This 12-month grant responded to 2003 Priority Area 2: Encouraging new ways to approach unwed parents to emphasize the importance of healthy marriage to a child’s well-being. "Family Connections in Alabama" (FCA) piloted marriage education for low-resource parents and to promote family and relationship strength. The Alabama Children’s Trust Fund (CTF), in partnership with Auburn University’s Department of Human Development and Family Studies, and with the support of the Alabama Department of Human Resources and the Alabama Office of Child Support, launched the FCA project through four community pilot sites.

The project tested a curriculum newly developed by Michigan State University Extension specifically for the target audience, based on studies of fragile families and the barriers to family stability entitled, "Caring for My Family." Topics included: the importance of family stability and the benefits of healthy couple and married relationships, definitions of healthy and unhealthy relationships, self-care, communication skills in relationships, co-parenting skills, and the importance of fathers, financial management, goal setting and decision-making.

The FCA project was a collaboration of several public and private agencies and organizations, both at the State and local levels. The Education programs (included 6-10 sessions with a minimum of 10 lessons) were delivered through agencies that already were providing family services to the project target populations.

Goals for the project centered on strength-building in individual, couple, and family functioning. Both the program implementation process and the receptivity of the participants and the facilitators to the program were also of interest and an important part of the program evaluation study.

Project Findings (from the final Report)

The project targeted low-resource, non-married couples who were either expecting a child or had a child under age 3 (i.e., fragile families): 162 individuals participated in the program; 126 women, 36 men. Fifty participants attended as a couple; 90 attended without their partner (i.e., partner could not attend); 22 attended singly (i.e., had a strong interest in the program, but were not currently in a couple relationship). Completion rates were high, with only 14% attrition. Pre- and post-program questionnaires were returned for 138 participants who completed at least 10 lessons. Participants were primarily African-American (64%) and low-income. The vast majority had a high school education or less (77.5%) and reported a household income of $14,999 or less (74%). Participants were primarily in their mid-20’s and were no younger than 18.

Results

The evaluation questionnaire contained over 300 items adapted from social science measures that assess aspects of individual and couple functioning, including level of commitment, trust, happiness/satisfaction, and types of interaction patterns. Post-program questionnaires had questions on the quality of the program.

Analyses revealed statistically significant increases in:

• Individual empowerment. This included recognition of individual strengths, ability to cope with stress, recognition of unhealthy and unsafe relationships, ability to take action in unsafe relationships, individual problem-solving skills.
• Couple quality. Increases in reported level of trust in the relationship, level of happiness in the relationship, and ability to problem-solve as a team.
• Mother’s support of the father (i.e., better co-parenting attitudes and practices).

Statistically significant decreases were found in:

• Individual distress level
• Level of verbal aggression in the relationship (both their own and their partner’s)

Quality of the Program

• Participants rated the facilitators’ work and the quality of the program very high.
• The vast majority of participants strongly agreed that they would recommend the program to others they know.
• Results of this pilot project and evaluation study are promising and suggest that offering marriage education services to low-resource parents is beneficial. Ratings of the program and curriculum by participants and facilitators were consistently high. The program impact as measured did not differ by gender, or by whether participants came as a couple or attended without their partner.

Lessons Learned

• It was clear that recruitment and retention were successful because of the history participants had with other programs offered by these family service agencies. The goal of 120 participants was exceeded (162 participants; 138 completing.) In addition, agencies had in place other supports crucial for successful recruitment and retention (e.g., childcare, transportation assistance.)
• Although at first, many facilitators were apprehensive about teaching relationship skills and talking about healthy marriages, they quickly saw the intense interest among participants. This interest provided facilitators a strong motivation in providing the program.
• Recruiting fathers was especially challenging; but most facilitators felt that it was more a matter of scheduling difficulties rather than disinterest and noted that future recruitment efforts should target fathers first. Male facilitators had no difficulty recruiting the mothers once the father was "on board," but it did not seem to work in reverse.
• Because participants were in very different couple contexts (e.g., married, non-married, attend with partner, attend without partner, have no partner), it was often difficult to manage the logistics of class discussion and activities.
• It may be unrealistic to expect significant behavioral and relational quality changes after participation in a short-term education program. Follow-up data collection is essential for demonstrating sustained and/or emerging impact.

Recommendations

Facilitators agreed on the following recommendations for future work:

• Utilize a team of male/female facilitators
• Utilize male facilitators as main recruiters for the program and target fathers
• Invest in training and training updates
• Build on community collaboration for recruitment and referral
• Think in terms of adding marriage education to an umbrella of services (can be embedded in other curricula or separate - but linked to other programs)
• Be prepared to address co-parenting relationships with ex-partners and adjustment to parenting, along with couple relationship issues
• Group similar couple contexts
• Offer participants long term education programs (12-18 months) (either meeting periodically or intensive initial sessions and then periodic boosters)
• Plan for documenting, evaluating, and following-up

This 17-month grant responded to 2003 Priority Area 1: Helping low-income fathers meet their child support and family responsibilities. The Imperial Valley Regional Occupational Program (IVROP) operated Project Dads to assist noncustodial (NCP) economically disadvantaged fathers living in Imperial County to obtain employment, access parental skills and training and assist them with child support order modifications. (NOTE: these activities are not eligible for title IV-D program Federal financial participation.)

Project Findings (From the Final Report)

The goals of the project were designed to meet the needs of the NCPs, as follows:

Goal 1: To provide NCPs with the skills and resources necessary for them to obtain unsubsidized employment, so they can pay their child support.

Objective 1: At the end of the project, 41 clients will have been enrolled and received services

Findings

• IVROP served 42 clients (90.47 percent percent were Hispanic, 7.14 percent percent were Caucasian, and 2.38 percent percent were African American).
• 52 percent percent (22) of the clients served were ex-offenders.
• 41 percent percent (17) of the clients served had their driver’s license suspended due to child support issues, but 15 suspensions were released due the project intervention.

Objective 2: During the course of the project, 25 clients will have obtained their GED or Adult Education Certificate.

Finding

• 5 clients received their GED and attended Adult Education Courses.

Objective 3: By the end of seventeen months, 70 percent of the clients will be placed in unsubsidized employment.

Findings

• 78.30 percent (33) were employed in unsubsidized employment.
• 90 percent (30) clients were still working at the end of the program, with employment averaging a minimum of six months.
• 87 percent (36) of the total clients served were not working before the program.

Objective 4: Forty-five percent of the clients will receive a certificate of competencies from their occupational training program.

Finding

• 83.30 percent (36) received certificate of competencies from occupational and job-related training courses.

Goal 2: To assist the NCP with child support modification packages, so they can afford to pay their child support payments and still support themselves.

Objective 1: Throughout the course of the project, staff members will attend court on a weekly basis with the NCP father to assist with suspensions and reductions in child support payments until they are able to begin making child support payments.

Finding

• Staff attended weekly court hearings throughout the project for those 15 clients referred through the courts.

Objective 2: At the end of the project, 85 percent of the clients will make child support payments.

Findings

• By the end of the project, 78 percent (33) clients were making child support payments through the system. None of the clients were regularly making payments before the project.
• 40 percent (17) of the clients making payments were able to pay the full amount.
• The remaining clients had a temporarily reduced amount, or they were unable to make the full payment.
• During seventeen months of the project, $60,512 was collected through the child support system.
• At the end of the project, 42 percent (18) of the clients requested modification.
• Of the 18 clients requesting modification, 11 were successfully granted.
• None of the modifications included arrears reductions.

Goal 3: To empower NCPs with the skills and knowledge so they can take an active parenting role in their children’s lives.

Objective 1: At the end of eighteen months, 65 percent of the clients will have completed parenting classes.

Finding

• 30.90 percent (13) attended parenting classes documented by attendance records.

