FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Monday, August 2, 2004
Contact: Chris Downing
ACF Press Office (202) 401-9215
Grants for Child Support Development Projects Awarded
HHS’s Administration for Children and Families today announced the awarding of over $1.4 million in grants to thirteen state and non-profit organizations to advance the performance of the nation’s child support enforcement system.
”The grants we are announcing today are part of our ongoing effort at HHS to enhance the child support program and improve the financial and emotional well being of children,” said Dr. Wade F. Horn, assistant secretary for children and families. “This initiative will allow us to examine new ways to augment child support enforcement services to increase support collections, promote fatherhood and healthy marriage and help struggling families take care of their children.”
Several grants are designed to improve responsiveness of child support to its consumers, including ethnic and cultural minorities, as well as those whose cases are touched by the judicial system:
- The Michigan Supreme Court received $100,000 to collaborate with the Office of Child Support, other agencies, local courts and the Detroit College of Law to test the value of video and teleconferencing in allowing the underrepresented prison population access to child support proceedings to address changed circumstances of parents in support orders and avoid buildup of past-due support.
- The Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania received $99,978 to test the effectiveness of allowing nonresident parents to appear at interstate hearings through video and teleconferencing and providing evidence by fax to see if support collections increase.
- The Center for Policy Research received $99,926 to conduct an assessment of early case intervention techniques to promote child support payments and avoid growth of past-due support in five states.
- The Connecticut Judicial Branch received $100,000 to utilize a comprehensive client outreach approach, both personal and automated, to increase collections and customer satisfaction.
- The Louisiana Family Council received $100,000 to collaborate with Support Enforcement, Orleans Family Court and other agencies and community organizations to combine programs for diverse populations into service delivery strategies focusing on client barriers. The project aims to educate judges and support staff to culturally responsive approaches to child support; identify barriers to effective service delivery and develop ways to reduce/eliminate them; and educate clients and the public.
- The Urban Institute received $100,000 to develop bilingual web-based information on child support services with content that is both national and customized to two local communities. An analysis of barriers will be conducted to identify and develop online information that addresses them.
Three grants were awarded to states and non-profit organizations to educate the public on parental responsibility and promote the importance of healthy marriage to a child’s well being:
- Opportunities Industrialization Center of Milwaukee received $100,000 to add parental responsibility workshops to its current child support prevention/education curriculum with the goals of increasing collection of support and the number of TANF families married and raising children, while reducing the number of adolescents in premarital sexual activity.
- Iowa received $100,000 for a project in which state and local child support staff will teach the general public and community-based and faith-based service providers about the impact of marriage and single-parent child-rearing on children. The child support staff will sponsor contests, provide classes, participate in young men’s groups and use public service announcements to teach about the ways that young parents can meet their responsibilities to their children.
- Tennessee received $100,000 for a project in Shelby County to educate unwed parents on parental responsibility, promote healthy marriage and obtain voluntary acknowledgements of paternity. It will provide marriage and child support information in social service and clinical settings.
Four grants were awarded to states to help parents meet child support and family responsibilities:
- Circuit Court of Baltimore County received $150,815 to increase employment opportunities for parents who owe support by combining court oversight with case management and links to employment and training.
- San Francisco Child Support Services received $200,000 for alternative measures to reduce the number of default support orders and/or cases where imputed income is used to establish orders. The project will address educational, cultural and economic barriers that deter parental involvement, with a goal of increasing participation to reduce default rates and arrearages; and increasing payment rates.
- Vermont received $100,000 to collaborate with Medicaid Managed Care and employers to compile health insurance information and enhance automated systems so children in support cases have access to affordable coverage. The project seeks to increase the frequency of medical support in orders, compliance and kids enrolled in insurance plans; and reduce Medicaid costs.
- Texas received $100,000 to determine the cost-effectiveness of identifying parental interests in pensions and retirement plans and encumbering and seizing them to increase support collections.
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