing its paternity establishment performance measure, the state of Iowa conducted a survey to gather information about the hospital-based paternity acknowledgement program and reasons for the rejection of voluntary acknowledgements. This report gathers information on five different areas: the demographics of professionals who assist with voluntary paternity establishment at the hospitals, information about patient education, the materials and resources used during education, potential areas of improvement on the education process; and reports related to rejections of voluntary acknowledgements.
Read MoreTemporary Assistance for Needy Families: Sanctioning and Child Support Compliance Among Black Families in Illinois
The Temporary Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) block grant provides eligible families with cash assistance in return for compliance with specific requirements, such as cooperating with the child support program. This article reports on research done in the state of Illinois regarding policies around the receipt of TANF and the barriers to maintaining this benefit. The research found these policies create barriers that disproportionally affect families on the basis of their race.
Read MoreGathering and Using Family Input to Improve Child Support and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families: Approaches from the Human Services Field
Human services agencies are finding great value of engaging the families they serve in designing programs. Doing this helps combat issues of access, quality, and equity and ensures the families’ needs are being met. This brief provides examples of human-centered design practices and how agencies use the input to inform policy and operations.
Read MoreCharacteristics of Complex Families in Maryland’s Child Support Caseload
A complex family is a family in which a parent has children with more than one partner. Complex families are growing in Maryland’s child support caseload. These families include non-custodial parents with multiple support orders and parents who are custodians and non-custodians. To better serve and understand them, Maryland studies the characteristics of complex families; their demographics, economic resources, and child support characteristics and outcomes; and the impact of child support paid or received on parents’ earnings.
Read MoreStates Should Use New Guidance to Stop Charging Parents for Foster Care, Prioritize Family Reunification
The federal Administration for Children & Families recently issued new policy guidance that allows state agencies to stop referring Title IV-E foster care cases for the establishment of a child support order. The old policy had very little benefit. These families are low-income. A support obligation takes money out of an already financially fragile family. Collecting support wasn’t cost-efficient. The new guidance promotes reunification efforts and help the custodial parent maintain the family home.
Read MoreApplying Human-Centered Design to Human Services: Pilot Study Findings
Human-Centered Design (HCD) is way of developing solutions to service delivery challenges with the end-user in mind. The Administration for Children and Families recently studies the application of HCD principles to its human services programs. The Washington State Division of Child Support was one of three pilot sites. Washington wanted to apply HCD to improve its modification request process.
Read MoreParents’ Reflections on Their Experiences with the Child Support Program in the Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt Demonstration
The federal Office of Child Support Enforcement funded the Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) grant to explore the use of the principles of procedural justice during enforcement with the intent of improving the regular receipt of child support payments. This brief compiles information received during interviews of parents who received PJAC-informed services and parents who received regular services.
Read MoreA Comparison of Approaches Informed by Procedural Justice and Traditional Enforcement in the Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt Demonstration
The federal Office of Child Support Enforcement funded the Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) grant to explore the use of the principles of procedural justice during enforcement with the intent of improving the regular receipt of child support payments. Parents in the selected agencies were randomly assigned to one of two groups: one receiving PJAC services and one that applied traditional enforcement methods. This report compares the experiences of these two groups.
Read MoreExploring the Long-Term Effects of Child Support
This paper studies the long-term effects of the receipt of child support, specifically the impacts on recipients earning capacity, employability, receipt of benefits, and participation in the child support program as adults. The study supports the proposition that the receipt of child support helps adults overcome economic disadvantage by increasing earnings and employability. The study results support policies such as right sized orders, which promote regular payment of support and underscore the importance of payments.
Read MoreA Helping Hand over Heavy Hand: Child Support Enforcement in the Era of COVID-19
The COVID-10 pandemic made enforcing child support orders, already difficult, even harder. This article explores the decisions made about how and when to enforce an order during the pandemic and the factors that influenced those decisions. The authors interviewed child support agency leadership, frontline workers, attorneys, and judges or family court administrators from five Wisconsin counties.
Read MoreCentering Child Well-Being in Child Support Policy
Child support policies should be designed to maximize child well-being. This brief, part of the Centering Child Well-Being in Child Support Policy series, examines policies to increase the child support that goes to families, remove barriers to payment, increase job retention, support father engagement, and encourage co-parenting.