Objective 2: Upon completion of the project, 60 percent of the NCPs will have shown an improvement in their parenting skills as accessed by self-surveys.

Findings

• 66 percent (28) clients demonstrated improved communication skills including parenting skills, although 15 did not attend parenting classes.
• The staff successfully worked with clients to improve their communication and body-language skills, which, per the evaluation, made a tremendous difference when speaking with the custodial mother.
• The doors of communication were opened between the parents primarily because the fathers were paying their child support; therefore, the fathers were allowed to see their children and develop healthy relationships.
• Two clients out of the 28 attended anger management classes, which provided them with communication tools to lessen conflicts with their children and the custodial mother.

Lessons Learned

• Address child support staff misconceptions concerning disadvantaged fathers' willingness to pay child support; low-income NCPs may be afraid of the system and often support their children informally. Help establish credibility by showing evidence on how programs benefit children.
• Educate NCPs about the child support system, about visitation and custodial rights and other services they need.
• Consider reinstating (even if temporarily) revoked driver's licenses for NCPs meeting program requirements so that NCPs can obtain and keep a job.
• Use mediators (e.g., Project Dads staff) as needed; they can make a big difference in affecting the attitudes of both the father and the child support staff.
• Identify and outreach with other agencies and organizations that provide key services. For example, the Department of Labor "One Stops" provided the assessments, assisted with résumés and job leads, and Imperial Valley College and Adult Education provided educational services.
• Educate clients concerning courtroom demeanor. In the beginning, when IVROP clients attended court hearings, they stood with their mouths closed and eyes looking down. IVROP taught the clients the benefits of proper body language and how to speak up when appropriate, with positive results in the courtroom.

Also see article in October 2004 Child Support Report at:
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cse/pubs/2004/csr/csr0410.html

This grant responds to the 1998 Special Improvement Project (SIP) announcement for the priority area concerning Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Innovations. The project was designed to improve performance on new TANF cases from the point of intake and paternity establishment through the enforcement of the support order. The Co-Locate Intake project trained previous TANF recipients to conduct intake interviews on new TANF and Medi-Cal cases.

The Family Support Division partnered with the Human Services Agency to train Work First graduates (former TANF recipients) to be child support intake workers. Work First graduates were selected to do the interviews based on the premise that applicants would establish a better rapport with interviewers who had recently been in similar circumstances. In addition, graduates would obtain valuable job skills. Another purpose of the project was to educate TANF applicants on the child support process.

The project tracked performance with regards to the length of time a case was in locate and/or establishment; the number of notices of non-cooperation generated against custodial parents; and the number of voluntary paternities established. The sample consisted of all cases opened in San Mateo County during the period of January 1999 through February 2000 where a co-locate interview was conducted. The baseline was all TANF cases opened in 1998 when there was no initial child support worker interview with the client.

Findings: (From the Final Report)

Some of the key findings of the project include:

• There was a substantial decrease in the number of notices generated to the Welfare Department for non-cooperation when a face-to-face interview was conducted. Only 3% (51 of 1,934) of the clients who applied for services failed to cooperate and a request for sanctions was made to the Welfare Department. This is significantly less than the 40% (1,157 of 2,901 cases) who failed to cooperate in 1998 where no face-to-face interview was conducted. However, when the number of non-cooperation notices issued by a TANF interviewer was compared to a non-TANF interviewer, there was no significant difference. In fact, when the interviewer was a former TANF recipient, the rate of non-cooperation among clients was 8 times higher than those issued by non-TANF interviewers. Subsequent interviews with workers indicated that the apparent reason for this difference was that non-TANF interviewers were more inclined to give the applicant a second and sometimes a third opportunity to cooperate, whereas former TANF interviewers did not give second chances. If the person failed to follow through with the necessary documents or attend the appointment, they immediately issued a notice for sanctions.
• The face-to-face interview at the “front-end” of the child support process played a critical role. Results from client surveys pre-/post-interviews showed a 15% increase in the clients’ understanding of the child support process. These findings were based only on the responses received to the survey (116 of 329 applicants responded).
• There was an overall decrease in the time it took to process a case through the locate and establishment stages. Cases opened during the project period where an intake interview had taken place averaged 53.05 days in locate and 77.04 days in establishment. This reflects a 30% and 40% decrease when compared to cases opened during the same period with no intake interview. However, it did not make a difference if the custodial parent was interviewed by a TANF interviewer or a non-TANF interviewer.
• Overall the number of voluntary paternities established by the child support agency increased by 20% over 1998, the baseline year. Not only did the overall number of voluntary paternities established increase, but a significant number of the co-locate paternities were established by TANF interviewers (61%) as opposed to non-TANF interviewers (39%). San Mateo believes that this result supported their premise that the interviewer who had recently been in the applicant’s situation would establish a better rapport and thus obtain better information from the applicant.
• In summary, the face-to-face interview improved the communication between the client and the child support agency. The TANF applicant indicated a better understanding of the child support process after the interview was conducted. Furthermore, the communication and cooperation between the child support agency and the welfare department also improved. Even though it essentially made no difference if the interviewer was or was not a prior TANF recipient, San Mateo recommends hiring TANF graduates as interviewers since they did establish good rapport with clients at intake.

This two-year grant responded to 2003 Priority 4: "Expanding Use of Automation Tools and Best Practices." The Project was designed to utilize Web site technology to increase customer services by providing parents, employers and case workers the ability to access case data and input data on-line. Colorado CSE intended to launch an interactive, e-commerce Web site that would provide 24-hour access to case status and payment information for parents, both in-state and interstate caseworkers, and employers. It was anticipated that by doing so, Colorado CSE would see significant improvement in its ability to provide better and more current information to its key stakeholders.

By the end of the grant period, this purpose was realized by providing real-time case and financial information to Web-registered parents with child support cases and registered workers from other States.

Project Findings (From the Final Report):

The project met the following three goals:

1. Rapidly meet common user needs: With the child support information and case-specific detail now available, many common user needs have been met. At the end of the grant period there were over 16,000 registered users on the Web site. Registered users are made up of about 78 percent custodial parents, 22 percent noncustodial parents and 2 percent out-of-State IV-D workers. It is also interesting to note that based on a recent analysis, 15.5 percent of the cases are for registrants residing outside of Colorado.

   Finding: Publications and forms are being accessed regularly. For example, the Colorado general CSE brochure was accessed an average of 950 times per month for the period of October-December, 2004. The application for Direct Deposit of child support payment was accessed an average of 1450 times per month for the same period. In December 2004 there were over 3,600 user requests for a printable version of case payment histories. Previously, all of these could have resulted in a request to a Customer Service agent to print and mail these materials.

   Moreover, registered parents in general have made extensive use of the payment detail and payment history pages on the Web site. In December, 2004 there were over 29,000 hits on the payment history page.

2. Answer frequently asked questions: On the Web site, for example, there is a section for Frequently Asked Questions, with answers to 19 different topic areas. The FAQs cover all of the primary areas of child support enforcement in Colorado.

   Findings: This has proven to be a great resource for information and it is a common occurrence for the CSE receptionist to direct callers to the Web site when they call asking questions about the program. This redirection has saved valuable staff time and has allowed for consistent answers to the questions asked.

3. Demonstrate proof-of-concept: The project was successful in meeting user needs.

   Findings: With visits to the site averaging 2,250 per weekday, clearly the Colorado CSE Program has gone well beyond a 'proof-of-concept' scenario to a well-used production CSE Web application. A check on the volume of hits asking solely for specific case financial history for the period of October-December, 2004 shows an average of over 29,000 hits per month. Analysis shortly after the project ended revealed this number growing by more than 10 percent per month.

