2000 Best Practice: Maryland - Absent Parents Employment Program (Harford County)

Maryland

Absent Parents Employment Program (Harford County)

Compendium Update - November 2000

Goal

Reduce the number of child support obligations that cannot be met because of an unemployed noncustodial parent.

Description

In September 1986, Circuit Court Judge William O. Carr was concerned about absent parents appearing in his court who were not meeting their child support obligations due to unemployment. He initiated a discussion with Maryland’s Department of Economic and Employment Development (DEED) about what could be done to address the problem.

The result was an agreement that the court could order noncustodial parents to participate in job search and counseling activities through DEED’s Job Service. This was the beginning of the Absent Parent Employment Program (APEP) in Maryland. Initially, APEP interviewed noncustodial parents, assisted in their job searches and provided liaison between individual noncustodial parents and the Bureau of Support Enforcement (BOSE).

The program expanded in 1988 when Maryland’s Department of Human Resources committed state funds to the project. In 1991 DEED became the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (DLLR). APEP’s goal remained the same through these transitions: assist noncustodial parents to obtain employment, thus enabling them to meet their child support obligations. Doing so improves collection rates for delinquent obligations and reduces state public assistance costs.

Most participants are referred to APEP through the monthly show-cause court session. If the reason for non-payment of child support is unemployment, the judge can order the parent to the program. The program also accepts volunteer participants. Anyone with a Harford County child support order is eligible to participate.

APEP’s staff of two counselors are present in the courtroom and can perform initial intake for the program. An appointment is made for the parent to report to the APEP offices at the Maryland Job Service.

The initial visit to the APEP office includes review and signing of program guidelines, assessment of the parent’s skills and experience, and discussion of employment barriers and child support concerns. The parent is expected to visit the office weekly until he or she finds a job. Each participant is expected to complete at least four applications for employment each week and to submit a worksheet detailing the search activities he or she has undertaken during the week. APEP staff spot check with employers to verify that applications listed were actually submitted. Failure to participate as required may result in a bench warrant.

APEP staff attempt to convey their dual role: monitoring the parent’s job search efforts for the court and the Bureau of Support Enforcement and assisting the parent in finding a job. APEP counselors discuss job search strategies, application and interviewing techniques, help create resumes and make referrals to prospective employers. Parents are taught to use the CareerNet computer system within the Job Service to identify job opportunities available both locally and nationwide.

Counseling during weekly office visits may reveal other areas where the parent needs help. APEP staff refer parents to rehabilitation services, education/GED services, visitation programs, support modification programs, job skills training programs and work credit programs.

APEP tracks parents’ progress and keeps the Bureau of Support Enforcement informed of their status. When necessary, APEP staff testify in court about the parent’s progress in finding a job. Once the parent gets a job, the employment is verified. Information on the new employer is forwarded to the Bureau of Support Enforcement so that a wage lien may be sent to the employer directing child support withholding.

Results

APEP is successful in saving taxpayer dollars and in improving collections from once delinquent noncustodial parents. Prior to APEP the only real option in Harford County for dealing with noncustodial parents who failed to pay child support as ordered was contempt and a stint in the local detention center. Average length of stay: two weeks, average cost per stay at $61 per day: $940. In its 10 years of operation APEP estimates that the county has saved over $1,222,000 in incarceration expenses for the 1,300 non-custodial parents referred to the program.

In addition, the program has been extremely successful in achieving its key mission. Eighty percent of program participants were employed in 1997, 81 percent in 1998, and 86 percent in 1999. This has translated into significant child support contributions by APEP participants: approximately $220,000 in 1997, $250,000 in 1998 and $214,000 in 1999.

Location

Rural Harford County, Maryland. The project was replicated, on a demonstration basis, in Prince George’s County, Maryland, a suburban county next to Washington, DC.

Funding

State appropriated funds are used for this program.

Replication Advice

APEP’s staff list three elements which have been keys to program success:

Program design fosters compliance. Failure to obey the court order directing the parent to participate in APEP results in a bench warrant request. The Circuit Court Judge signs the warrant. The Sheriff’s Department arrests the non-participant who must go before a Judge in a bench warrant hearing. Over the years the program has found that compliance rates increase when bench warrants are used in conjunction with court orders.
APEP counselors develop a personal rapport with participants and genuinely work to help them. They act as liaison with the Bureau of Support Enforcement on behalf of parents. They make needed referrals to other services. Many participants return to the program at a later date on a voluntary basis because they know they will be welcomed back and encouraged in their work search efforts.
Program effectiveness correlates directly with the level of cooperation among agencies involved. Outstanding inter-agency cooperation has contributed to APEP’s success. The Circuit Judge who presides over non-support hearings currently holds monthly Child Support Task Force meetings for agencies involved in the child support process. In addition to the court, the Bureau of Support Enforcement, the State’s Attorney’s Office, the Department of Social Services, the Harford County Sheriff’s Department, the Parent Access Program and APEP participate in the meetings. These meetings address updates, concerns and the efficiency of the child support process. Each agency attempts to help the other in achieving their common goals.

Another example of inter-agency cooperation is the Annual Child Support Workshop attended by all workers in the Harford County Child Support community. Agency heads review the past year’s progress, speakers are invited to discuss relevant child support issues, workgroups brainstorm about solutions to current challenges, and people get to know each other.