October 2014 | Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Taking the First Step: Using Behavioral Economics to Help Incarcerated Persons Apply for Child Support Order Modifications
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 in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is the first major opportunity to apply a behavioral economic lens to programs that serve poor and vulnerable families in the United States.
This report presents findings from a behavioral intervention designed to increase the number of incarcerated noncustodial parents in Texas who apply for modifications to reduce the amount of their child support orders. Incarcerated noncustodial parents have a limited ability to pay their child support orders each month, due to their incarceration, which can lead to the accumulation of significant child support debt. The Texas Office of the Attorney General’s (OAG’s) Child Support Division operates a program that contacts incarcerated noncustodial parents via mail, informs them of the option to apply for order modifications, and provides instructions on how to begin the process. In the past, less than one-third of contacted parents responded to the outreach and applied for a modification — less than expected, given the benefits they gain from modifying their orders.
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