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ABSTRACT
Child support staff have an array of tools to use when noncustodial parents fail to pay. Drawing on staff interviews, this analysis examines staff perspectives on when and how to enforce; practice transitions; and best practices. Findings indicate that caseworkers have some discretion in selecting and sequencing tools. Discretion helps workers adapt to circumstances, but also leads to differences in parents’ experiences. Over time, agencies have shifted culture and practices to align with family needs. Consequently, staff roles have extended beyond collections into providing services that identify address compliance barriers. Implications for staffing, leadership, services and policy are discussed.
Acknowledgments
The author thanks Maria Cancian for guidance and helpful comments throughout; Deborah Johnson and Dawn Duren for assistance with preparing this report; colleagues at the Bureau of Child Support for advice and assistance; and child support agency staff from selected counties for their time and insights.
Disclosure statement
The author declares that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Practice points
Child support agencies, and the roles of agency staff, are evolving from an enforcement-oriented model towards a more supportive approach to working with families.
Traditional enforcement tools generally work well when noncustodial parents have stable employment and order amounts aligned with earnings, but are less successful when parents have limited income and high-burden orders.
Proactive and personalized case management, connections to supportive services, and order amounts that are reasonable given earnings are promising alternatives for serving struggling families, but require shifts in agency culture and practice.