# Presentation: 515526

## Incarceration and Child Support:

- Working with Incarcerated and Released Parents: Lessons from OCSE Grants and State Programs
- Jessica Pearson, Ph.D.
- Center for Policy Research
- Denver, Colorado 80218
- www.centerforpolicyresearch.org.
- Presented at 16th National CSE Training Conference Workshop: Better Ways of Working with Incarcerated & Released Parents
- Research funded by Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement through Task Order 38  and demonstration and evaluation grants to numerous states including Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts and Texas

## OCSE Projects Dealing with Child Support and Incarceration

- California: (2003-2004) Employment after release (42)
- Colorado** **(1999-2001): Identify inmates, modify orders(898)
- Colorado (1999-2002)Create one-stop for reentry help (350
- Illinois (2002-2004): Modify orders in pre-release(190)
- Mass (2002-2003): Work w/ DOC, modify orders (1200+)
- Minnesota (2001-2003) Reduce inmate arrears (102)
- Missouri (2001-2003) Parenting skills to inmates (400+)
- Texas **(**2002-2004): Child support and reintegration in                          	   prison settings (317)
- Wash DC-Strive (2001-2002) Employment after release (82)
- Wash (2001-2003) Modify inmate orders (1,472)

## The Problem

- No communication/agreements with DOC and other criminal justice agencies to identify, reach and treat inmates
- Courts/CSE treat incarceration as “voluntary unemployment” and not a change of circumstances
- Limited CSE outreach to incarcerated NCPs
- Incarcerated NCPs are uninformed about their child support situation and don’t request a modification
- Review and adjustment procedures are difficult and long
- Arrears & interest charges build during prison
- Ex-offenders face limited employment/earnings options
- Wage attachments & enforcement actions are stiff
- Opportunities for debt leveraging/flexibility are limited
- Child support agencies are burdened with uncollectible debt

## Child Support Arrears Rise During Incarceration

- Without intervention, child support arrears increase about 60% during prison
- With penalties and interest, the increase may be even higher
- 							Mass		Colorado
- 							(n=530)		(n=245)
- Average child support arrears at prison entry	$10,543		$10,249
- Percent of arrears owed to the state		52%		71%
- Average monthly support obligations		$220		$171
- Average arrears owed by parolees		$16,430		$16,651
- Percent increase in arrears during incarceration	56%		63%
- Range in arrears due				$0-306,641	$168-111,622
- Average amount of interest due			$3,932		$0
- Average amount of penalty due			$1,966		$0
- Average total due				$19,371		$16,651

## Common MythsThe inmate says, “I don’t have to pay child support because...” 

- My child support stops when incarceration starts.
- I didn’t know I had a child support order.
- I never signed the birth certificate.
- My family buys diapers for the baby.
- She spends the money on herself.
- She’s on public assistance.
- She won’t let me see my kid.
- Child support won’t be able to find me.

## Partnerships and Collaborations

- Criminal Justice Agencies
- Matching automated databases between DOC and CSE (CO, MA, TX)
- Placing CSE personnel in criminal justice facilities (MA)
- Regular CSE presentations to inmates and parolees (CO, IL, MA, TX, WA)
- CSE brochures, and videos given to DOC personnel (CO, IL, TX, WA)
- Genetic testing in prisons and jails (IL, MA, TX)
- CSE holds one-on-one meetings with inmates (IL, MA, MN, TX, WA)
- CSE trains DOC and parole staff on child support (CO, IL, MA, WA)
- Courts
- Court personnel serve on project advisory board (IL)
- Judges and masters explain child support to inmates in facilities (TX)
- CSE presents information on inmate child support at judges meeting (TX)
- CSE designs affidavits as substitutes for personal appearance (MA, MN)
- CSE designs simplified modification forms for inmate requests (WI)

## Identifying Inmates/Parolees with CSE Issues

- Electronic Match of DOC-CSE Caseloads:
- Colorado: % Inmates known to CSE	26%
-                      % Parolees known to CSE  28%
- Mass:        % Inmates known to CSE  26%
- Texas       % Inmates in State Jails    13%
-     (excluding those needing paternity or order establishment)
- Data matches often miss inmates in county jail, community corrections, etc.
- Problems with aliases, false SSNs, DOBs, dated info on facility or release date
- Key data items: Name, DOB, SSN, Inmate ID, Current Facility, Date Current Incarceration Began, Earliest Projected Release Date

## How to Communicate Child Support Information to Inmates

- Printed brochures and Q/A sheets (TX, WA)
- Videos (WA, MN, TX)
- Columns in inmate newsletter (TX)
- Printed handbook in prison libraries (CO)
- Collect telephone calls/video conference to CSE agencies (MN)
- Live presentations by CSE staff at reception centers, pre-release, pull-out programs (CO, IL, MA, TX, WA)
- Train facility staff but be prepared to address their CSE issues and overcome some resistance
- Use multiple approaches and follow through with actions!