Lessons Learned:

• The project did not see an increase/decrease in customer support calls to the SDU or in the volume of calls to the IVR for use in comparing "before implementation" versus "after implementation" of the customer service Web site. However, while the IVR inquiries were relatively flat, information requests continued to rise on the Web site.
• County workers did not believe that the Web site had a noticeable impact on their workloads. This could be due to the fact that county workers in general often feel overwhelmed in keeping up with their workloads, and the most difficult issues they deal with cannot be solved by the Web. However, one major accomplishment has involved putting procedures and desk aids on the Web site for in-state users to access. It is believed that in the long-term this will be a huge benefit to county caseworkers as it will allow for quick turnaround of changes in the procedures and/or just in time procedural information.
• Open source software is a viable alternative for Web software. It not only comes at a low cost, but is also reliable, stable, scalable, and performs well. Having begun this project using Oracle Web software, the Colorado project team has a good understanding of the benefits of open source software over proprietary software packages. This software has also been successfully implemented by Arizona.
• An executive steering committee is very important to the overall success of the project. Another group that made a huge difference in the outcome of the project was the application Web workgroup. This was a group of CSE staff made up of members from each section in the Colorado Division of CSE. This group was instrumental in helping to produce an end result that represented the child support program and worked well for the public.
• After the initial prototype was built, Colorado conducted a user usability test. There were four user testers participating. These users were taken through a scripted test and the sessions were videotaped. The usability test proved to be invaluable. Colorado would recommend this process to anyone building a new Web application.

• The approach used to pull together content about the Colorado child support program was the following: existing documentation on the child support program was reviewed and the primary topic areas were determined. Various topic areas were divided among small sub-groups of the Web workgroup and each group was asked to put together content for each topic. Sub-groups were encouraged to use existing material they could find, but were also charged with the task of limiting the size of each explanation for the Web. This content was then compiled together into one document where it was re-worked by the project manager in an effort to give it one voice.

  This was a difficult task, and the success of finding one voice for all of the different topics could be questioned. It would probably have been better to hire an outside content editor, if resources were available. This approach did allow Colorado to gather a large amount of content in a relatively short period of time. Colorado also used the same approach in compiling the 'Frequently Asked Questions' for the site.

• A very simple user site survey was made available for the first 12 months of production. This proved to be invaluable in getting user feedback to determine what worked well and what did not. It also gave insights into additional features that users wanted on the site. Even a simple survey asking general questions about navigation on the site and allowing for users' comments produced a wealth of information, particularly during the first 6 months.
• One of the biggest challenges faced was when registrations for the site began growing faster than expected. This increase often came from issues that ultimately had a good result. The registration process required that the user give their social security number (SSN) which then had to be matched to the SSN kept in the primary Child Support System (ACSES). When people could not register because Colorado did not have their SSN entered into ACSES they often called and their SSN was than entered into the system. This was a big plus, as the SSN is the key to many functions, such as locating individuals. Colorado also had numerous instances where they mailed the user's password by UPS mail (Colorado chose this route for security reasons) and it was returned because Colorado had the wrong address in ACSES. Once again, Colorado was able to contact these people and get a current address in the system. Both of these scenarios created work, but resulted in better information in the system.
• Colorado also learned that there is significant interest in real-time access to Colorado State case and financial information by other State CSE workers. By the end of the grant period Colorado had over 300 other State workers registered for this access.
• As time progressed, there was a need to appoint a technical resource person to be available for people with registration and log-in issues that are primarily technical in nature. This technical resource person came from existing staff. This responsibility has been rotated to various members of the Web team from month to month.

This 17-month grant responded to FY 2001 Priority Area 4, "To Demonstrate Effective Methods to Increase Collections." The project was a one-stop employment program for inner-city unemployed noncustodial fathers on parole and/or probation who had a child support order. It was designed to demonstrate that, with proper support, ex-offenders can be helped to get and maintain jobs, comply with their child support obligations, and resolve other child support issues in a constructive manner.

Intensive recruitment and outreach efforts were used to enlist participants. These activities consisted of speaking engagements, program presentations and distribution of flyers at the high intensity drug trafficking areas, court services, health and job fairs, community events and others. As a result, 173 participants were recruited, of which 82 (46%) attended the Father Factor Program. Of these, 88% were never married to the mother of their child(ren) and 41% had dropped out of high school.

The program consisted of regular meetings, employment training, interactions with service providers, and ancillary services, such as participants enrolling in the External Diploma Program at a local high school to complete assignments to earn a high school diploma. (Note: these are non-IV-D program activities and not eligible for Federal financial participation.)

Findings

• Key concerns of participants according to survey results prior to program participation were: 31% reported finding a job as a key issue and an additional 12% wanted a better job; 19% felt education and training were very important. Only a small percentage of participants reported child support (7%), increased involvement with their child (2%) or obtaining parenting skills (5%), as key issues.
• Success was achieved during the grant period of March 2001 to July 2002. A total of 32 noncustodial parents graduated from the program. This was eight more than the projected goal.
• Twenty-two (22) of the 32 noncustodial parents who graduated had child support involvement. As a result of helping clients communicate with the child support agency, 16 parents (72%) asked for a modification and half of the requests were granted. Additionally, child support workers released driver’s licenses and resolved arrears issues for 17 parents upon verification of their participation in the project. Of the 22 obligors, 15 (68%) were placed in full-time employment. At the end of the project, roughly a third of the obligors (8) were working full time and paying child support, while in other cases the amount of arrears due was reduced or the order was dismissed.

Lessons Learned and Recommendations

The following are some of the major lessons learned and recommendations:

• It takes time to deal with issues such as fatherhood, child support, conflict resolution and a myriad of other concerns particular to ex-offenders. The fatherhood workshops were increased from once to twice a week to better deal with these issues.
• Child support cases present many legal problems that require expert opinions so it is important to get support from the Public Defenders’ Office. Although the fatherhood advocate attended court sessions with participants to help offer support, participants lacked adequate legal representation in many of the child support cases.
• Cross-training is necessary. Child support staff should be trained on issues of significance to fathers to get their support. Also, staff should attend program workshops to provide information to fathers since this group of noncustodial parents did not have a clear understanding of the child support system or good communications with their children's mothers. Program participants need more in depth information to help remove some of the myths about the Child Support Office.
• A cohesive relationship with staff at the Child Support Division should be established to help resolve matters such as driver’s licensing, arrears balance information, good faith payments, and modification of orders.
• In order for people to get and successfully keep a job, employment programs must be comprehensive, while addressing the special needs of the participants. A one stop shop model is effective in helping noncustodial parents access the comprehensive services they need, i.e., obtaining employment, gaining parenting skills, understanding and resolving child support concerns, and accessing training and education opportunities.

This grant responded to Priority Area 2: "Developing new paternity establishment procedures." The Illinois Division of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE) and Catholic Charities of Chicago Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) had a proven model for paternity establishment in the community at four WIC Food Centers since 1995. This grant permitted Illinois to expand the Paternity Establishment Program (PEP) of the original WIC pilot to fifteen sites.

The partners coordinated their resources and expertise to help families of young children voluntarily establish paternity and increase involvement of both parents in their children’s lives. Within Catholic Charities, the WIC in Chicago provided supplemental foods, nutrition education and access to health care to low-income pregnant, post-partum, and lactating women, infants, and children up to five years of age. The program was primarily funded and administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in conjunction with State health departments and Indian tribal organizations. Under this grant, DCSE staff trained the WIC Food Center staff to operate PEP in the same manner as Illinois in-hospital paternity program staff, County Clerks and Local Registrars. DCSE staff also monitored the grant project and provided ongoing assistance.

For this project, Illinois developed a procedures manual, and a number of new outreach materials on the theme: "Get in Step with PEP." It also used audio tapes and private areas to offer parents a more confidential setting to discuss their concerns.

