Publications - Child Support

When child support guidelines were initially drafted, it was assumed that in most instances, the lesser-time parent would be the father, the father would see the children infrequently, and the father would have a higher income than the mother. Today, more custodial parents are male than before, the wage gap between mothers and fathers has Read More

Many fathers who participate in fatherhood programs do not live with all of their children. They often seek help from fatherhood programs to navigate the child support system, determine how they can spend more time with their children, or improve their coparenting relationships. Unfortunately, it can be quite complicated for programs to provide this assistance, Read More

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

Final report submitted to the Colorado Department of Human Service’s Division of Child Support Enforcement. Findings include strategies for early intervention and recommendations for simplifying modification procedures. Conducted in Denver and Pueblo, two large urban counties, Colorado’s Section 1115 demonstration grant aimed to improve child support payments and reduce arrears by utilizing early intervention strategies 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

This brief reviews some of the ways in which federal, state, and local initiatives in the U.S. have attempted to ensure that father involvement is reflected in programs and policies dealing with children and families. The examples provided are not comprehensive but cover much of the national activity that exists at the state level and illustrate the various ways in which 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