FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, Jan. 02, 2003
Contact: ACF Public Affairs (202) 401-9215
HHS AWARDS GRANTS FOR CHILD SUPPORT
DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
Secretary Tommy G.Thompson today announced
the awarding of over $2.2 million in grants to twelve states, faith-based,
non-profit
and tribal organizations to further advance the performance of the nation’s
child support enforcement system.
"The Special Improvement Grants (SIP) are part of the ongoing activities
by HHS to enhance the child support program and improve the financial and
emotional well being of children," said Secretary Thompson. "They
are designed to examine new ways to augment child support enforcement services
to increase child support collections, promote fatherhood and healthy marriage,
and help struggling families take care of their children."
Several grants are designed to help
low-income fathers meet their child support and family responsibilities.
Wade F. Horn, assistant
secretary for children and families, said, “It is extremely important
for us to reach out to those who need help in acquiring the skills necessary
to build relationships and be effective parents.”
- The Maryland
Child Support Enforcement Program received $200,000 to, in collaboration
with the Mayor’s
Office, Maryland Department of Corrections, and community-based groups,
test a model approach
to increase employment and incentives for paying current support, for
fathers who are ex-offenders /parolees.
- In Muskegon, Michigan, Family Court Services of the 14th
Judicial Circuit received $199,772 to, in collaboration with the County
Departments of Employment and Training, Corrections and Child Support,
as well as various faith-based and community organizations, help unemployed
fathers by combining employment programs with family counseling and management
of their child support debt.
- The Imperial
Valley Regional Occupational Program’s
Project Dads, in El Centro, California, received $141,858 to, in collaboration
with other agencies, help fathers obtain employment, assist them with
child support order modifications and help them access parental skills
training.
- Three grants
were awarded to faith-based and non-profit organizations and a state agency
to emphasize the importance
of healthy
marriage to a child’s well being.
- The Marriage Coalition, a faith-based organization in
Cleveland Heights, Ohio, received $199,994 to test a curriculum to provide
poor, unmarried parents with knowledge on the importance of establishing
paternity and paying child support or the advantages of a healthy marriage.
- In Allentown, Pennsylvania, the Community Services for
Children, Inc. received $177,374 to provide, in collaboration with local
faith-based organizations, marriage education, employment and other services
to unwed couples involved with Early Head Start or Head Start.
- The Alabama Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board
received $200,000 to provide services to help low-income, ethnically diverse,
unmarried parents learn practical skills to promote healthy marriage,
improve employment and increase paternity establishment rates and child
support payments.
Four grant awards will focus on expanding use of automation
and state best practices to enhance enforcement tools, improve customer
service and increase child support collections.
- South Carolina
received $414,574, on behalf of the Electronic Parent Locator Network/Financial
Institution
Data Match Consortium of
14 states, to develop an on-line means to initiate and respond to state
requests for automated enforcement of interstate cases. This project aims
to expedite and successfully collect past-due child support through seizure,
as necessary, of funds in non-custodial parents’ accounts in financial
institutions located in states other than those where the child support
is owed.
- Colorado was awarded $100,000 to utilize web site technology
to increase customer services by providing parents, employers and caseworkers
the ability to access case data and input data on-line.
- Iowa received $99,090 to enhance its web site to provide
self-access services for its customers to improve its process of qualifying
and applying for child support order modifications.
- North Carolina
received $200,000 to develop an automatic “call-back” telephone
system to remind customers of scheduled appointments and hearings and
also to remind those who have missed payments that they are delinquent – a
proven technique used by private debt collectors.
Two grant awards were made focusing on assistance to tribal
child support programs and enforcement of medical support orders.
- The National American Indian Court Judges Association,
Inc. received $199,887 to conduct a needs assessment and provide technical
assistance and models of child support services to help tribal courts
and agencies implement successful and effective child support programs.
- Montana was
awarded $149,464 to initiate enforcement of the custodial parent’s health insurance coverage, as appropriate;
to decrease public funds spent on children’s medical coverage and
increase the number of cases where premium costs are shared in a balanced
manner between parents.
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Note: All HHS press releases,
fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.
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