• A procedures manual was developed for State and local Child Support directors, agency heads, WIC managers, and community-based organization leadership to consider similar programs and to increase collaboration and community-based activities. It included information on developing a steering committee and suggestions for agendas for the committee and monitoring, training, and retraining suggestions. The manual also included sample tracking sheets, evaluation forms, and forms used in Illinois for the Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity program.
• WIC sites originally had posters which portrayed men evading their responsibilities to their children. Since most men who came to the sites were likely to be involved with their children new posters were developed that were supportive of the father/child relationship and portrayed fathers in a favorable manner. This provided for a more effective outreach approach.
• Keeping with the theme, WIC staff and Child Support staff worked together to develop a joint brochure in English called "Get in Step with PEP." The brochures were distributed to each of the WIC Food Centers and were very useful for educational/outreach purposes.
• To better provide oral explanation of parents’ rights and responsibilities, audio tapes were used. PEP staff could play for the parents the specially developed tape giving the oral information in English and Spanish.
• Set-aside private areas were also established within the WIC sites to provide parents a more confidential area to discuss paternity forms and related concerns.

Findings

• WIC staff at the 15 sites spoke to 22,887 mothers about paternity establishment, and 398 parents signed the Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity (VAP) forms.
• Twenty-eight (28) percent of the children with signed paternity forms were in families with 2 or more children.
• Eighty-seven (87) percent of the children (348) with signed paternity forms were receiving TANF/Medicaid and or Child Support Services.
• VAPs were more likely to be signed where there were not large concentrations of Public Housing. Generally, there were fewer men involved with their families at these sites due to incarceration and joblessness. Specifically, the two sites with large concentrations of public housing (Larrabee and State) did not provide many VAPs and those parents that did sign, did not live together.
• Seventy-eight (78) percent of Hispanic parents who signed VAPs were living together, in comparison to 49 percent of all children’s parents living together who signed VAPs.
• The first year of the child’s life was the most likely time for parents to sign the VAP; and the younger the child, the more likely parents were to complete a VAP.
• Parents took advantage of the program for older siblings of children eligible for WIC. There were 73 children, 5 years of age and over (18%).
• It appears that the parents of children, 5 years of age or older when the VAP was signed, were more likely to live together.

Lessons Learned/Recommendations

• "Paternity" is not a word used by most clients. Legal relationship of the father and child are the words recognized by clients. This held true for mothers, fathers and grandparents. They know about getting the father’s name on birth certificate. The vocabulary used by the client should be the vocabulary used by the staff to introduce the subject of paternity.
• Desire for paternity, or establishing a legal relationship for the father and the child, flows from an ongoing relationship between the parents rather than establishing paternity in order to create a relationship.
• The voluntary paternity establishment program is a "service" that is desired by a percentage of the population where the parents are still involved with the children and/or each other. It should be identified and promoted as such by the sponsoring agency.
• On the other hand, Child Support (financial help) may be the "desired service" when the parents are not living together and the father has little or no contact with the child. When this is the situation, paternity is not likely to be successfully pursued within the voluntary establishment program.
• If hospitals require photo IDs of the fathers, then they might adopt the WIC Food Centers free photo program since fewer people have driver’s licenses in Cook County (an urban center) than other areas of the State. This should be incorporated into the information provided to pregnant women.
• Men who came to the WIC sites were involved with their children. A suggestion made to Child Support and WIC staff was to be sure the Child Support posters on display were supportive of the father/child relationship and portrayed fathers in a favorable manner and not as men evading their responsibilities to their children.

This 17-month grant responded to 2003 Priority Area 4: Expanding Use of Automation Tools. The purpose of this project, entitled "Interactive Child Support Website," was to improve customer service, provide ready access to information to customers, and lessen workers’ time spent on modification requests that resulted in no-change orders. The Iowa Bureau of Collections (the Bureau) designed a tool that would assist custodial or noncustodial parents to manage their own cases, especially in regard to modification requests.

At the time of the grant application, workers were spending at least 30 percent of their time processing modification requests that didn’t fit the general criteria, or that resulted in no change in the child support order. The Bureau thought if they could clarify the criteria, and allow customers to use qualifying questions and an estimator to determine their potential for modification, the result would be fewer modification requests, which in turn would theoretically lessen the workloads for their field staff.

The Bureau also planned how they would take additional steps to provide 24/7 services to their customers. An existing Interactive Voice Response Unit (IVR) and a customer Website were already available. Expanding the Website’s use by adding a changing support module seemed like a service customers would find extremely useful.

The Bureau also planned how they would take additional steps to provide 24/7 services to their customers. An existing Interactive Voice Response Unit (IVR) and a customer Website were already available. Expanding the Website’s use by adding a changing support module seemed like a service customers would find extremely useful.

Other project objectives were added after asking customers and workers how they might clarify complex policy in the review and adjustment process in order to:

• ensure that the qualifying questions and estimator would be easy to use;
• make the application process easily available to customers by offering the request form as a download from the existing customer Website; and
• use existing State staff resources so future updates and further expansion of the customer Website or IVR services could be accomplished more cost effectively

Iowa devised an interactive tool to help parents determine whether they qualify for a modification. They have found it to be successful in reducing the number of requests and the requests they do receive are more likely to result in a modification. Here is the Website:

https://secureapp.dhs.state.ia.us/childsupport/changechildsupport/ASPPages/CSQRevAdj.asp

Project Findings/Results (From the Final Report)

Iowa went live with the tool in 2004. In comparison to data from 2003, they found that the tool increased the number of requests that actually resulted in modifications, decreased the percent of requests resulting in no change, and decreased the number of requests overall. In summary, parents appeared to use the tool to make more informed decisions about when to make a request.

Because not all measures tracked were as anticipated, Iowa conducted additional followup in 2006.

Iowa overcame many challenges during the development process. Although it did not come to pass, staff feared additional, unmanageable workload brought on by more parents using the new information they obtained from the interactive tool to contact them via telephone to ask questions about changing their orders. Another challenge was keeping up with Federal- and State-level legislative changes that affected the tool. When OCSE issued new rules pertaining to review and adjustment during the development phase and Iowa updated its child support guidelines, the tool also required changes. In addition, staff found it challenging to translate complex rules into simplified language. Although Iowa did not offer any specific tips to other States, administrators noted that the tool had many positive benefits and that other States should consider its replication.

NOTE: Represents an increase of only 56 requests.

Although Iowa anticipated fewer calls to its Specialized Customer Service Unit ( SCSU) and anticipated fewer packets being sent to customers, the increases were attributed to factors other than the existence of the changing support module (e. g., more use of the Website in general).

As a result of this project, customers have 24/7 access to information about the modification processes and the ability to download request forms to complete and submit to the local child support office. They are able to participate in the process more effectively since they can become more knowledgeable about child support policies and procedures. The decision to guide customers through various questions to determine if the case qualifies for a modification helps customers decide whether or not to apply.

Lessons Learned/Recommendations

• There are many outside factors that can affect a project such as this one. An example was the issuance of the Federal regulation affecting review and adjustment which was published in the Federal Register in May 2003. Until this regulation change was clarified and redefined, Iowa was unable to move forward on the development of the changing support module. Fortunately, the regulation was redefined so the project could move forward.
• The Bureau was able to successfully partner with Gov Connect, Inc., their existing vendor, in order to accomplish the development, testing, and implementation services to change the existing IVR and customer service website.
• Feedback from customers utilizing the website features is essential to its continued success.
• Enable customers to have the ability to fill out forms online and submit them electronically.

This grant responds to 1998 Special Improvement Project (SIP) priority area: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Innovations. The objectives of the POP project were to increase the number and percentage of signed in-hospital paternity affidavits and to provide work opportunities for four recipients of Maryland’s Welfare-to-Work program (during which participants learned how to write a resume, look for a job, and conduct an interview).