Read MoreNoncustodial Parents and the GIG Economy
Collecting child support from parents who work in the gig economy is difficult, and the number of parents working in the gig economy is increasing. This brief uses Census Bureau information to define the gig workforce and the number of noncustodial parents who are working in the gig economy.
Read MoreProcedural Justice in the Child Support Process An Implementation Guide
Using lessons learned during the Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) grant, this guide provides child support agencies detailed instructions on how to implement procedural justice-informed practices. The PJAC grant funded projects designed to improve outcomes for parents who were on the verge of a contempt referral using the principles of procedural justice.
Read MoreProcedural Justice in the Child Support Process Lessons from an Implementation Study of the Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt Demonstration
The federal Office of Child Support Enforcement funded the Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) grant to fund projects which implemented the principles of procedural justice in working with parents facing contempt. This report analyzes implementation of the PJAC model. The model includes a case review, outreach and engagement, case conference, case action plan, and case management.
Read MoreReconciling Remote Learning with Imputed Income for Custodial Parents
Imputing income to custodial parents has become an issue during the pandemic. Many custodial parents left their jobs to care for children who were learning remotely. The author argues courts shouldn’t impute income under these circumstances. Instead, courts should exercise discretion and deviate from the guidelines or apply a good faith-best interests standard.
Read MoreThe Regular Receipt of Child Support: 2017
The results of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2018 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) tells a story about the receipt of child support in 2017. Specifically, this report analyzes the data on who received support, the amount received, and the frequency of receipt.
Read MoreDo Carrots Work Better than Sticks? Results from the National Child Support Noncustodial Parent Employment Demonstration
The results of the Child Support Noncustodial Parent Employment Demonstration (CSPED) grant may have been modest, but these types of programs will move the child support program forward. CSPED tested the effectiveness of alternative methods of enforcing child support orders: adjusting orders, reducing punitive enforcement, and offering employment services to parents.
Read MorePromising Innovations and Pilots in the Child Support Field
The design of the child support program fails parents who are willing but unable to pay support. Several states have implemented innovative programs designed to address this issue. Highlighted programs include the San Francisco Child Support Debt Relief Pilot, Behavioral Interventions for Child Support Services – Texas Start Smart, Child Support Noncustodial Parent Employment Demonstration (CSPED) Evaluation, Colorado’s Department of Human Services’ Division of Child Support Service Two-Generation Approach, and the Families Forward Demonstration Grant.
Read MoreCharacteristics of Custodial Parents and Their Children
Using data from a 2018 U.S. Census Bureau survey, this brief analyzes characteristics of parents and children who are receiving child support services and compares them to families who don’t use the program. As of April 2018, there were 12.9 million custodial parents in the nation. 7.9 million of these parents participated in the child support program. This brief includes information on the age, sex, race and ethnicity, marital status, employment status of these parents, as well as data on living arrangements and visitation for the child with the noncustodial parent.
Read MoreWho is Not Paying Child Support?
The reasons behind noncompliance with a child support order are many and varied. This report updates existing research on the reasons for nonpayment of current support using a data sample drawn from 21 counties in Wisconsin. The report considers how changes in the order amount, employment status, and incarceration negatively affect a parent’s ability to pay support.
Read MoreDemographic and Socioeconomic Characteristics of Nonresident Parents
More than 9.7 million parents in the United States don’t live with their children. Recognizing the important role nonresident parents play in their children’s life, policymakers requested data on nonresident parents and suggestions for beneficial policies. The data in this report, obtained from the 2018 Survey of Income and Program Participation, captured demographic, relationship, and economic information.
Read MoreIntegrating Procedural Justice Principles into Child Support Case Management
The Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt Demonstration (PJAC) grant studied the effect of applying the principles of procedural justice to child support cases in which a non-paying parents qualified for a contempt action. This brief sets out information gained from the grant case managers about their experience working with the parents. Implementation of this model required a rethinking of the provision of child support services. The case managers had a smaller caseload, but the services were intensive.
Read MoreChild Support and Reentry
Incarceration and the build-up of child support arrears are clearly linked. Incarceration of a paying parent causes child support arrears to increase and a high amount of child support arrears leads to incarceration. This article addresses ways in which the criminal justice system and child support should work together to ensure a successful reentry into society for parents. Reentering parents face challenges from institutional obstacles and state policies.
