Parenting 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 shows that parents who regularly see their children are more likely to pay support among other benefits. The grant outcomes showed: more positive relationships between the parents, a minimal cost for establishing a parenting time order, higher rates of domestic violence disclosure and expanded screening, and increased participation in the PTOC services.