Six candidates (5 women and 1 man) were selected for the POP program, though only four worked at any one time. After selection, the individuals were trained in the areas of child support, paternity establishment, and professional conduct. The University of Maryland School of Social Work provided child support training; the Baltimore City Department of Social Services provided customer relations and professional conduct training, including learning how to maintain a job and how to be an effective employee; and the Maryland Child Support Administration provided paternity establishment training.

To give participants a variety of experiences, work assignments included Mercy Medical System, Harbor Hospital, Maryland General, Sinai, Prince George’s County, Holy Cross, the University of Maryland Medical System, and Johns Hopkins. Upon completion of the project, three of the six POP participants were offered full-time positions. The number and percentage of in-hospital paternity affidavits signed while POP participants were employed increased, but not significantly.

There were some problems with POP participants’ job-related behavior, leading project staff to recommend additional up-front training in professional conduct and job maintenance skills. Overall, the POP participants did very well and demonstrated a sense of pride and responsibility in their work.

Lessons Learned/Recommendations (from the Final Report):

• Money is an initial incentive for employees. The POP workers started to work at $12.06 per hour and were noticeably excited about the salary when they were hired. However, the employees started to arrive to work late and also leave work early without notifying their supervisors. Since the supervisors were not on site daily at the hospitals, this played a part in workers losing their sense of responsibility. Also, employees claimed it did not take much time to do their assigned work and that was the reason why they had left early. Thus, supervisors had to discuss with the employees the importance of their work schedule and also make additional site visits. This quick action immediately deterred this type of behavior.
• The POP workers received training in child support, professional conduct, and paternity establishment. However, further training and screening evaluations should be mandated for Welfare-to-Work individuals. Many Welfare-to-Work participants are given opportunities for positions, but are not thoroughly trained for permanent employment (i.e., as noted above, maintaining work hours and notifying supervisor, as needed).
• Since there were only a few hospitals that increased their signed affidavit rates, it appears that it would be more efficient to hire one POP worker and spread his/her services across several hospitals during his/her employment span. POP employees had a lot of extra time at their assigned hospitals due to fluctuation in birth rates on any given day. Thus, worker time could be utilized more effectively if it were spent in several hospitals assisting more parents with the affidavit of parentage form.
• State government should continue to hire Welfare-to-Work individuals. Although it dealt with a very small number of participants, the program appears to be beneficial in assisting individuals with obtaining permanent employment.

(NOTE: Includes Findings from the Final Report)

Project Plan

This 17-month grant responded to 2003 Priority Area 1: Helping low-income fathers meet their child support and family responsibilities. The Muskegon County Family Court Services of Muskegon, Michigan developed of “The Non-Custodial Parent Program” (NCPP) to assist unemployed and/or underemployed noncustodial parents (NCPs) through a Court Probation Order to secure and maintain a job while being monitored by the court system. The project worked to improve overall family welfare by increasing the emotional and financial contribution made by NCPs to their children, with a focus on current support issues and arrears complications.

The NCPP addressed several challenges Muskegon County was facing: twenty percent of the County’s population was on the child support rolls; the County did not have access to state-of-the-art computer and/or tracking devices; and property liens were not proving to be effective compliance tools since the majority of the child support-owing population did not possess bank accounts or property.

The focus of enforcement in the Muskegon County Family Court Services – Friend of the Court Division was early intervention. Since the project’s start, all Paternity and Civil Support Orders issued through the Office of the Muskegon County Prosecuting Attorney contained language directing the payer to participate in NCPP.

NCPP worked to coordinate services with established community agencies, including local child support agencies, the Responsible Fathers Initiative, the local Department of Employment and Training, and community- and faith-based organizations.

The project facilitated the following staff additions: a Specialized Enforcement Officer to monitor compliance and enforcement; a Child Support Specialist to review support orders and monitor compliance; and a Caseworker to focus on parenting time and relationship issues. (NOTE: these activities are not eligible for title IV-D program Federal financial participation.)

NCPP successfully used several forms of media outreach to generate voluntary NCP participation. The project rented 8 billboards to announce the new initiative in Muskegon County; took out a 45-second ad on the local radio station; distributed program pamphlets to various agencies and businesses; implemented a “two-card” system of providing new participants with two business cards—one to keep and one to give to someone who might benefit from NCPP’s services. Staff were also encouraged to publicize the project through word-of-mouth within the community. Copies of the NCPP brochure, Muskegon Responsible Fathers Initiative brochure and the Incarcerated Fathers Count brochure were distributed to the community via county and State offices, counseling agencies, Workforce Development Centers, substance abuse treatment programs, and select private businesses.

Upon enrollment in the program, two court hearings took place on the same day that addressed the amount of the child support order and obtained a court order for program participation. Both documents were signed by the participant and a judge, and witnessed by a Child Support Specialist. NCCP then established a case by sending the participant a letter which included an NCCP brochure explaining that a 14-day window was given before the participant begins to make CS payment or provide employment information to the court. This initial letter was followed up in 14-21 days and if there were no response, another letter was sent. If the second letter received no response, and the payer had a valid Michigan Driver’s License, suspension proceedings were initiated. If the payer responded to the suspension notice, then enrollment in the NCPP would temporarily lift the sanction. The sanction would be lifted upon successful completion of the program. If the payer did not have a valid driver’s license, the matter was set for a Show Cause Hearing. If the payer appeared for the hearing and was appropriate for NCPP, an order was issued requiring participation in the program. If the payer failed to appear, a request for a Bench Warrant was forwarded to the Judge assigned to the case. In addition, other sanctions such as revocation of professional or sporting licenses, credit bureau reporting and property liens were considered.

The participant was automatically enrolled in one-stop mediated services and attended a mandatory NCPP orientation within 2 weeks of enrollment. The participant was assigned to a Workforce Development Center in the county of residence. The participant also completed a Friend of the Court questionnaire to generate a support review that could lead to modification or discharge of arrears. Finally, the participant was given the option of participating in a repayment plan for a period of 24 months. If the repayment plan was successful, remaining arrears could be discharged. The participant was able to access parenting time mediation services.

Project Findings

During the implementation period of NCPP, participation in the program and the amount of child support collected both increased. In 2003, 288 NCPs participated in the program and $101,522 was collected. In 2004, 625 NCPs participated, and $320,713 was collected. Of the program’s total participants, 311 were able to complete the 90-day employment cycle, and showed a 35 percent success rate in maintaining employment. Successful completion of the NCPP was achieved by maintaining full-time employment for 90 days.

This 17-month project addressed 2003 Grant Priority Area 3: Increasing Medical Coverage for Children in IV-D Cases. This project developed and implemented procedures to initiate enforcement of custodial parent (CP) medical support obligations in appropriate cases. The purpose of the project was to increase the number of children in IV-D cases with medical coverage.

Prior to receiving this grant, the Montana CSED only enforced medical support obligations against noncustodial parents (NCPs), leaving a gap in children’s coverage for cases in which insurance was not available to those NCPs. While Montana laws allowed for the enforcement of medical support obligations against the CP as well as the NCP, the CSED had not previously implemented the CP side of this enforcement authority. The project focused on system enhancements and procedural changes needed to implement CP medical enforcement.

The system design built on the existing NCP-only design, creating new elements as needed to support project field requirements. To accomplish the technical aspects of the project, the CSED contracted with a vendor to perform all system design and development tasks.

Project Findings

Montana established six evaluation measures for the project, as follows. Of the total number of cases with medical support ordered, the percentage of those cases in which health insurance coverage was currently in effect increased from 27 percent to 30 percent. The State also looked at whether the parent with health insurance credit in the guidelines was the parent who provided coverage under the NMSN. This percentage increased slightly, from 72 percent to 74 percent and was seen to indicate the beginning of a shift toward fairer medical enforcement, where the parent who obtained a more favorable support amount based on payment of premiums was the parent whose obligation was enforced.