Read MoreParental Debt and Child Well-Being: What Type of Debt Matters for Child Outcomes?
Child support arrears may have a negative impact on child well-being. In this study, the authors considered different types of debt owed by parents and the impact of debt on their children. Child support arrears are often a large amount of the debt owed by parent. Arrears have been shown to have negative consequences on those who owe them such as poor mental health, high stress, and lack of employability.
Read MoreReducing Child Support Debt in the Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) Demonstration
The federal Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) demonstration project was a federally-funded grant to study the effectiveness of using procedural justice methods to enforce child support orders. This brief discusses strategies used to deal with child support arrears. Most participants in the PJAC program had accrued arrears.
Read MoreConnecting Parents to Occupational Training: A Partnership Between Child Support Agencies and Local Service Providers
The federal Families First Demonstration Grant considered new ways of increasing the ability of parents who can’t meet their monthly child support obligation. Specifically, it integrated employment services and job training into local child support programs. In exchange for participating, certain enforcement remedies were stayed.
Read MoreParenting Time and Child Support: Information for Fatherhood Programs and Fathers
Fatherhood programs play an important role in helping fathers understand and address legal issues such as child support and supporting the fathers in building relationships with their children and coparent. While child support and visitation are separate legal issues, research shows the two are by nature connected and benefit each other.
Read MoreCivil Contempt of Court for Child Support Noncompliance at the PJAC Demonstration Sites
The federal Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) demonstration project was a federally-funded project to study the effectiveness of using procedural justice methods to enforce child support orders. Civil contempt is a possible enforcement tool. This brief considers the application of procedural justice methods to the contempt process. Contempt is an enforcement tools of last resort and is historically adversarial. Several of the PJAC sites worked with the courts to soften the adversarial nature in an attempt to make the process feel fair and to ensure parents had their questions answered.
Read MoreNegotiating Race and Racial Inequality in Family Court
This article explores the role of race in court proceedings to enforce a child support obligation. The researchers found courts fail to recognize the role of race in father’s ability to support his child. Black fathers are getting hit from all directions: by a labor market that discriminates against them and by a court system with unrealistic expectations. Fathers are required to pay their child support obligation. Many meet the obligation through wage withholding from their job. For Black fathers, racism in the labor market prevents them from finding and maintaining a job that allows them to pay support.
Read MoreProcedural Justice Principles in the Midst of a Major Disruption
The federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) funded the Procedural Justice Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) grant to explore the application of procedural justice principles to enforcing child support orders. The grant targets noncustodial parents who are about to be referred for contempt for not paying their child support but have the ability to pay. This brief addresses the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the project sites and the parents.
Read MoreEmployment Effects of the Earned Income Tax Credit: Taking the Long View
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is tax credit meant to lift families out of poverty. It provides a tax credit to workers based on earnings and household size. Since its inception in 1975, it has been expanded five times. This paper examines each individual expansion in depth and studies the expansions as a group…
Read MoreWorking Toward a Resolution Facilitating Dialogue Between Parents Using Principles of Procedural Justice
The federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) funded the Procedural Justice Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) grant to explore the application of procedural justice principles to enforcing child support orders. The grant targets noncustodial parents who are about to be referred for contempt. This brief explores the use of case conferences to develop a case…
Read MoreState Strategies for Improving Child Support Outcomes for Incarcerated Parents
Right-sizing child support orders has been a big point of discussion for child support. This includes appropriate orders for parents who are incarcerated. The federal office of child support passed new rules in 2016 that require notice to parents who will be incarcerated for more than 180 days of their right to a request a…
Read MoreWho Is at Risk for Contempt of Court for Child Support Noncompliance?
The federal Office of Child Support Enforcement funded the Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) demonstration grant to study the effect of applying procedural justice principles to child support cases. Specifically, the grant studied NCPs with the ability to pay but were about to be referred for contempt due to nonpayment. This report analyzes the…
Read MorePiling on Debt: The Intersections Between Child Support Arrears and Legal Financial Obligations
This article examines the whys and hows of child support arrears as an unmanageable debt. It takes a special look at the child support arrears that accumulate during a parent’s incarceration. The article identifies several factors that contribute to the build-up of arrears including support orders that the parent can’t reasonably pay and enforcement measures…
Read MoreChild Support Enforcement-Led Employment Services for Noncustodial Parents
This report examines the issues relative to providing employment services for noncustodial parents (NCP) through the child support program (CSE). The report acknowledges the link between employed NCPs and the ability of the CSE program to income withhold, the most effective tool for collecting child support payments.
