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Parenting Time and Co-Parenting for Unmarried Parents
This editorial discusses the special issue which focuses on parents who were not married at the time of their children’s birth. Because their relationships are not covered by marital family law, they do not have the clearly established rights and responsibilities that divorcing parents have following their breakup. The articles in this issue examine the Read More
Issue(s): Child Support
Focus Area(s): Parenting Time & Co-Parenting
Author(s): Jessica Pearson
Keyword(s): child support, co-parenting
Income Available for Child Support: Fact and Fiction in State Child Support Guidelines
The proposed OCSE rule change that requires the use of “actual income” has the potential to increase the use of income information from automated sources when determining support awards. This should reduce the incidence of income imputation, as well as increase the percentage of child support actually paid. The impact of the proposed change, however, Read More
Building Assets for Fathers and Families in Tennessee
Building Assets for Fathers and Families Initiative in Tennessee (BAFF) aimed to improve the economic stability of low‐income families in the child support system by engaging noncustodial parents (NCPs) in financial education, savings activity, and asset‐building activities. Conducted in Shelby County, Tennessee (Memphis), during November 2011 to December 2013, the key project partners were the Tennessee Department of Human Read More
Issue(s): Child Support, Economic Security & Healthcare
Focus Area(s): Family-Centered Interventions, Workforce Innovations & Asset Building
Author(s): Jessica Pearson, Lanae Davis, Nancy Thoennes
Keyword(s): financial education
Toolkit: Workforce Programs for Child Support Populations
This toolkit provides a step-by-step guide to establishing a workforce program for unemployed or underemployed, low-income noncustodial parents (NCPs) in the child support system. It is intended for use by child support agencies interested in developing workforce programs for NCPs who have employment problems and are consequently unable to pay their child support obligations.
Issue(s): Child Support, Economic Security & Healthcare
Focus Area(s): Family-Centered Interventions, Program Innovations, Workforce Innovations & Asset Building
Author(s): Jessica Pearson, Lanae Davis, Nancy Thoennes
Keyword(s): case management, communication, employment, workforce
Integrating Workforce Strategies with Child Support Services
The State of Tennessee Department of Human Services, Child Support Division (CSD) was awarded a strategic planning grant (#90FD0177) from the U.S. Department of Human Services, Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) in September 2011. The project, titled “Integrating Workforce Strategies with Child Support Services,” was a strategic planning effort designed to engage multiple agencies in a collaborative process Read More
Issue(s): Child Support, Economic Security & Healthcare
Focus Area(s): Program Innovations, Workforce Innovations & Asset Building
Author(s): Jessica Pearson, Lanae Davis, Nancy Thoennes
Evaluation of the Tennessee Parent Support Program
In October 2009, the Tennessee Department of Human Services (DHS) was awarded a grant from the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) to develop, implement, and evaluate a program providing employment, parenting time, and case management services to low‐income, unwed parents in the child support program in three Tennessee judicial districts: the 11th (Chattanooga), 20th (Nashville), and 26th Read More
Issue(s): Child Support, Economic Security & Healthcare
Focus Area(s): Family-Centered Interventions, Program Innovations, Workforce Innovations & Asset Building
Author(s): Jessica Pearson, Lanae Davis, Nancy Thoennes
Child Support Guidelines and Guidelines Reviews: State Differences and Common Issues
Since 1989, federal regulations require each state to provide presumptive guidelines (formulas) for determining the amount of child support awards and to review their guidelines at least once every four years. Most states developed and adopted their initial guidelines in the late 1980s. States developed their guidelines based on similar premises and guidelines models and relied on a limited number Read More
Medical Support in Today’s Child Support Guidelines and The Affordable Care Act
First and foremost, this article does not —and cannot— provide a clear direction for medical child support under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) (only Congress and rule makers can). What this article does is describe how states currently address medical support in their child support guidelines and how these provisions compare to ACA provisions. In Read More
Exploring a Child Support Pass-Through Option for Colorado
Colorado has an opportunity to increase the monthly incomes of Colorado Works families as well as improve their paths to self-sufficiency by changing the State’s child support pass-through and disregard policies. Families eligible for Colorado Works, which is Colorado’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, have below-poverty incomes. When a family applies for Colorado Works, any payment toward the monthly Read More
Issue(s): Child Support
Focus Area(s): Core Program Services, Program Innovations
Author(s): Jane Venohr
Keyword(s): child support
Policy Brief: Child Support, Parenting Time, and Safety Concerns
Child Support Program and Parenting Time Orders: Research, Practice, and Partnership Project OCSE has funded some demonstration and evaluation projects and grants in the area of parenting, and some states use funding available through the State Access and Visitation (AV) Program to support parenting time services for unmarried parents in the child support program. However, Read More
Issue(s): Child Support
Focus Area(s): Family-Centered Interventions, Program Innovations
Author(s): Jessica Pearson, Rasa Kaunelis
Keyword(s): child support, parenting time