Child Support Awareness Month: A Look at How Child Support is - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Child Support Awareness Month: A Look at How Child Support is Evolving August 17, 2016

National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse  DHHS / ACF Office of Family Assist ance funded nat ional resource t o support fat hers and families.  Resources are available for dads, fat herhood programs, researchers, and policy makers.  Visit t he NRFC: www.fat herhood.gov.  www.fat herhood.gov/ toolkit for Responsible Fat herhood Toolkit .  www.fat herhood.gov/ webinars for archives of all our webinars.  Cont act us: info@ fat herhood.gov.  Encourage fat hers or pract it ioners t o cont act our nat ional call cent er t oll- free at 1-877-4DAD411 (877-432-3411).  Engage wit h us via social media: Facebook: Fat herhoodgov Twitter: @ Fat herhoodgov Toll-free: 877-4DAD411 (877-432-3411) | Fax: 703-934-3740 | info@ fatherhood.gov | www.fatherhood.gov Lisa Washingt on-Thomas, NRFC COTR, lwashingt on-t homas@ acf.hhs.gov Kennet h Braswell, NRFC Proj ect Direct or, kennet h.braswell@ gmail.com Pat rick Pat t erson, NRFC Proj ect Manager, pat rick.pat t erson@ icfi.com

Our Goals Today Today’s webinar will share informat ion about :  How nat ional and local child support policies and approaches are evolving.  How child support order amount s are set , and how t hey can be modified when circumst ances change.  Ways in which fat herhood programs and child support agencies can work t oget her t o ensure t hat fat hers have:  Access t o employment services.  Accurat e informat ion about child support .  Help wit h modificat ion of orders and arrearages as appropriat e.  Examples of successful local part nerships bet ween fat herhood programs and child support offices.

Today’s Presenters  James Murray Office of Child S upport E nforcement W ashington, DC.  Kelly Little Mecklenburg County Child S upport E nforcement Charlotte, NC.  Cheri Tillis and Lisl King Williams Fathers S upport Center t. Louis, MO . S

Child Support Awareness Month: A Look at How Child Support is Evolving James Murray Senior Advisor, OCSE j ames.murray@ acf.hhs.gov August 17, 2016

6 Our Mission Enhance t he well-being of children by assuring t hat assist ance in obt aining support — financial and medical— is available t o children t hrough: Monit oring Est ablishing Locat ing Est ablishing and S upport Parent s Pat ernit y Enforcing Obligat ions Obligat ions

7 The Child S upport Program  Federal, st at e, and t ribal child support agencies work t oget her t o collect and dist ribut e child support payment s and provide healt h care coverage.  Serves 1 in 5 children —and bot h parent s.  Collect s $32 billion annually, wit h nearly 95 percent paid t o families.  Ensures children receive reliable financial support .  Encourages bot h parent s t o be involved in t heir children’s lives.  Has a posit ive effect on children’s life out comes.  Avoids public assist ance cost s.  Collect s $5.26 for every public dollar spent .

8 Federal Functions • Provide policy guidance, t raining and t echnical assist ance. • Operat e t he Federal Parent Locat or S ervice – import ant t ools for locat e & enforcement . • Collaborat e wit h ot her agencies and organizat ions for child and family welfare. • Operat e federal enforcement remedies such as federal t ax refund offset and passport denial. • Oversee demonst rat ion grant s and special improvement proj ect s grant s. • Administ er Access and Visit at ion program.

9 S tate and Tribal Functions Est ablish pat ernit y Locat e Review & adj ust noncust odial Est ablish orders orders parent s Cooperat e in Monit or & int ergovernment al Collect support dist ribut e enforcement collect ions

Child S upport is Evolving Welfare Cost Recovery Family Centered Practices   Recovering welfare cost s Reliable payment s   Assigning and ret aining Family dist ribut ion   Imput ing income Accurat e, act ual income   Aut omat ed, st andardized Caseload segment at ion for enforcement processes t ailored approaches   Debt as mot ivat ion t o pay Debt prevent ion/ compromise   Incarcerat ion as consequence Services t o remove barriers of nonpayment cont ribut ing t o nonpayment   Financial support main focus Involvement -balanced focus

