OCSE Guidance on the Turner v. Rogers Decision

The Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) issued an Action Transmittal (AT-12-01) dated June 18, 2012 that provides policy guidance to state child support agencies on the United States Supreme Court decision in the case of Turner v. Rogers. The recommendations and suggestions in the Action Transmittal pertain to civil contempt proceedings in child support cases like Turner in which ability to pay is at issue.

The Supreme Court of the United States Decides Turner v. Rogers

CFFPP presents key points from the June 2011 Supreme Court decision.

CFFPP on “Fatherhood is More Than a Paycheck,” TalkPoverty Radio and podcast

CFFPP’s Nino Rodriguez, Senior Policy Associate, appeared on the TalkPoverty Radio show and podcast, which went live on June 17, 2016. Listen now here: the segment on low-income fathers begins at 29:14. The segment of the show is titled “Fatherhood is More than a Paycheck,” and examines the challenges that low-income fathers face in dealing […]

“What Is The Price of Justice?” – The DOJ’s Recent Guidance to Courts on Ability to Pay

People in communities of color who are struggling to achieve economic security often find themselves burdened by court-ordered financial obligations that they have no ability to pay. Frequently, this results in people being incarcerated in local jails due to courts’ unwillingness to examine, or disregard of, each person’s financial circumstances. Recognizing these harms, the U.S. […]

Comments on Proposed Rule for Child Support Enforcement

CFFPP comments on pending federal regulations that will affect child support enforcement programs—and children, parents and families—across the nation. The proposed rules include new requirements resulting from the Supreme Court’s Turner v. Rogers decision, as well as new options for states’ programs. Among CFFPP’s concerns are how states will actually implement requirements to consider low-income noncustodial parents’ “subsistence needs” and “actual income.”

Are Fewer Noncustodial Parents Being Threatened with Jail in Your Community?

If you work with noncustodial parents who owe child support, CFFPP would like to request your reply to the following questions: Are fewer noncustodial parents being threatened with jail time for non-payment of child support in your community? Have you seen changes, either positive or negative, in the last year regarding child support enforcement’s use […]

In the Interest of Parents

Examines child support, the ability to pay, and incarceration as an enforcement mechanism through the Turner v. Rogers case heard before the U.S. Supreme Court on March 23, 2011. This brief raises the question: Can parents adequately provide for themselves and their children when they do not have the economic security provided by consistent living-wage employment?

Brief of Center for Family Policy and Practice as Amicus Curiae to the US Supreme Court in Support of Petitioner

Across the United States, destitute, noncustodial parents are incarcerated for failing to meet child support obligations they have no means to pay. This is despite the fact that child support law and policy is targeted elsewhere—at so-called “deadbeat dads” who have the ability to pay but choose not to do so.