Publications - Core Program Services

The Generational Opportunities to Achieve Long-Term Success program (GOALS), takes a two-generation (2Gen) approach to improve the overall wellbeing of families experiencing homelessness by enhancing self-sufficiency through residentially-based whole family services (parent, child and family). GOALS serves families primarily from the City of Aurora, Colorado, and Arapahoe County, Colorado, who are eligible for or currently Read More

Responding to the Great Recession’s negative impact on the financial security of non‐custodial parents, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) and the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court (the Court) set out to streamline the child support modification process. “Developing and Testing a Streamlined Modification Process for Newly Unemployed Obligors”, Grant #90FD0157, supported efforts to accomplish Read More

This Office of Child Support Enforcement Special Improvement Project was undertaken to examine the features of effective debt compromise programs and to generate empirical information on the outcomes they produce. To identify best practices, the Center for Policy Research (CPR) convened a two-day conference in June 2009 with representatives of eight states that have experience Read More

On June 15-16, 2009, staff of the Center for Policy Research facilitated a meeting in Washington, D.C. to discuss concrete issues that states and local child support agencies must address in the design and implementation of debt compromise programs. The meeting involved representatives of debt compromise programs in the following state and local jurisdictions: California Read More

Oregon’s Interactive Parenting Plan (IPP) is the first comprehensive, interactive tool created to generate customized parenting plans. It is the result of a joint effort of many stakeholders, including representatives of the court, the child support program, the private bar, mediators, community organizations serving families with safety issues, and experts in the field of child Read More

In 2013, the Colorado Department of Human Services, Division of Child Support Services (CSS) underwent a name change from Child Support Enforcement to Child Support Services. Along with this shift in name, a shift in perspective and priorities took place. Child Support Services began a transformation in agency culture towards a family-centered approach. As part Read More

In 2012, the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement made “Parenting Time Opportunities for Children” (PTOC) grant awards to five states. The grants were intended to: …improve the financial and emotional support of children in the child support system by increasing safe opportunities for them to build relationships with both parents. The parenting time grants Read More

Federal regulations require each state to establish one set of child support guidelines that courts and hearing officers should apply as a rebuttal presumption in any judicial or administrative proceeding for the award of child support. Statewide guidelines encourage consistency in child support award amounts among similarly situated parties and provide predictable amounts to parents. Read More

With nearly 40 percent (39.7%) of all births occurring to unwed parents, and unmarried parents making up over half of the child support caseload nationally (Pontisso, 2009), it is more important than ever for child support agencies to reach unmarried parents around the time of the birth of their babies to communicate important messages about Read More

The child support and child welfare project was undertaken to improve collaboration between sister agencies in multiple jurisdictions. The Center for Policy Research of Denver, Colo., with grant funding from the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement, conducted two meetings in Washington, D.C., in 2006 and 2007 to bring together top-level managers and other key representatives of child welfare and child support Read More