My Brother’s Keeper, or My Brother’s Creditor? (Part Three)
How Child Support Debt and Government Reimbursement Can Financially Harm Young People of Color and Their Parents and Families
Read More
Child Support Debt in Mississippi Frustrates Economic Stability for Black Parents and Families
Parents who are behind in child support payments—called “arrears”—often owe a significant portion to the government to repay cash assistance that their child’s household received. Because African-American families are more likely than other families to have received cash assistance benefits, black parents who are court-ordered to pay child support are also more likely to owe Read More
My Brother’s Keeper, or My Brother’s Creditor? (Part Two)
An Urgent Need for Data to Track Racial Equity Outcomes In Child Support Debt Collection and Government Reimbursement
Read More
My Brother’s Keeper, or My Brother’s Creditor? (Part One)
How Child Support Debt and Government Reimbursement Can Undermine Ladders of Opportunity for Young People of Color
Read More
What We Want to Give Our Kids
How Child Support Debt Can Diminish Wealth-Building Opportunities for Struggling Black Fathers and Their Families
This paper shows how child support enforcement policies and practices can plunge some of society’s most economically vulnerable fathers and their families deeper into poverty. The report highlights the experiences of 35 low-income African American fathers struggling with the child support system in six cities across five states. It explores how child support can act Read More
Enhancing Safety: A Guide to Identifying Services
African American and Latina women who live in poverty – including domestic violence victims and survivors – have identified that sometimes connecting the men in their lives to social welfare services can help ease women’s burden. This new guide is a hands-on tool to help advocates find and learn about local programs that provide social support services to very low-income men. Along with the previously released paper, Enhancing Safety for Women, the Guide to Identifying Services can help agencies figure out whether connecting with a local program that provides social services to men could respond to currently unmet need among women who are victims/survivors of domestic violence.
Read More
Noncustodial Parents, and Child Support & EITC Policy
Are We Moving Families Toward Economic Security?
This paper examines how the combination of tax law (including Earned Income Tax Credits) and child support policy may impact low-income parents of color and contribute to their families financial instability. A sampling of four states suggests that noncustodial parents need to earn $32,000 to $45,000 per year in order to pay child support and maintain basic economic security.
Read More
Enhancing Safety for Women
Communities of color, domestic violence, and social welfare services for low-income men
Focusing on low-income African American communities, Enhancing Safety considers women’s experiences of domestic violence within the broader context of their lives. It discusses economic needs that are shared by both women and men; provides information on social welfare services for men (often called “responsible fatherhood programs”); and demonstrates that community-based programs that address the needs of low-income men of color can respond to an unmet need for some domestic violence victims.
Read More
Domestic Violence In Context
Unmet Needs and Promising Strategies
Domestic Violence In Context is a short paper that considers how race and poverty affect the service needs of domestic violence victims and survivors. It focuses on the experiences of low-income African American women and concludes that having an openness to understanding and responding to differences in cultural context provides a solid foundation for victim-centered advocacy.
Read More
Policy Briefing October 2012
In this issue:
– Estimated 1.5 Million African Americans May Be Unable to Vote Due to Overlap of Felonies and Legal Financial Barriers.
– Child Support Guidance Highlights Conflict Between Social Service Needs and Due Process Rights
– Fatherhood Program Survey Reveals Shift Away From Economic Security
Who Pays? Who Benefits?
Georgia’s Parental Accountability Court (PAC) program recently received an award from the National Child Support Enforcement Association (NCSEA). PAC “intends to assist families by offering an alternative to incarceration...