The third measure looked at the percentage of cases in which the parent with existing coverage was the parent who provided coverage under the NMSN. Under this measure, there was an insignificant improvement from 96 percent to 97 percent. The fourth measure looked at the percentage of cases where the NMSN resulted in coverage. This number rose quite significantly in the first six months of implementation, from 6 percent to 28 percent.

The project also looked at the number of cases closed by the CP as a result of medical enforcement against the CP. While only 9 cases were closed by CPs during the six months of the study, approximately 200 medical support enforcement actions against CPs were initiated each month. So the number of case closures was relatively small. Although there was some resistance initially on the part of some CPs, they tended to understand after it was explained to them. Montana had a few CPs request closure of their case, but it was minimal. Resistance from a CP did not impact the decision for picking the appropriate enforcement parent. Regarding cash medical to reimburse CP premiums or to pay for incidental costs not covered by insurance, Montana's guidelines assess each parent a percentage of responsibility for unreimbursed medical expenses.

Finally, the CSED estimated the total Medicaid savings for the period of January through July 2004 to be $1,743,858. Based on earlier figures, the CSED estimated that Montana realized an additional $93,273 per month in Medicaid cost avoidance since the beginning of the effort to enforce CP medical support.

Update as of April 2007

Montana stayed committed to the policies and procedures developed as part of this grant, and continued its integrated approach to medical support enforcement activities, which included enforcement against CPs in appropriate cases. Since the conclusion of the grant, the CSED offered periodic training to staff on the medical support enforcement procedures and developed flow charts and Frequently Asked Questions to assist workers.

The CSED's ultimate goal with this project was to increase the number of children with health insurance coverage. In January 2004, prior to the start of this grant, the CSED only had 9,008 children documented in its automated system as having health insurance coverage available. At the end of FY 2006, the CSED's system reflected that 14,583 children had health insurance coverage available. This was a 61 percent increase. The State continued to see increases but at a lower rate as the increase in children covered has stabilized (for example, in FY 2006, the CSED increased the number of children covered by insurance by almost 3.5 percent).

In addition, as reported on the CSED's OCSE-157 Report for FY 2006, 47 percent of the CSED's cases in which medical support was ordered had health insurance provided. While the NCP is still the primary provider of health insurance coverage, since implementation of enforcement against CPs, coverage provided by CPs now accounts for almost 30 percent of the health insurance policies. Finally, as a result of the CSED's efforts in the medical enforcement area, the CSED believed that the Montana Medicaid program may realize annual savings between $2 and $3 million.

Lessons Learned

• Front-line workers are key. One of the biggest challenges faced during the course of this project was to get "buy-in" from field staff since medical enforcement results were harder to visualize by field staff than collections of money for child support. In an effort to obtain "buy-in," the field procedures for medical enforcement and new screens designed for its automated system were modeled after the already familiar procedures and screens used for income withholding. In addition, the CSED also introduced features in the new medical enforcement screens to appeal to field staff, such as the ability to generate and re-generate documents directly from these screens rather than going through the normal automated document generation process.
• Reduce Complexity. Because NCP medical enforcement was already more complicated than financial enforcement, adding CP enforcement had the potential to increase complexity to an unacceptable level. In a number of areas it became more important to provide simple procedures that worked in most situations, than to require more complicated, always-perfect processes. Some of the areas CSED found it necessary to simplify right away were determination of reasonable cost; application of state NMSN requirements; and identification of employers that did not offer dependent coverage to any employees.
• Modification is huge (successful CP medical enforcement depends on a speedy medical modification process). Practical review and adjustment (modification) procedures are essential for implementing CP enforcement. The availability of a CP enforcement process alone did not lead to increased coverage. The support order must contain - or must be quickly modifiable to contain - a health insurance obligation for the CP as well as the NCP.
• CP employers. The identity of the CP’s employer is an essential data element in the medical enforcement process and must be accommodated by the automated system. During the detailed design, CSED inserted a requirement for the CP’s employer to be added to the database when the NMSN was issued for a CP. This was a paradigm change for the automated system.
• Continued support and training for medical workers must be ongoing. Program resources are needed beyond the initial design and implementation of CP medical enforcement to provide internal support for medical casework on an ongoing basis. Some options considered for providing this support include a medical help desk or hot line for user questions; a centralized medical unit that performs special tasks (e.g., database cleanup; problem identification; etc); or some other direct support to the worker. Also, training must be an ongoing part of CP and NCP medical support enforcement. Training sessions, delivered in a variety of formats, (rather than one-time training) are more effective given the complexity of CP medical support enforcement and allow workers to raise actual case issues.
• System enhancements must consider medical requirements on an ongoing basis. All changes in the automated system must be reviewed to determine how the change will affect, or be affected by, medical processing components. Medical processing has to be a basic and necessary system component.
• Changing the culture will take longer than changing the rules. Although CP medical enforcement may be integrated into the caseload within 12 to 18 months, it will probably take much longer to see a shift in the basic assumptions about child support. The old belief that child support means financial support provided by the NCP is still the underlying philosophy in CSED casework. Workers will need to accumulate a body of positive experience with CP enforcement over time to get their buy-in. Also, new workers need to be taught from the beginning that "current support" means both financial and medical support, and that the CSED enforces both parents’ health insurance obligations.

This 17-month project addressed the 2000 Grant Priority Area 4: Improving Parental Responsibility and Services. It was designed to deal with noncustodial parents (NCPs) who failed to comply with their child support obligations, primarily as a result of a severe substance abuse addiction. The program goal was to increase the amount of collections and frequency of payments.

Partners included the Court, the District Attorney’s Office, the Clerk’s Office, the Detention Center, and the Nevada Employment Assistance Program. The emphasis of the Court wasn’t immediately on payment and arrears amounts, but rather, on sobriety, compliance with treatment, and follow-through on obligations. This was very different from the regular child support calendar since the focus was longer-term and geared toward wellness. The court team played a critical role in motivating obligors to progress in the program. Each member of the team, including the Deputy District Attorney (DDA) was responsible for holding the obligor accountable for his or her behavior and for providing positive affirmation for achievements.

Participants in the program were not expected to work (if unemployed) until they were through the first phase of treatment. The goal in this phase was to detoxify from substances. The majority of participants had been using drugs 15 – 20 years and didn’t have much experience with sobriety. During the second phase of treatment, obligors were expected to begin job readiness and job search activities. Phases 3 and 4 of treatment focused on recovery, skills development, and processing and practicing skills.

The comprehensive program provided judicial supervision and treatment focusing on obligor sobriety and accountability, and utilized sanctions and incentives to help individuals take control of their own recovery. Eligible NCPs, who admitted to a substance abuse problem, were referred to the program by the Child Support Hearing Master. The individual had to sign a consent agreement to release treatment information to the court. Also, the participant and the Hearing Master signed a contract which described the treatment regimen and consequences for non-performance, including the possibility of being held in contempt of court. The program provided ongoing monitoring and supervision including regular drug testing and appearances in court. Referral services consisted of intensive mental health and substance abuse counseling, vocational assessment, job assistance, and aftercare support. To graduate, the participant had to meet all treatment and financial obligations, had to be working, and be drug-free for 6 months.