Read MoreStory Behind the Numbers: Millennials in the Child Support Program
Millennials are on the verge of passing the Baby Boomers as the country’s largest adult generation. This report uses data from the Federal Case Registry and Debtor File and survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Health Statistics to analyze the role of the millennials in the child support program.
Read MoreAccess and Visitation Program Update FY 2018
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 provided funding for the Access and Visitation program in 54 states and territories. Any program under this grant is intended to promote safe visitation between children and their parents. This report summarizes the key takeaways provided by the grant recipients for FY 2018 in the…
Read MoreUsing Principles of Procedural Justice to Engage Disconnected Parents
Engaging parents with the child support program is hard. The federal Office of Child Support Enforcement funded the Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) grant to explore ways to integrate procedural justice principles into child support enforcement. This brief explores ways that the principles were used to improve parent engagement with the program. There are…
Read More2019 Employer Symposium Report
At the annual 2019 conference, the National Association of Child Support Directors (NCCSD) brought together a group of child support professionals and employers to discuss ways to improve communication, cooperation, and processes between the program and employers. This report summarizes the discussion and sets out the action items. The goals of the Symposium included, but…
Read MoreTools for Better Practices and Better Outcomes: The Behavioral Interventions for Child Support Services (BICS) Project
he federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) funded the Behavioral Interventions for Child Support Services (BICS)demonstration grant to explore the application of behavioral science principles to operational challenges in child support services. This report summarizes the outcomes and lessons learned from each intervention. The eight grantees implemented interventions designed to address barriers to the…
Read MoreMeetings and Reminders Testing Approaches to Increase Child Support Payments in Colorado
A long-standing issue in the child support program is the lag time between order entry and the first child support payment. It can be attributed to the wait in getting income withholding in place. Many parents don’t realize that not paying during this window can build up arrears. The Colorado Division of Child Support Services…
Read MoreTransforming Colorado’s Child Support Services to a Two-Generation Approach
The Colorado Department of Human Services implemented in a pilot project to change its approach to delivery of child support services from enforcement to multi-generational. This report combines the implementation findings, which have already been released, with the findings of the impact study. The main goal of the project was to direct parents to employment…
Read MoreAn Examination of the Use and Effectiveness of Child Support Enforcement Tools in Six States
The authors of this brief studied child support enforcement practices in six different states. The states had a wide range of caseload sizes and collection percentages for both current support and arrears and had different program structures. The study found five areas where practices varied: the use of judicial or administrative procedures; the use of…
Read MoreA Better Resolution Reaching Child Support Agreements Between Parents in Vermont
This article describes the state of Vermont’s project to increase parent participation in the establishment and modification of orders using behavioral intervention techniques. Vermont received fund through the Behavioral Interventions for Child Support Services (BICS) grant for this project. The project had two goals: increase parent participation during establishment and modification and to increase the…
Read MoreParenting Time Opportunities for Children Research Brief
The federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OSCE) sponsored a grant-initiative, the Parenting Time Opportunities for Children (PTOC), to research the ways child support agencies could establish parenting time orders along with child support orders. This brief highlights the outcomes of this project. Historically, orders from the child support program haven’t addressed visitation, but research…
Read MoreIncorporating Strategies Informed by Procedural Justice into Child Support Services: Training Approaches Applied in the Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) Demonstration
The federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) funded the Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) Demonstration Grant to explore ways to integrate procedural justice principles into child support enforcement. Six sites were awarded grants. This article shares the lessons learned with respect to training the employees at the six sites.
