Child Support Fact Sheet Series

Promoting Child Well-Being & Family Self-Sufficiency

The Promoting Child Well-Being & Family Self-Sufficiency Fact Sheet Series discusses how and why the child support program provides innovative services to families across six interrelated areas to assure that parents have the tools and resources they need to support their children and be positively involved in raising them. The series highlights examples of the family-centered approach that child support programs are undertaking to successfully serve all 17.5 million children in the program, representing one in four children in the country.

Family-Centered Innovations Improve Child Support Outcomes (344KB PDF)
Preventing the Need for Child Support (423KB PDF)
Engagement of Fathers from Birth (430KB PDF)
Economic Stability (380KB PDF)
Healthy Family Relationships (381KB PDF)
Health Care Coverage (425KB PDF)
Family Violence Collaboration (430KB PDF)
Military Services and Child Support Partnerships (540KB PDF)
Ending Homelessness Among Veterans: OCSE-VA-ABA Collaboration Project (540KB PDF)
Partner with the Child Support Program to Raise Awareness about Responsibilities of Parenthood (515KB PDF)
Improving Child Support Outcomes through Employment Programs (512KB PDF) New

PAID (Project to Avoid Increasing Delinquencies)

The Project to Avoid Increasing Delinquencies Fact Sheet Series continues the long-running PAID Initiative. Child support is a critical part of family income, making up 40 percent of household income for poor families that receive it. OCSE started the PAID Initiative in 2006 to renew emphasis on child support activities that increase the collection of current support and prevent and reduce arrears so child support will be a reliable source of income for more families. The series shares research and innovations in the core child support functions of locating parents, establishing paternity and child support orders, and collecting support in order to promote stable child support payments throughout childhood.

Establishing Realistic Child Support Orders: Engaging Noncustodial Parents (453KB PDF) New
Providing Expedited Review and Modification Assistance (472KB PDF) New
Access to Justice Innovations (565KB PDF) New
Realistic Child Support Orders for Incarcerated Parents (487KB PDF) New
"Voluntary Unemployment," Imputed Income, and Modification Laws and Policies for Incarcerated Noncustodial Parents (317KB PDF) New
(This chart, which reviews practices, laws, and policies in different jurisdictions, is a companion to the
"Realistic Child Support Orders for Incarcerated Parents" fact sheet, PAID fact sheet No. 4.)

The Story Behind the Numbers

The Story Behind the Numbers Fact Sheet Series takes a closer look at data collected by state, tribal and federal agencies relevant to the child support program. This ongoing series presents the results of data analyses to better understand child support program performance and caseload trends. Through a deeper understanding of the story behind the numbers, the series aims to inform policy and practice and strengthen program outcomes.

Veterans in the Child Support Caseload (720KB PDF)

Program Innovation Maps

The interactive map series provides information on promising state and local programs or practices designed so that child support is a reliable source of income for families. The series includes three maps which feature programs to ensure that child support orders reflect current earnings at establishment and are modified when earnings change, work-oriented programs for noncustodial parents, and policies to compromise child support debt owed to the state.