## Expediting Modification Requests

- _If_ granted, modifications take 3.1-7.2 months
- Simplify forms/Use SASE/No notary (Milwaukee, WI)
- “Passive” consent procedures (Los Angeles)
- “Fast-track” inmate requests (IL)
- Accept collect calls to special CSE staff (Minneapolis)
- Affidavit instead of inmate appearance at court (MA)
- Treat incarceration as a change of circumstance
- “$0” orders (reserve orders) for inmates with monthly income of $200 or less with return to pre-incarceration order 60 days after release (Oregon, Milwaukee)
- Modify to standard, minimum order $50-$80 (MA, CO)

## Promoting Family Relationships

- In 2 Houston jails:
- 209 inmates attended 313 group sessions on reintegration The average inmate attended 8.3 sessions
- Sessions dealt with: Personal responsibility, Avoiding destructive behavior, Breaking patterns of abuse and neglect
- Case managers made 2,000 calls to families & agencies for inmates to re-establish communication and obtain services
- Following release:  % reporting no contact with children dropped from 28 to 10%, 87% said they saw their children as frequently or more often than before going to jail
-  In 2 Missouri prisons
- 323 attended Proud Parent (fatherhood) sessions
- 147 began Long Distance Dads classes (12 sessions) with 78 completing
- 335 attended Parents’ Fair Share sessions in workforce readiness
- 327 inmates attended group sessions on child development & parenting
- 20 couples attended Relationship Enrichment Skills Training (3-hour class)
- 57 inmates & 5 couples attended mediation sessions
- Volunteer drivers transported families to prisons for visits

## Employment and Earnings For Ex-Offenders Extremely Limited

- Texas: Only 34% of 253 released jail inmates had any employer-reported earnings 7.5 months following release with mean and median earnings at $695 and $1,482 per quarter
- Illinois: Only 78 of 167 offenders in release programs found jobs earning mean and median salary of $1,102 and $960 per month
- Colorado: Only 1⁄2 of 350 ex-offenders at WFC were employed full time earning an average salary of $9/hour
- Employment  programs for inmates and ex-offenders are often unavailable and ineffective.

## Working with Paroled/Released Offenders

- One-Stop model
- Assistance with employment, child support, housing, transportation etc.
- Occupational skills training, placement help, strong employer outreach
- Child support modification, paternity testing, driver’s license reinstatement
- Higher earnings, better child support payments, reduced rates of return to prison
- 133 Clients of the Denver Work and Family Center (WFC)
- Seen within 90 days of release and potentially out for 12 months
- 						6 mos	6 mos	12 mos
- 		pre WFC	post WFC	post WFC
- Percent employed	43%	77%	71%
- Average earnings _per quarter_ for employed	$3,007	$3,122	$4,110
- Average support paid in 6 and 12 months	$308	$681	$1,247
- Support paid as a percent of support due	17%	39%	38%
- Percent making no payments	60%	25%	26%
- Percent back in prison			29%
- 		(Colorado DOC reported one
- 		year recidivism of 40% in 1999)
- Re-entry Center, Baltimore City, MD., 100 released offenders per day, Multiple partners and funding sources, Co-location, Multiple services, Advocacy on individual and societal levels

## Addressing Child Support Arrears

- Some flexibility in dealing with “hard-to-serve” populations
- Informal procedures to hear complaints and requests re arrears (WA “Conference Boards”)
- Statute in 2001 allowing retroactive modification of arrears accumulated during incarceration for offense other than nonpayment and NCP lacked ability to pay(MN Repeal 1/1/07)
- Regulation (2004) granting CSE flexibility to adjust or settle uncollectible arrears owed to state by incarcerated NCPs. Terms of settlement might include regular payment of support or participation in job search, fatherhood (MA)
- Legislation allowing CSE to reduce arrearages by 50% after 12 months of  payments and 100% after 24 (MD HB 1264, Passed House 138 to 0, Unfavorable in Senate)
- Other examples of flexibility in standard practice for newly released NCPs:  Protected Inmate Bank Accounts (OR), Rapid License Reinstatements (MD),  Minimum Orders & Self-Support Reserves based on FPL (CO, Wash DC)

## Summary of Helpful Policies and Programs

- Collaborate with DOC and Judiciary
- Involve county/state-level personnel at upper levels
- Develop MOUs on methods of identification and treatment of inmates and access to them
- Educate judiciary on growth of inmate arrears,  review and adjust needs and treatment
- Identify prisoners/parolees with child support issues.
- Automated data matches
- DOC and CSE and/or CSE and Parolee Boards
- Screen for CSE status at Prison Intake
- Inform prisoner about child support and review & adjustment.
- Specialized CSE staff
- CSE video, handbook, inmate newspapers
- Inmate reception centers and prisons
- Train prison staff

- Develop simple processes for review and adjustment.
- Simplify request and response requirements
- Assist inmates in filing request and affidavit
- Use affidavit as testimony & avoid court
- Special worker to handle prisoner requests
- Accept collect phone calls
- Make passivity work
- Respond to prisoner requests for review and adjustment.
- Treat incarceration as change in circumstances
- Set orders to $0 or minimum per month
- Deal with paroled/released offenders.
- Create one-stop reentry programs with CSE
- Modify orders to fit new wage levels
- Reduce arrears/interest accrued in prison
- Use effective employment programs
- Cultivate employer
- Promote family connections