Family living arrangements have shifted over time, and fewer children now reside with their fathers. This has led to an increasing focus on non-resident fathers’ support of and involvement with their children. This study uses data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to explore the connection between fathers’ financial support payments and their involvement in coparenting. Findings suggest that there is a reciprocal relationship between coparenting and the amount of fathers’ payments, with coparenting having a greater effect on payments than the effect that making payments has on coparenting.

This session will explore the emerging research on an expanded Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for single adults. The EITC, a refundable tax credit for low- to moderate-income working individuals and couples, is an effective way to make work pay for low-wage workers. However, many childless adults are ineligible for benefits. This session will explore emerging evidence on how expanding the EITC may improve self-sufficiency for low-income, single adults, including non-custodial parents. Carson Hicks (New York City Center for Economic Opportunity) will moderate this session, and Vicki Turetsky (Administration for Children and Families) will serve as a discussant.

• Paycheck Plus: Testing an Expanded EITC for Single Adults in New York City

Cynthia Miller (MDRC)

• Effects of an Expanded EITC on Labor Market Participation for Black and Latino Young Men

Ronald Mincy (Columbia University)

• Strengthening Families with Non-Custodial Parents: Effects of an Expanded EITC on Child Support

Elaine Sorensen (Administration for Children and Families) (conference program description)

These presentations were given at the 2014 Welfare Research and Evaluation Conference (WREC).

In recent decades, policymakers have invested in responsible fatherhood programs in light of emerging research that strengthening parenting among fathers promotes positive child outcomes. This session will focus on how fatherhood programs and policies can better serve fathers, children, and their families. The panelists will discuss recent research on the changing dynamics of fatherhood in relationships and families, and opportunities for promoting father-child bonds among low-income men and boys of color. Ben O’Dell (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) will moderate this panel. Panelists are:

• Kathryn Edin (Johns Hopkins University)

• Timothy Nelson (Johns Hopkins University)

• David Pate (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) (conference program description)

This presentation was given at the 2014 Welfare Research and Evaluation Conference (WREC).

Insights from behavioral economics, which combines findings from psychology and economics, suggest that an improved understanding of human behavior and decision-making could inform program design and improve outcomes. OPRE’s Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self Sufficiency (BIAS) project designs and tests behaviorally-informed program innovations for ACF programs. This session will share early findings and lessons learned from BIAS’s work with child support agencies in Texas and Ohio. (conference program description)

• Behavioral Economics and Social Policy: Designing Innovative Solutions for Programs Supported by the Administration for Children and Families

Lashawn Richburg-Hayes (MDRC)

The presentation gives an overview of how behavioral concepts are being applied to social policy within the context of the Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) Project.

• Using Behavioral Economics to Help Incarcerated Parents Apply for Child Support Order Modifications

Mary Farrell (MEF Associates)

Michael Hayes (Texas Office of the Attorney General)

The presentation describes the Texas pilot of the Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) Project, a program designed to increase the number of incarcerated, non-custodial parents who apply for child support order modifications.

• Using Behavioral Economics to Increase Timely and Regular Child Support Payments

Peter Baird (MDRC)

Susan Brown (Franklin County Child Support Enforcement Agency

The presentation describes the Franklin County, Ohio pilot of the Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) Project, an initiative to increase the total amounts of child support collected and the frequency of payments.

These presentations were given at the 2014 Welfare Research and Evaluation Conference (WREC).

The Administration for Children and Families' Office of Family Assistance (OFA) hosted the "Strategies to Assist Noncustodial Parents in Improving Economic Well-Being" webinar. This webinar showcased several programs making headway in this area. TANF programs and their safety-net partners increasingly understand the importance of engaging noncustodial parents while also holding them accountable for the economic and social growth of their children. Barriers such as unemployment, underemployment, or incarceration can hinder noncustodial parents from providing for their children even when many want to do so. The Webinar featured three programs.

1. North Dakota PRIDE is a partnership between North Dakota's Department of Human Services, Job Service North Dakota, the Child Support Enforcement Division, and eight judicial district courts throughout the state. The program refers parents with unpaid child support obligations to Job Service North Dakota for employment support.

2. Kansas Child Support Savings Initiative is a partnership between Kansas Child Support Services and the state Treasurer's Office to empower noncustodial parents to save money for their children's education. Noncustodial parents open 529 savings accounts for their children and for every dollar they put into the account, the State reduces their child support arrears by two dollars.

3. Couples Advancing Together is a program of the Center for Urban Families in Baltimore, Maryland that provides employment development, case management services, and healthy relationship skills training to couples with children who currently receive public benefits through the Maryland Department of Social Services. Completion of the Couples Advancing Together program qualifies participants for a 10% reduction in any child support arrears they owe to the State of Maryland, which is helpful to those who are noncustodial parents to children outside their primary family unit.