Court Order Parent Education

Funded by the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), the Court Order Parent Education (COPE) Project provided parents establishing child support orders with a brief informational orientation to their court orders. The project was conducted by the Child Support Division of the Texas Office of the Attorney General (OAG) in collaboration with the Domestic Relations Office (DRO) and IV-D courts in Harris County and Travis County, Texas. DROs provide investigation, mediation, coordination, and enforcement services to local courts and constituents and were retained to conduct the orientation sessions for COPE.

The goal of the project was to improve customer satisfaction and increase voluntary compliance with court orders. The mechanism used to inform litigants about their orders was a brief, live presentation conducted at the court immediately prior to negotiation sessions and court hearings to establish paternity and/or child support orders. It covered the nature of the child support order, visitation rights and standard possession orders, and medical support. Presenters also distributed information about relevant community resources.