Behavioral Interventions for Child Support Services (BICS)

In September 2014, OCSE awarded Section 1115 grants for the BICS project to 8 state child support agencies in California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Ohio, Texas, Vermont, and Washington. In addition, OCSE awarded a grant to Washington to manage the evaluation of the project.

Behavioral Interventions for Child Support Services Demonstration Program (BICS) was a five-year demonstration project that allowed states to explore individual behavior and decision-making ability when it comes to child support. Known as behavioral economics, this approach uses insights from psychology and related fields to explain why and how people act. BICS grantees are testing how strategies from behavioral economics can be used to improve child support services. Note: While the project period for BICS has ended, additional reports are forthcoming.