Read MorePersonalized Outreach Testing Early Parent Engagement in Washington’s Child Support Program
The state of Washington applied Behavioral Intervention techniques to see if it could raise parental engagement in the order establishment process. Data showed that a high number of new orders were set by default, without parent involvement, and that the payments received in the first six months of these orders were minimal. Washington designed an…
Read MoreImproving Child Support Enforcement Outcomes with Online Dispute Resolution
Part of the 2019 Trends in State Courts publication from the National Center for State Courts, this report summarizes Ottawa County, Michigan’s efforts to use Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) tools to improve child support outcomes for families. In 2016, Ottawa County implemented ODR tools with the goal of reducing the number of contempt hearings and improving order…
Read MoreRelief from Government-Owed Child Support Debt and Its Effects on Parents and Children
This study recaps the results of California’s pilot project granting noncustodial parents relief from their state-owed arrears. In California, a large portion of of child support payments are owed to the government. If a parent doesn’t make the full monthly payment, interest accrues on the unpaid amount. The state implemented a pilot project in San…
Read MoreChild Support Noncustodial Parent Employment Demonstration (CSPED): Findings from the Benefit-Cost Analysis
In March 2019, the authors released the Final Impact Findings from the Child Support Noncustodial Parent Employment Demonstration Grant. This report summarizes the benefits of the program relative to the program costs. The researchers studied the benefits and costs from four perspectives: the government, custodial parents and children, noncustodial parents; and society as a whole.
Read MoreFinal Impact Findings from the Child Support Noncustodial Parent Employment Demonstration (CSPED): Technical Supplement
In March 2019, the authors released the Final Impact Findings from the Child Support Noncustodial Parent Employment Demonstration Grant. This report supplements that report with further information on the evaluation design, analytic methods, the variables used to assess the types of services received by the participants and includes additional impact results.
Read MoreFinal Impact Findings from the Child Support Noncustodial Parent Employment Demonstration (CSPED)
The Office of Child Support Enforcement sponsored the Child Support Noncustodial Parent Employment Demonstration Grant to study the effect of child support-led employment programs on the payment of regular child support. Under this grant, noncustodial parents (NCP) were divided into two groups: one received no special services and the second received special services in the…
Read MoreStreamline or Specialize: Increasing Child Support Order Modification Review Completion in Ohio
Two counties in Ohio, Cuyahoga and Franklin, used behavioral strategies to raise the number of parents completing the modification review process. Using the existing method, parents were requesting a review of their support order but weren’t completing the process. These two counties designed interventions that would increase the number of completed requests.
Read MoreExplainers and Case Managers: Engaging California Parents During Child Support Order Establishment
Two California counties used Behavioral Intervention strategies to reduce the number of default child support orders. Parents in California were being served for paternity cases with a service complaint packet, which contained long and confusing documents. The counties were finding that most parents didn’t respond to service, which led to default orders.
Read MoreChild Support Compliance in Fatherhood Programs: The Role of Hope, Role Salience, and Parenting Skills
This study evaluates the roles of hope, parenting role salience, and parenting skills in predicting change in a non-custodial parent’s compliance with child support. The authors surveyed participants in a responsible fatherhood program both prior to the start of the program and upon completion.
Read MoreTransforming Colorado’s Child Support Services to a Two-Generation Approach: Lessons Learned from Implementing an 11-County Pilot Study
The Child Support Services Division of the Colorado Department of Human Services made a conscious decision to change its service delivery method from an enforcement approach to a two-generational (2Gen), family-centered approach. Eleven counties have participated in a pilot project, the 2Gen Child Support Services Transformation Project, to implement the 2Gen approach.
Read More2Gen Procedures Integrating a two-Generation Approach to Child Support Services Colorado’s Service Level Approach
In 2013, Child Support Services Division (CSS) of the Colorado Department of Human Services began an agency shift its philosophy of providing services. CSS wanted to provide services in a way that would benefit the entire family.
Read MoreIllicit Substance Use and Child Support: An Exploratory Study
The authors of this study reviewed literature and interviewed professionals about the effect of substance use disorders (SUD) on the payment of child support.
