To provide employment and life skills training to unemployed and underemployed noncustodial parents and thereby increase child support payments.

Child Support Enforcement in the Georgia Department of Human Resources has created the Georgia Fatherhood Services Network that is responsible for operating fatherhood programs through contracts with several service providers. The largest service provider, the Department of Adult and Technical Education, established a fatherhood program on each of the 36 technical college campuses throughout the State of Georgia. The programs are staffed with a case manager and one or more support staff. The Georgia Department of Labor works with the Georgia Fatherhood Program to provide statewide job placement support.

Child Support Enforcement refers noncustodial parents who are unemployed or underemployed to The Georgia Fatherhood Program where they receive assessment, development of employability plans, life skills training, job readiness training and job placement. Approximately 30% of participants receive short- and long-term skills training in fields such as carpentry, computer repair, car repair and welding. The Georgia program addresses child support enforcement , responsible fatherhood, and job counseling/training placement and peer support. Visitation services are also available to participants through Access and Visitation. Case managers are an essential component of the fatherhood programs and provide a wide range of services and referrals to the noncustodial parents. Noncustodial parents can be in the program from three months to two years depending upon training needs. Most participants spend an average of four to six months in the program. During that time they are required to satisfy at least 50% of their child support obligation. Case managers track participants monthly to determine employment retention for 120 days following the completion of the program.

Fourteen child support enforcement (CSE) regional fatherhood coordinators liaison between CSE enforcement and fatherhood program services. A critical factor of the program is the frequent communications between the fatherhood staff and the participant's agent. CSE regional fatherhood coordinators provide case agents with constant updates of participant progress through documentation on the CSE computerized database.

The program serves approximately 3,000 noncustodial parents a year. Over 10,000 noncustodial parents received at least one service from the program. In FY2001, 3,115 participants received services; 47% became employed and are paying their child support obligation.

A university-based evaluation team conducted research with 250 noncustodial parents at three program sites located in the metro, urban, and rural areas of Georgia. A control group of non-fatherhood participants was used for comparison. Results indicate that participants in the Fatherhood Program had a significant gain in employment, from 30% to 66%. In comparison, the control group had no significant gain in employment. Moreover, participants in the Fatherhood Program acquired jobs with wages comparable to employed noncustodial parents in the control group. Participants in the Fatherhood Program also experienced a 14-percentage point gain in health benefits for children, from 7% to 21%. This research supports the fact that the Georgia Fatherhood Program is having an impact on employment of noncustodial parents.

The program began in January 1997 as a pilot project in seven locations. The program expanded statewide to 36 programs in November 1998. As a result, no Georgian needs to travel more than 50 miles to access a program.

In 1996-1997, funds in the amount of $150,000, composed of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) funds and special funding provided by the Georgia Legislature, were allocated to the project. In 1998, TANF funds, appropriated through a line item in the State's Social Services Block Grant budget, provided funding. Funding for FY'00 and FY'01 was $5.7 million. The program costs approximately $1,200 per participant.