Findings/Lessons Learned

• Bench warrants for failure to appear in court are an integral part of a Drug Court Program. They are a mechanism used to quickly intervene when the participant has relapsed into drug use. To expedite issuance of bench warrants, the Clerk’s Office agreed to flag and forward bench warrants within 24 hours. The presiding judge agreed to sign the bench warrants and return them to the Clerk’s Office within the same day. And, the DA’s Office agreed to pick up and process Drug Court bench warrants (enter them into the computer system) also within 24 hours of receipt.
• Questioning by the Hearing Master needed to be restructured to elicit an admission of substance abuse as the main reason why the obligor was not working and not paying child support. Asking the obligor if he/she had a problem with substance abuse usually elicited the answer "No, I don’t have a problem with substances." Upon doing a clinical screening on some of these people, it was found that the majority had an extensive history of substance abuse and that they just didn’t consider it a problem. Also, it is recommended to check their criminal history since it is a good indicator of substance abuse problems and also may rule out someone due to history of domestic violence.
• Sanctions and incentives were helpful tools used by the Court to help modify negative behaviors and reward positive behaviors. Non-compliance with the treatment program could result in more frequent Court appearances, more intensive treatment programming, writing assignments ("I will not miss groups" written 500 times and brought to the next Court date), community services hours, and jail time for contempt of court. Achievements were rewarded with a temporary stay on arrears payments, purging of contempt time on the books, positive acclamation by peers and the Drug Court Team, and certificates of achievement presented by the Hearing Master on advancement to the next phase in treatment. And, graduation from the program earned the participant a graduation certificate, a Drug Court T-shirt and poster, and their case taken off the calendar.

Results

Out of 23 people who received some service under the grant, a total of 15 clients had at least 2 months or more of treatment. The data showed that these clients were able to have increased earnings and increased the total amounts paid for child support and arrears while participating in the program compared to 12 months prior to the program.

The Court continued to fund the Child Support Drug Court Program beyond the grant period because of its positive results. (Also, these activities are not eligible for title IV-D program Federal financial participation.) As of March 2003, while the number of participants remained small (averaging about 16), the majority realized significant increases in child support payments (43 percent – 75 percent). Graduates from the program had a 24-percent compliance rate for one year prior to admission, a 72-percent compliance rate while in the program, and a 75-percent compliance rate post program.

This 12-month project addressed 2000 Priority Area 3, concerning review and adjustment processes. The study explored the efficacy of using a Medical Support Facilitator during the review and modification process to determine the most appropriate healthcare coverage (private or public) for a child. The study used a test environment to examine the potential impact of ordering the noncustodial parent (NCP) to meet his or her obligation to provide the Medical Support Facilitator-determined health coverage through the payment of cash medical support to the State Disbursement Unit. A cash medical support guideline was also developed as part of the study. The study examined the feasibility of automating the collection of the medical support obligation through income withholding and distributing the premium payments to either the private provider or to FamilyCare, the State’s public health insurance program. New Jersey wanted to automate the process as much as possible so that the system established requires the NCP to make all payments through the State Disbursement Unit and any missed payments would be collected through automated collections remedies.

Project Findings

The study concluded that performance in medical support establishment can be enhanced through improved review and adjustment of support order processes. The enhanced performance was obtained through automated process efficiencies. Implementation of the proposed medical support guideline developed during the study and of the proposed review and modification procedures would garner the following key benefits:

• Increased medical support establishment on review and adjustment cases;
• Streamlined processes for establishing medical support orders;
• Increased percentage of cases with medical support orders;
• Increased proportion of cases complying with medical support orders;
• Automated enforcement of medical support orders;
• Enhanced communication and cooperation between the IV-D agency and FamilyCare; and
• Increased enrollment in FamilyCare.

The study indicated that cash medical support orders ease enforcement burdens significantly because they allow for greater consistency in enforcement through automated means.

To review the final report, see DCL-03-10, April 23, 2003 at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cse/pol/DCL/2003/dcl-03-10.htm

New Jersey subsequently applied for and received a Section 1115 grant, “The In-Court Facilitator Project,” which ran from 10/1/2002 through 8/31/2003. For a summary of that project, see “Summary of Medical Support Demonstration Findings,” DCL-07-28, September 24, 2007, at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cse/pol/DCL/2007/dcl-07-28.htm. The idea for an In-Court Facilitator Project grew out of findings from the Feasibility Study SIP grant.

(NOTE: Includes Findings from the Final Report)

Project Plan

This grant responded to 2003 Priority Area 4: Expanding Customer Service through Agency-Initiated Contact. A large percentage of delays in children receiving their child support were due to missed appointments, forgotten hearings, and delinquent support payments. This project planned to use automated dialing as a non-confrontational means of reminding both custodial and non-custodial parents of upcoming appointments and payments due without the involvement of CSE staff. The project sought to reduce the number of missed appointments and delinquency payments, and increase payments due on support orders and the rate of collections among the approximately 44,000 clients served in the State.

The project used a "PhoneTree 3500" automated dialing product based out of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The automated dialing system has three components: 1) Non-custodial parents were called and reminded of upcoming appointments with the child support agency and court hearings up to three days in advance; 2) Non-custodial parents were called with a reminder that the first payment will be due on new child support order, and on an initial delinquency on a new order; and 3) Custodial parents were called and reminded of upcoming appointments with the child support agency.

Project Findings

The project monitored call volume through the use of North Carolina's Data Warehouse System, and showed an average of 1,877 calls per day or 59,345 calls per month. Between August 2003 and November 2004, statewide appointment attendance showed an increase from 56% to 61%. Statewide hearing attendance rose slightly, from 85% to 87%, for the same period. Between August 2003 and December 2004, delinquencies on new orders that were resolved within 30 days rose from 31% to 38%. The project also received positive feedback from local offices regarding increased court appearances by non-custodial parents.

The project did not evaluate cost-effectiveness; however, the automated dialing product's cost was exceeded by the increased amount of collections brought in. The software cost only approximately $16,000, yet there were unforeseen increased costs to the State due to the need for additional staff at the customer service center to answer follow-up phone calls generated by the automated calls.

The project plans to continue the established automated dialing protocol, and is proposing the following enhancements: 1) Calls to all non-custodial parents with cases in delinquency/enforcement status for more than 60 days; 2) Calls to all non-custodial parents with cases in delinquency/locate status for more than 60 days; and 3) Calls to custodial parents with cases in locate status for more than 60 days to obtain updated information about the non-custodial parent.

Lessons Learned

Best practices and lessons learned by the project include: prepare the database with as many updated and missing phone numbers as possible; have procedures in place to correct incorrect phone numbers in the database; eliminate unnecessary data from the batch files that are downloaded to the automated dialer, i.e., social security number and date of birth are not needed for reminder calls; save data for six months on CDs.

Note: The May 2004 Child Support Report contains an article on the NC Automated System - http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cse/pubs/2004/csr/csr0406.html

This grant responded to 2001 Priority Area 4: Projects which Further Outreach to Latino/Hispanic Community. The Yakima Division of Child Support (DCS) focused on: exploration of the barriers to effective service and consumer education and communication projects. Their goal was to provide more accessible and culturally relevant services to the significant proportion of Hispanic community members who lived within the catchment area (eastern Washington Valley). This area experienced a large increase in its Hispanic population (farm workers and related industries as well as seasonal and migrant workers) in Yakima and eight small communities. Within this area, families were often of limited English proficiency (largely Mexican descent), and experienced profound social, cultural, and economic transitions. The language barrier, low income, and the technicalities of the child support enforcement system required significant outreach efforts to build trust within this culture and in dispersed communities.

Community leaders, or Madrinas, were recruited to serve as the core strategy to work with this population and provide information to increase their access to child support and related social services. The role of Madrinas is that of godparents within Hispanic culture.

Training

Fourteen volunteers were selected from among already highly respected community members. Extensive training, over 100 hours, was provided. All presentations and materials were in English and Spanish. Training included:

• The child support enforcement system and services.
• Disclosure and confidentiality policies.
• Parental rights and obligations.
• Dispute resolution (mediation, phone conciliation, meeting facilitation, negotiation, etc.).
• Enforcement and role of the courts.
• Notary public certification.
• Working with interpreters.

Seven volunteers received an additional specialized family mediation training which involved 40 hours of training and approximately 100 hours of internship over 12 months preparing for examination and certification.

