Abstracts for OCSE-Funded Demonstration Projects on Access and Visitation:
Awarded in FY 2004 & FY 2005

"Integration of Access and Visitation and Child Support Enforcement" This grant responds to 2004 Priority Area 3: Integration of Access and Visitation and Child Support Enforcement. The Colorado Division of Child Support Enforcement proposes to demonstrate the impact of providing access and visitation services on child support collections. Colorado plans to place a Child Access Specialist in each of three county child support offices. The specialists will be responsible for screening parties to determine the scope of their access and visitation issues, assess what services would be most effective to address these issues, then link parties to the services in the community or provide some direct services themselves.

Grant Number: 90FD0096
Project Officer: John Jolley, jkjolley@acf.hhs.gov
Project Period: 9/30/2004 through 02/28/2006 (extended through 2/28/2007)

This grant responds to 2004 Priority Area 3: Integration of Access and Visitation and Child Support Enforcement. The Department of Revenue's Child Support Enforcement Division proposes to partner with Miami-Dade County's Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court to create a new Family Division Section within the court system to address access and visitation issues in addition to paternity and child support issues. Eligible parties will be randomly referred to receive services as currently provided or, for comparison purposes, to an Intake Specialist who will administer a questionnaire, update the parties' locate information, provide information and education about parenting classes, play a video addressing co-parenting issues, and refer parties to mediation services.

Two hypotheses will be tested. The first is that the associated hearing process and increased services will increase non-custodial parent involvement with their children to a statistically higher level than the comparison group. The second is that increased access and visitation will increase compliance with child support orders.

Grant Number: 90FD0099
Project Officer: Xavier Nelson, xnelson@acf.hhs.gov
Project Period: 9/30/2004 through 2/28/2006 (extended through 2/28/2007)

This project responds to 2004 Priority Area 3: Integration of Access and Visitation and Child Support Enforcement. The Georgia Department of Human Resources Office of Child Support Enforcement proposes to enhance and integrate further an existing Access and Visitation (AV) project with an overarching goal of increasing child support collections and medical support. It will focus on 200 fathers who do not pay child support or resent paying support due to lack of parenting time with their children. Those cases which have a prior association with domestic violence will be screened out. The project will provide appropriate AV services, including locate information on children if needed. This effort will be launched in five Atlanta metropolitan counties and will measure child support payment outcomes and payments for 100 noncustodial parents who receive intervention services. The results of this group will be compared to a control group of 100 noncustodial parents who do not receive AV services.

Grant Number: 90FD0090
Project Officer: John Jolley, jkjolley@acf.hhs.gov
Project Period: 09/30/2004 through 02/28/2006 (extended through 2/28/2007)

This grant responds to 2004 Priority Area 3: Integration of Access and Visitation and Child Support Enforcement. The Division for Families and Children of the Office of the Attorney General of Texas (OAG) proposes to conduct a demonstration and evaluation project to test strategies to increase child support collections and parent-child access by addressing problems of child access and regular visitation in nonpaying child support cases. In this project, the OAG will identify nonpaying cases with a minor-aged child of ten or younger, no domestic violence issues or serious substance abuse issues, and parents who reside in Harris and/or adjacent counties. Targeted parents will be mailed a letter encouraging them to contact the Harris County Domestic Relations Office to obtain assistance with access and visitation if these factors are contributing to nonpayment. Parents who respond will be randomly assigned to two groups. One group will be sent a packet of educational and informational materials on visitation orders in Texas and tools for managing and enforcing them. The second group will be referred to the Access/Visitation Enforcement services of the Harris County Domestic Relations Office where they will receive a free consultation with an attorney followed by free mediation services. If mediation is unsuccessful or the other parent will not cooperate, they will receive free legal services to enforce visitation orders. Parents in this high-level treatment group would also have educational programming available to them on issues including co-parenting and relationship-building.

Grant Number: 90FD0092
Project Officer: John Langrock, jlangrock@acf.hhs.gov
Project Period: 9/30/2004 - 2/28/2006 (extended through 2/28/07)

This three-year grant responds to 2005 Priority Area 1: Reducing Intervention and Use of Adversarial or Formal Proceedings While Increasing Financial Security for Children Born Out of Wedlock. The grantee will work with the Administrative Office of the Court (AOC) to identify unmarried parents with access and visitation (AV) concerns and provide them the necessary services to enhance parental relationships, parent-child contact, and to avoid adversarial proceedings. A parenting specialist (PS) will be placed in each of three child support offices in Nashville, Chattanooga, and Jackson/Lexington/Henderson area, representing both urban and rural judicial districts. Unmarried parents with access and visitation issues will be identified and randomly assigned to either a low-level treatment (receive a packet of information and referrals) or a high-level treatment (in-depth needs assessment, case management, educational programs facilitated by PS, and other service referrals). A random assignment outcome evaluation will compare payment activity, paternity acknowledgement, established child support orders, and enforcement actions across the two treatment groups.

Grant Number: 90FD0108
Project Officer: John Jolley, jkjolley@acf.hhs.gov
Project Period: 08/01/05 to 07/31/08