Read MoreA New Response to Child Support Noncompliance
Research shows that parents are more concerned with being treated fairly than with the actual outcome of a child support case. With this principle in mind, the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) selected five sites to participate in the Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) project, which will explore the application of procedural…
Read MoreBuilding Connections: Using Integrated Administrative Data to Identify Issues and Solutions Spanning the Child Welfare and Child Support Systems
This article explores the process one state used to change policy using data. The state of Wisconsin used data to inform its policy change regarding referrals to child support in foster care cases. The results of the analysis of this data led to both the child welfare and the child support divisions working together on…
Read MoreIndependent Contractors and Nontraditional Workers: Implications for the Child Support Program
An increasing number of parents are employed in non-traditional jobs where income withholding is not available. This article identifies issues for the child support program with the “gig economy.” The research yielded three key findings: the larger number of parents employed in this manner means less consistent child support payments, automated enforcement tools have limited…
Read MoreStart Smart: Using Behavioral Strategies to Increase Initial Child Support Payments in Texas
As a recipient of the Behavioral Interventions for Child Support Services (BICS) grant, the Texas Office of the Attorney General implemented a project designed to increase the number of child support payments made during the first three months after order entry. For most cases, it takes about this amount of time for income withholding to…
Read MoreFinal Implementation Findings from the Child Support Noncustodial Parent Employment Demonstration (CSPED) Evaluation
In FFY 2012, the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) funded a demonstration grant project, the Child Support Noncustodial Parent Demonstration (CSPED), to gauge the effectiveness of child support-led employment programming for noncustodial parents. Eight states received grants. This report documents the design and implementation of the different programs and identifies best practices for and…
Read MoreCharacteristics of Participants in the Child Support Noncustodial Parent Employment Demonstration (CSPED) Evaluation
This report identifies the common characteristics of non-custodial parents who participated in programs funded through the Child Support Noncustodial Parent Employment Demonstration (CSPED) grant. The CSPED grant funded interventions designed to assist noncustodial parents who were behind in support and struggling to find employment. This report analyzes the data obtained from baseline surveys to identify…
Read MoreDemonstrated Results: Successful Collaborations That Improve Outcomes in Prisoner Reentry and Child Support
This article, written by MDRC staff, was originally published in the December 2018 Policy & Practice Magazine, the Magazine of the American Public Human Services Association. This article discusses interagency collaborations between corrections, labor, and child support designed to facilitate prisoner-reentry and reduce recidivism.
Read MoreThe Child Support Performance and Incentive Act at 20: Examining Trends in State Performance
Twenty years have passed since Congress enacted P.L. 105-200, the Child Support Performance and Incentive Act (CSPIA), dramatically restructuring the child support performance incentive system. Prior to its passage in 1998, there was growing concern that the incentive system lacked an effective impetus for improving state progress toward achieving the program’s goals since all states…
Read MoreChild Support Cooperation Requirements in Child Care Subsidy Programs and SNAP: Key Policy Considerations
This brief, part of the EMPOWERED Study conducted on behalf of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, presents findings from a formative examination of the use of child support cooperation requirements among child care subsidy programs and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). This brief provides…
Read MoreCharacteristics of Families Served by the Child Support (IV-D) Program: 2016 U.S. Census Survey Results
This report uses the latest data available from the U.S. Census Bureau to describe custodial families served by the IV-D program, a federally mandated program that promotes parental responsibility and family self-sufficiency by providing families with child support services.
Read MoreParticipation in Responsible Fatherhood Programs in the PACT Evaluation: Associations with Father and Program Characteristics
This brief presents new findings on the factors that are associated with fathers’ participation in responsible fatherhood (RF) programs. It is based on data collected for the implementation study of RF programs, which documents how the programs were designed and operated and identifies challenges and promising practices. It uses data from the Parents and Children…
Read MoreDeFacto Parent and Non Parent Child Support Orders
Recently, state laws have recognized this parental right of “care, custody, and control” to opposite sex unmarried couples who bore the child of sex. Even more recently, state laws have recognized this parental right for those who did not engage in sexual intercourse leading to a pregnancy and birth. State laws have also increasingly limited…
Read MoreSimplify, Notify, Modify: Using Behavioral Insights to Increase Incarcerated Parents’ Requests for Child Support Modifications
This report, part of the Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) project, presents findings from a behavioral intervention, developed in collaboration with the Washington State Division of Child Support (DCS), to increase the number of incarcerated noncustodial parents in Washington who apply for modifications to reduce the amount of their child support orders. Incarcerated noncustodial…
Read MoreActual Earnings and Payment Outcomes Among Obligors with Imputed Income
Income imputation results in a financial support order, which is necessary to ensure that children receive support from both parents. But what are the payment outcomes in these situations? This report uses the sample of orders from Maryland’s 2011 to 2014 case-level guidelines review to assess outcomes of imputation on payment compliance. It compares obligors…
Read MoreStates Leading the Way: Practical Solutions That Lift Up Children and Families
This is a link to Ascend at The Aspen Institute website where this report can be downloaded. The report “profiles effective solutions from Ascend partners throughout the United States and the work driven by leaders in Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, Tennessee, and Utah. It contains recommendations on processes that lead to better outcomes…
Read MoreBehavioral Strategies to Increase Engagement in Child Support
A person who comes into the child support office to accept service voluntarily is actively engaging in the child support process. In doing so, the person benefits from reduced fees, a greater voice in the legal process, and a better understanding of the way an order is established. The child support program benefits from increased…
Read More2015 OCSE Annual Report to Congress
This report, published by the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement, highlights financial and statistical program achievements based on data reported by state and tribal child support agencies. The report includes information on collections, expenditures, paternities and orders established, and other program statistics.