Media Campaign

An extensive media campaign was undertaken. In addition to newspaper and newsletter articles, interviews with the project coordinator and Madrinas were presented by local television news stations and by the local Spanish language radio station. The radio station also provided ongoing public service announcements in Spanish describing the new project and outreach efforts by the Yakima DCS.

Volunteer Outreach

Throughout the project, the Madrinas appeared with the project coordinator at community activities, events, and public forums to discuss child support processes and develop referrals for services. Presentations were made at local celebrations such as Cinco de Mayo, community and church events, and in public forums held in small rural communities in the Yakima Valley. Volunteers answered questions, gave people educational materials in Spanish, and made referrals to child support services, when appropriate.

Summary of Findings (from the Final Report)

This project demonstrated a significant increase in the level of awareness, access, involvement, and support for the child support enforcement program by the targeted Hispanic community. Ongoing reports and updates to State staff increased understanding of how best to work with community members.

In addition, the project helped the State DCS identify barriers in reaching this community:

• The stigma of receiving public services.
• Fear of government agencies, especially for undocumented immigrants.
• Language difference.
• Cultural reluctance to request assistance.

The Madrina Project received a total of 140 client contacts during the project period. Client contacts ranged from educating clients on child support services and collection processes to arranging referrals to other organizations.

From April 2001 through September 2002, the Madrina Project provided 24 non-public assistance Spanish applications from DCS services upon the clientsÂ’ request. Client requests were received by phone or in person.

• Of the 24 new applications, 16 were returned by the clients and opened as new non-assistance cases.
• Of the 16 cases, most had a child support order established and collection actions were taken. The average child support obligation was $300.60 per month for these cases. One case was closed as the parties reconciled.

The Madrina Project also provided family mediation service referrals to the Dispute Resolution Center of Yakima and Kittitas Counties (DRC). Of the 9 referrals, 7 were DCS cases, 5 of which made regular consistent monthly support payments.

Since the project was implemented, there has been an increased DCS presence in the community by project staff and the Madrinas. They have reported the following observations from their experience during the project:

• A decrease in fear of DCS services by Hispanic community members.
• An increase in confidence and trust in DCS services.
• An increase in customer satisfaction with the services they do receive.

Lessons Learned/Recommendations for Continued Improvement

• Provide ongoing refresher training for community volunteers.
• Distinguish between DCS and financial assistance (WorkFirst) services to reduce stigma attached to using government agencies for assistance.
• Be especially attentive to the issue of illiteracy. Clients often will not admit they are unable to read - prepare materials accordingly and encourage other family members to become resources for those who are illiterate.
• Ensure that employees treat clients with respect and warmth, especially at first contact (reception staff).
• Continue to hand out cards with DCS contact names and phone numbers at community events and in daily interactions with friends, neighbors, co-workers, and clients.

This 17-month grant responded to 2001 Priority Area 3: "Improving Child Support Orders, Collections, and Job Program Referrals for Low-Income Fathers." The State of Washington’s Division of Child Support (DCS) project was to study outreach strategies for incarcerated noncustodial parents (NCPs). DCS partnered with two other agencies, the Washington Department of Corrections (DOC) and the Washington Employment Security Department (ESD). DCS proposed to increase child support payments from a group which traditionally did not pay child support regularly, if at all. ESD wanted to help NCPs who had recently been released from prison become employed as quickly as possible, and DOC wanted to decrease recidivism rates.

Project partners believed that inappropriately high child support orders and excessive child support arrearages might combine to create a disincentive to paying support upon the NCPs’ release from prison. That, combined with employment barriers commonly faced by recently released inmates, might lead to higher rates of recidivism. In an effort to improve child support payment rates and employment, the project partners studied two outreach methods, low effort and high effort (described below), to determine if either produced significantly different results.

Project Findings (from the Final Report)

A key component of both outreach methods was the child support information video created specifically for this project. Project partners designed the child support information video to achieve two purposes -- to answer common questions that inmates have about child support issues, and to invite inmates to work with DCS and ESD to assist with their child support cases and with obtaining employment upon release.

In addition to using the video in the Project, the partners shared it with other States’ child support programs. Project staff received very positive feedback from some States. For example, several counties in California requested a copy for use in their outreach programs.

DOC showed the video to approximately 10,000 inmates during the project period. DOC estimates that about 30 percent of incarcerated individuals have children. During the project (June 2001 through December 2002), DCS received 1,531 contact letters from inmates who had seen the information video.

Low-Effort Outreach

Under the low-effort outreach approach, DCS reviewed the child support cases of all 1,531 NCPs and sent each NCP a response with information about his or her individual situation with recommendations for actions to pursue, and the forms necessary to initiate the recommendation. DCS generally recommended that the NCPs seek to modify their child support obligations prospectively, to request a hearing on an administrative notice, or to request that DCS write off arrearages owed to the State of Washington. ESD also reviewed the inmate’s situation and sent the NCP information and advice regarding employment options upon release.

High-Effort Outreach

The high-effort outreach method added an in-person meeting with the incarcerated NCP. Each month during the project, DCS selected, based on release date and particular child support issues, a group of NCPs for a one-on-one meeting. Staff from DCS and EDS met with the inmates to explain their child support cases and the options available for their individual situations. DCS also explained how to complete the necessary forms and other information required for initiating the recommended changes to the NCPs’ child support cases. ESD staff met with the NCPs to explain what employment resources were available to them upon release and to provide them with specific information about whom to contact at an employment assistance agency.

Results

Of the 1,531 incarcerated NCPs in the project: 59 inmates had no child support case and 1,472 inmates contacted DCS. The number of inmates who initiated action was 525: 59 NCPs initiated under the low-effort method and 466 initiated under the high-effort method.

The results were mixed. The grant compared the NCPs’ responses to both outreach methods. For the low-effort outreach, about 34 percent of inmates responded, and for the high-effort method, about 64 percent responded. The impact on both arrears and order amount was greater (i.e., decreases in average arrears owed and decreases in monthly order amounts) for those NCPs who responded than the NCPs who did not respond. By contrast, the State noted more improvement in payment rates among NCPs who did not respond than those who did respond. The reason for this difference is unknown. Other unmeasured variables may have impacted the outcomes for this project, including the length of time to process an NCP request, whether the order met modification criteria, and whether or not the arrears were owed to the State of Washington and were eligible for write off.

Also, ESD was able to offer employment services only to a small number of recently released NCPs (13 in the low-effort group sample and 5 in the entire high-effort group). As the project progressed, Welfare-to-Work (WtW) agencies lost funding and were less able – sometimes unable to offer these services than originally anticipated in the project proposal. Those NCPs who received a WtW referral had more quarters of employment overall (average 1.09 quarters) than those NCPs who did not receive WtW services (average .41 quarters). However, there were too few NCPs who received WtW services to create a statistically significant population.

Lessons Learned/Recommendations

The differences between the high-effort group and low-effort group (and within those groups the NCPs who responded or didn’t respond) made it difficult to draw firm conclusions. In order to draw conclusions upon which reasonable decisions can be made, it was suggested that any further studies include a larger group of incarcerated NCPs and that their cases be studied for a longer period of time. Especially in a study of child support payment rates, the fact that inmates generally spend multiple years in prison makes it necessary to conduct a longer term study.

Project partners further recommend that other studies include collection of demographic data, such as work history, education, number of children in different families, and recidivism rates.

For States considering creating a new outreach program or modifying an existing program, the project revealed several factors that can contribute to the success of an outreach program:

• Establish a good working partnership between the child support agency and the corrections agency and other associated partners.
• Place outreach emphasis in an intake institution, if possible.
• Devote sufficient resources to the follow-up activities.
• Find ways to increase communication between NCP and child support staff, such as toll free telephone numbers or allowing the NCP to place collect calls to the child support agency.