Child 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 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 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 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 MoreLife After Welfare
This report, which includes a chapter on child support, examines outcomes of Maryland families who left cash assistance, focusing on their characteristics, employment and earnings outcomes, and the receipt of other public benefits. The main findings indicate that families’ financial situations improved after exiting Maryland’s Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA) program, compared with their circumstances before…
Read MoreChild Support Collections to Offset Out-of-Home Placement Costs: A Study of Cost Effectiveness
Families that experience out-of-home placement (OHP) of a child in the child welfare or juvenile justice system are disproportionately poor, and the reasons for OHP often stem from poverty. Because OHP is expensive, and society values parental responsibility, federal and state laws require that parents be referred to the child support system to help offset…
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, Empowering Child Support Enforcement to Reduce Poverty, is Robert Doar, Resident Fellow and Morgridge Fellow in Poverty Studiesand former IV-D Director of the New York State Child…
Read MoreThe Story Behind the Numbers: Focused on Performance
This paper describes the dramatic improvements in performance that the child support program has made since the enactment of its federally mandated performance system in 1998. The growth in child support collections is reviewed, highlighting three factors that influence collections: (1) program investments; (2) employment and earnings of parents who owe child support; and (3)…
Read MoreThe Limited Reach of the Child Support Enforcement System
This report examines the declining caseload in the national child support enforcement program in comparison to the population of child support-eligible families, which has remained unchanged over the past two decades. The report attributes most of the decline to the reduction in Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) cases, which shrinks the pipeline of mandatory…
Read MoreThe Young Fathers’ Employment Program in Maryland: An Initial Review of Participant Outcomes
The Maryland Child Support Enforcement Administration (CSEA) recently funded a three-county noncustodial parent employment program called the Young Fathers’ Employment Program. The participating counties were Baltimore, Caroline, and Talbot. The University of Maryland School of Social Work conducted an initial review or a pre-post assessment of participants’ employment, earnings, and child support payments. The researchers…
Read MoreIf I Had Money: Black Fathers and Children, Child Support Debt, and Economic Security in Mississippi
This is a link to a report prepared for The Coalition for a Prosperous Mississippi (CPM), which supports a policy agenda to increase economic security for Mississippians. One major economic barrier for young black men is child support, particularly child support that is owed to the State as a result of their children receiving Temporary…
Read MoreParents and Children Together: Design and Implementation of Responsible Fatherhood Programs
The Parents and Children Together (PACT) evaluation, conducted by Mathematica Policy Research for the Office of Research, Planning and Evaluation in the Administration of Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is examining a set of Responsible Fatherhood (RF) and Healthy Marriage grantees funded by ACF’s Office of Family…
Read MoreSeeding the College Dream – Final Report: An Evaluation of the Child Support for College Asset Building Initiative
This is a link to an evaluation of the Texas Child Support for College (CS4C) pilot program, which was created to provide an incentive for Texas child support program participants to save for their children’s college education.
Read MoreEvaluation of the Tennessee Parent Support Program
This report is a comprehensive evaluation of Tennessee’s Parent Support Program (PSP), which was conducted in collaboration with the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC). PSP enabled child support agencies in three jurisdictions to hire staff to provide case management and job‐focused services in addition to helping with parenting time. In the last…
Read MoreIntegrating Workforce Strategies with Child Support Services – Final Report
The State of Tennessee Department of Human Services, Child Support Division (CSD) was awarded a strategic planning grant from the U.S. Department of Human Services, Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) in September 2011. The project was a strategic planning effort designed to engage multiple agencies in a collaborative process to improve financial outcomes for…
Read MoreToolkit: Workforce Programs for Child Support Populations Tennessee Workforce Strategies and Child Support Services Project
This toolkit, prepared under a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Child Support Enforcement to the Tennessee Department of Human Services, provides a step-by-step guide to establishing a workforce program for unemployed or underemployed, low-income noncustodial parents (NCPs) in the child support system. It is intended for use by…
Read MoreBuilding Assets for Fathers and Families: Colorado Triple Play Final Report
Colorado Triple Play, the name given to the Building Assets for Fathers and Families (BAFF) demonstration project in Colorado, was one of seven grants awarded by the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) to states around the country. The project, encompassing Adams and Jefferson Counties, began October 1, 2010 and operations continued through September 30, 2013.…
Read MoreThe Implementation of the Partners for Fragile Families Demonstration Projects
This report describes the design and implementation of the Partners for Fragile Families (PFF) demonstration projects.
Read MoreThe Potential Impact of Increasing Child Support Payments to TANF Families
The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 includes incentives for states to increase the amount of child support that is “passed through” to families on welfare, rather than retained to offset welfare expenditures. Beginning October 1, 2008, the federal government will share in the costs of a $100 per month pass-through for families with one child…
Read MoreState Child Support Pass-Through Policies
This is a link to a chart that shows laws enacted by state legislatures through the 2008 legislative session to pass through collected child support to families receiving TANF assistance and to disregard the passed through support income in determining eligibility for and the amount of assistance.
Read MorePromising Antipoverty Strategies for Families
In this paper, researchers review changes in family structure, the relationship between family structure and employment, and early evidence on differential impacts of the recession on families.
Read MoreFinal Report for the E-referral Demonstration: Project Summary, Training Implementation Evaluation, and Final Data Analysis
This report looks at the results of a three-year 1115 grant from the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement to the State of Washington to improve electronic referral and data sharing among the child support, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), and Medicaid agencies.
Read MoreEvaluation of the $150 Child Support Pass-Through and Disregard Policy in the District of Columbia
In April 2006, the District of Columbia implemented a child support pass-through and disregard policy for families in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) caseload, passing through the first $150 per month of child support paid to these families and disregarding this amount when determining their TANF benefits. This study provides a process evaluation…
Read MoreThe Noncustodial Parent Employment Program: Employment & Payment Outcomes
This study takes an empirical look at the early outcomes achieved by non-custodial parents who were referred to Maryland’s Noncustodial Parent Employment Program (NPEP), which provides intensive case management and assistance with conducting a job search.
Read MoreStrengthening families through Stronger Fathers: Final Impact Report for the Pilot Employment Programs
This final report discusses the 2006-2009 pilot employment program implemented by New York for parents behind in their child support. These pilot programs, part of the Strengthening Families Through Stronger Fathers Initiative, provided employment-oriented services, fatherhood/parenting workshops, case management, and other support services to nearly 4,000 parents behind in their child support in four New…
Read MoreNew York Initiative Helps Fathers Increase Their Earnings and Child Support
New York launched a pilot employment program to help parents behind in their child support in four communities between 2006 and 2009. The program was part of the state’s Strengthening Families Through Stronger Fathers Initiative. This policy brief discusses the effect of this initiative on earnings and child support payments.
Read MoreWork-Oriented Programs in Child Support
This PowerPoint presentation describes lessons learned from past efforts to provide work-oriented programs for low-income parents behind in their child support payments.
Read MoreThe New York Noncustodial Parent EITC: Its Impact on Child Support Payments and Employment
In 2006, New York instituted a noncustodial parent earned income tax credit (NCP EITC) to encourage low-income noncustodial parents to work and pay child support. This study examines the credit’s impacts through 2009.
Read MoreOverlapping Eligibility and Enrollment: Human Services and Health Programs Under the Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has created new opportunities for health and human services programs, including child support, to integrate eligibility determination, enrollment, and retention.Using two large microsimulation models, the study found considerable overlaps between expanded eligibility for health coverage and current receipt of human services benefits, particularly with Earned Income Tax Credits, the Supplemental…
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