Read MoreThe Safety Net that Works: Improving Federal Programs for Low Income Americans
This document is a compilation of essays, ideas, and policy recommendations authored by individuals with expertise in various federal anti-poverty programs. The author of one of the essays, entitled Empowering Child Support Enforcement to Reduce Poverty, is Robert Doar, Resident Fellow and Morgridge Fellow in Poverty Studies, and former IV-D Director of the New York…
Read MoreBuilding Assets for Fathers and Families (BAFF) in Tennessee
Tennessee was one of seven states that received a grant from the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement aimed at improving the economic stability of low‐income families in the child support system by engaging noncustodial parents (NCPs) in financial education, savings activity, and asset‐building activities.
Read MoreNudges for Child Support: Applying Behavioral Insights to Increase Collections
The Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) project, sponsored by the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and led by MDRC, uses a behavioral economics lens to examine programs that serve poor and vulnerable families in the…
Read MoreHague Child Support Convention: Judicial Guide
Written specifically for judges, judicial officers, and other court officials, this Guide focuses on the 2008 Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) provisions judges need to apply in Hague Child Support Convention cases. It contains information and procedures about matters common to all applications under the Hague Child Support Convention; recognition and enforcement of an…
Read MoreIntegrating A Two-Generation Approach to Child Support Services: Colorado’s Service Level Approach
In 2013, the Colorado Department of Human Services, Division of Child Support Services began a shift in culture toward a family-centered, two-generation (2Gen) approach. As part of this effort, the child support program implemented services across generations within families. This document, prepared for the Colorado Department of Human Services, provides guidance for establishing and implementing…
Read MoreThe Story Behind the Numbers: Exploring Trends in the Percent of Orders for Zero Dollars
OCSE collects data from state child support agencies on the number of support orders that do not have a dollar support amount, referred to as zero orders. These may reflect different types of orders – medical support only, shared custody, arrears only, or current support with no amount due. Zero orders have been increasing over time…
Read MoreChild Support Resource Guide for State IV-D Directors
This Guide was developed by OCSE as a reference to on-line resources useful to state child support directors, including links to federal laws governing the child support program and key federal regulations and policy documents. It also provides brief overviews of various components of the program. The federal OCSE organization chart is included along with…
Read MoreTribal Child Support Directors’ Resource Guide
The Tribal Child Support Directors Resource Guide was developed by OCSE in collaboration with numerous tribal child support directors. The purpose of this handbook is to help orient new tribal child support directors during their first weeks on the job and to serve as a desk reference for both new and seasoned directors. It provides…
Read More2017 Preliminary Report
The FY 2017 Preliminary Report provides data for the past five fiscal years reported by state, District of Columbia, and U.S. territory child support programs and includes information on collections, expenditures, paternities, orders established, and other program statistics. The data is used to develop the Annual Report to Congress.
Read MoreThe Story Behind the Numbers: Exploring Trends in the Percent of Orders for Zero Dollars
The federal Office of Child Support Enforcement collects data from state child support agencies on the number of support orders that do not have a dollar support amount, referred to as zero orders. These may reflect different types of orders – medical support only, shared custody, arrears only, or current support with no amount due.…
Read MoreBehavioral Intervention Materials Compendium
The Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) project team, led by MDRC and sponsored by the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) of the Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, partnered with eight state and local agencies to design and implement 15 behavioral interventions, involving close…
Read More2016 OCSE Annual Report to Congress
The 2016 Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) Annual Report to Congress highlights financial and statistical child support achievements based on data reported by state and tribal child support agencies. The content of the Annual Report is mandated by Section 452(a) under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act to give congressional members information that…
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