Family-Centered Child Support Strategies Child Support Prevention Engagement Family Violence of Fathers Collaboration from Birth CSE Core Mission Locate Parents Establish Paternity Establish Orders Collect Support Economic Health Care Stability Coverage Healthy Family Relationships

What does family-centered child support mean? The goal is t o increase regular support for children, by: • Engaging bot h parent s. • S et t ing and modifying orders based on abilit y t o pay. • Paying all of t he money t o children. • Implement ing debt management. • Using less adversarial disput e resolut ion. • Jobs not j ail--using cont empt and j ail sparingly. • Coordinat ing wit h employment and ot her services. • Addressing co-parent ing and parent ing t ime. • Addressing domest ic violence. 12

13 OCS E Fatherhood Initiatives 1996 1997 2000 2003 2008 2010 2012 Employment 2012 - 2017

Benefits of Paternity Establishment  Identity.  Parental Bond.  Legal Rights.  Extended Family.  Benefits and S ervices.

Tips for Fatherhood Programs  Reach out t o your local child office.  Meet wit h child support st aff t o discuss mut ual goals.  Invit e a child support represent ative t o t alk t o your st aff, provide t raining, answer quest ions.  Invit e t hem t o make regular present ations t o your fat her groups.  Look t o develop a deeper part nership relat ionship:  Referrals t o fat herhood program.  Help wit h quest ions from fat herhood st aff and part icipants.  Assist ance wit h order modificat ions, et c.

S hare the Message  Child support program and pract ices are evolving.  Child support can play a powerful role in helping t o st rengt hen— not erode— family income, work part icipat ion, and relat ionships.  Implement ing parent -focused innovat ions:  Building relat ionships.  Individualized case management .  Personalized communication.  Emphasis on parent ing.  Employment and wrap-around services.  Welcoming opport unit ies t o collaborat e and part ner.

Child Support Awareness Month: A Look at How Child Support is Evolving Kelly R. Lit t le, MBA/ MS L, AMC Mecklenburg Count y Child S upport Int ake S upervisor Responsible Fat herhood and Mom as Gat eway Init iat ive Kelly.Lit t le@ MecklenburgCount yNC August 17, 2016

Holistic Service Delivery Emotional, Physical, and Financial “High Performance as the goal: How we achieved organizational excellence and changed our culture.”  The ownership to transform the culture of Child Support started with the decision to recognize our most valuable resource, “our children.”  The culture shift begins with the creation of a Progressive Vision, True Communication, and Clear Expectations.

Expanded Role of Child Support

S trengthening Families  Responsible Fatherhood Initiative.  Mom as Gateway, not Gatekeeper.  Positive Parenting Program Collaboration.  Community Outreach Activities.  Preventing the Need for Child Support.  Collaboration with DSS and Stakeholders.  Performance Monitoring.

Strengthening Families

Strengthening Families Our Responsible Fatherhood Initiative:  Educat es fat hers.  Assist s wit h employment opport unit ies.  Improves relat ionships.  Leverages parent ing skills t hrough “ Triple P .”  Helps fat hers navigat e t he complicat ed maze of communit y resources.  Provides Quart erly Noncust odial Parent Orient at ions.  Includes Expungement clinics.

Strengthening Families Responsible Fatherhood Initiative (RFI) Outreach A customer’s experience after an RFI Outreach event “I just wanted to write and thank you once again for the great assistance. It is amazing that I learned and accomplished more in an hour with you then in three years with everyone else. I really appreciate it and wish I had met with you originally. Thanks for the common courtesy, professionalism, and education you provided. Unfortunately not everyone gives those core fundamentals of business. I cannot express how drastic of a change in service I experienced with you rather that the previous times where I was treated unfairly, prejudged, and more. Once again thank you, thank you, thank you.” Mecklenburg County Child Support Enforcement Customer

Strengthening Families Mom as Gateway Initiative (MAGI)  Studies show that mother's perceptions greatly influence father's involvement; therefore mothers are a key factor for getting fathers involved. When both parents can effectively co- parent, their children benefit greatly.  Through MAGI, we work with mothers who are child support customers. We use a National Fatherhood Initiative curriculum to explore:  Mothers’ protective instincts.  Beliefs about fathers’ involvement in their children’s lives.  Parents’ impact on children’s well-being.  Importance of co-parenting.