In April, the National Child Support Program (NCSP) published the National Child Support Strategic Plan for 2015-2019 (“Plan”). The Plan emphasizes five principles the NCSP believes are required to create a successful and efficient child support program. Along with the five principles, the Plan also discusses 25 goals and over 100 strategies that are currently being used by child support agencies around the nation to meet these goals.
The five overarching principles assert that effective, high-performing child support programs:
- Have a Families First mentality by partnering with parents to encourage regular support payments.
- Use Case-Specific Tools to meet the specific needs of each case.
- Incorporate the use of Modern Technology.
- Utilize Resourceful Leadership to garner the necessary resources to achieve the program’s mission.
- Are Evidence-Based.
The NCSP is made up of state, tribal, and county child support programs, along with the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement. The goal of the Plan is to “promote economic, health, and social well-being for individuals, families, and communities, promote the healthy development and safety of children, and support underserved and underrepresented populations.”
Below is a table that lists the principles along with some of their goals and strategies. To see a full list, please visit National Child Support Program Goals FY 205-2019.
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Principles |
Goals |
Strategies |
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Families First |
Address the changing needs of modern families. |
Increase coordination between child support and parenting time procedures. |
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Increase no-cost access to genetic testing and identify other best practices related to genetic testing policies and procedures. |
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Set income-based orders that reflect the parent’s ability to pay. |
Base support orders on income and other evidence of ability to pay, and limit the routine use of imputed income and presumed orders. |
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Develop caseworker protocols for forming a factual basis for child support order amounts. |
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Case-Specific Tools |
Intervene early to build compliance and payment consistency. |
Engage parents early in the establishment process to allow the caseworker to explain the process, build relationships, obtain information about the parents’ circumstances, make needed service referrals, and avoid default orders. |
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Monitor compliance, identify changes in payment patterns, and take prompt steps to avoid missed payments and debt build-up, such as contacting the parent to ask about missed payments and to identify payment barriers. |
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Improve intergovernmental case processing. |
Establish lines of communication and cross-train between state and tribal staff. |
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Assess the benefits of establishing specialized staff to manage intergovernmental cases. |
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Modern Technology |
Replace obsolete state technology. |
Maintain a high priority on data security, increasing awareness and training. |
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Make enhancements in existing state systems to meet modern business needs. |
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Enhance online customer service. |
Make effective and appropriate use of social media to increase family awareness and engagement. |
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Create and maintain communication modes that support appropriate language access. |
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Resourceful Leadership |
Educate the public about the child support programs. |
Provide child support program information to schools, youth engagement programs, and parenting prevention programs. |
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Identify needed investments, including technology and staffing, to increase program effectiveness and efficiency, and demonstrate return on investment. |
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Increase community and advocacy support for the program. |
Attend community events to engage with families and organizations. |
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Assign dedicated staff to community outreach. |
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Evidence-Based |
Dedicate needed resources for research. |
Support creation of a national child support research fund. |
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Encourage other federal agencies to increase child support-related research. |
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Examine existing policies and practices to determine whether they result in consistent payments for families. |
Analyze labor market trends affecting low-wage workers. |
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Study the effect of default procedures and standard use of income imputation in establishing obligations. |
Along with the NCSP strategic plan, the Michigan Child Support Program has also been focusing on the direction and program goals for the state. Michigan’s current plan, which has already been in place for three years, discusses seven principles that encompass and expand on the NCSP’s five principles, including an additional principle regarding parenting time. Instead of having multiple goals for each principle, Michigan’s principles each have a specific goal with multiple strategies of how to achieve that goal.
Below is a table that lists the principles, the goal associated with each principle, and a couple suggested strategies.
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Principles |
Goals |
Strategies |
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Business Process |
Process cases in a way that provides effective, efficient, and holistic child support services. |
Examine current business processes to streamline services and eliminate redundancy. |
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Provide processes that empower child support professionals to be flexible and proactive. |
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Support Payment |
Improve collections, especially on cases with inconsistent payment histories. |
Use data to analyze and understand our caseloads and to influence strategies to improve case management. |
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Implement early education and intervention programs for payers. |
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Customer Service |
Deliver services to the public in an engaging, effective, and accessible manner. |
Gather information to better understand the population, and use this in developing effective customer service. |
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Develop outreach/education strategies for parents and custodians to understand and navigate the child support program. |
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Parenting Time |
Promote healthy family relationships through parental engagement. |
Identify and enact methods for engaging fathers in their children’s lives. |
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Identify and collaborate with schools and community resources to educate the public on the responsibilities of parenting. |
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Staff Education and Outreach |
Foster a culture of excellence in which Michigan child support professionals work as a team. |
Encourage and promote local collaboration. |
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Identify and provide leadership development opportunities. |
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Funding and Resources |
Secure stable and sufficient funds to provide excellent services to Michigan’s families. |
Review mandates and services to improve cost-effectiveness. |
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Identify optimal funding and staffing needs for Michigan’s child support program. |
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Technology |
Use innovative technology to enhance customer service and improve business practices. |
Enhance existing and implement new self-service tools. |
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Engage and collaborate with technology partners to evaluate emerging trends. |
Michigan is already ahead of the curve on many of the national goals. For example, the NCSP wants to address the changing needs of modern families. Michigan’s plan is one step ahead, with the goal of requiring more specific parenting time at establishment. Additionally, the Michigan legislature has already passed a bill allowing for speedier paternity through genetic testing. Steve Capps, Director of the Friend of the Court Bureau adds, “A handful of states, including Michigan, tried using problem solving techniques to collect child support, but Michigan is unique in creating a fusion of techniques used in enforcing child support, applying problem solving approaches, and applying child welfare approaches to strengthening the family. By fusing these techniques, Michigan courts can offer families the type of support they need to obey court orders, while removing barriers that might find them entering other parts of the justice system.”
Another goal set by the NCSP is to intervene early to build compliance and payment consistency. Many counties in Michigan already have early intervention programs in place and are currently testing the effectiveness of these programs. While the NCSP’s goal is to set income-based orders that reflect the parent’s ability to pay, the Michigan Child Support Formula and OCS policy already address proper use of imputation when determining potential income and looking at ability to pay. Furthermore, when office resources are available, Michigan conducts child support reviews when credible evidence of a change in circumstances exist, even if the change is not substantial.
NCSP also suggests that child support programs enhance online customer service. Michigan’s MiChildSupport website allows parents to apply for or finish child support applications online and view their child support case information (see Van Buren County Embraces Customer Use of MiChildSupport for more information). Where the NCSP wants to increase community and advocacy support for the program, Michigan pilot programs like ADAPT, Ottawa (see 20th Circuit - Ottawa County - Helping Parents Stay Employed ), and other current outreach programs are already being done by many counties.
Both the NCSP and Michigan’s plan have the same overarching goal: to increase the performance and functionality of the child support program. Based on their plans, it appears both programs are on the same path, and are headed toward success. For more information on the strategic plans, contact Paul Gehm at the Friend of the Court Bureau at 517-373-5975.
