Child Access and Visitation Grants: State/Jurisdiction Profiles for FY 2006

Section I: Overview

FY 2006 Program Highlights

Nationwide, the “Grants to States for Access and Visitation” Program (AV) served over 73,000 parents in FY 2006. The States, (including the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands), accomplished this with a fixed, annual appropriation of $10 million plus the required 10% State match, where applicable.

Number of Parents Served

In FY 1998, the first year AV program services were provided, 21 States opted to participate in the program, and 20,000 parents were served. In FY 2006, all States but one (Florida) submitted data, and the number of participating parents has tripled compared to the AV program’s first year of service provision. FY 2006 reflects the highest number of parents served since the AV program’s inception.

Nearly Equal Number of Fathers and Mothers Served

Similar to the data reported in FY 2005, nearly equal numbers of mothers (36,830) and fathers (34,212) participated in State-administered Access and Visitation programs in FY 2006. In addition, 2,435 grandparents and/or legal guardians were recipients of AV services.

Efforts Continue to Focus on Unmet Access Needs of Unmarried Parents

Approximately 32% of parents served in FY 2006 were unmarried parents. In addition, divorced parents constituted 19% of parents served; 11% of parents were separated; 10% reported they were married; and 28% were unknown (no data was reported).

Demographics of Parents Served

The majority of parents served in FY 2006 earned a yearly income of less than $20,000. Based on the race/ethnicity data reported by States, 52% of parents served were white; 21% were African-American; 15% were Hispanic; 2% were Asian-American or Pacific Islander; 1% were American Indian or Alaskan; 1% were Other; and 8% were unknown (no data was reported).

Nationwide, States Deliver a Range of Access/Visitation Services

States determine services to be provided which include those defined in authorizing legislation (i.e., mediation, counseling, parent education, development of parenting plans, and visitation enforcement, including supervised visitation and/or neutral drop-off and pick-up). All services must be related to the overall goal of the AV program which is to “…enable states to establish and administer programs to support and facilitate non-custodial parents’ access to and visitation of their children….”

The majority of States provide more than one service, and in many instances, parents are the recipients of more than one service. Listed below are the number of parents that received each service type and the number of States that provided these services in FY 2006.

Number of parents that received each service type and the number of States that provided these services in FY 2006
Service Type	Number of States	Number of Parents
Mediation	40	17,654
Counseling	31	4,529
Parent Education	36	47,994
Parenting Plans	38	15,340
Visitation Enforcement: Supervised Visitation	46	16,089
Visitation Enforcement: Neutral Drop-Off/Pick-Up	32	5,025

It is important to note that parents are counted once per service and that the amount of time or service hours devoted to each parent is not collected. As a result, parent education yields high numbers of parents served because it usually entails a one-time-only participation in a 2-4 hour seminar. Supervised visitation, on the other hand, is considered a time-intensive service that a noncustodial parent (NCP) utilizes over a period of time usually determined by the court. States do not report on the development of their service guidelines.

Access Services Result in Increased Parenting Time with Children

In FY 2006, approximately 34,212 fathers and 36,830 mothers received access and visitation services. In addition, 25,667 NCPs increased parenting time with their children.

Parent Referral Sources to Access Services

Courts continue to be the primary source of parent referrals (50%) to AV services. Child support agencies completed 22% of parent referrals in FY 2006, a slight drop from 24% in FY 2005.

Local Service Providers

In FY 2006, States contracted with 327 court and/or community-based, non-profit service providers for the delivery of access and visitation services.

Funding by State

Access and Visitation Grants:

Federal Allocation and State Match

Number of parents that received each service type and the number of States that provided these services in FY 2006
State	Federal Allocation	State Match	Total Funding
Alabama	$142,610	$15,846	$158,456
Alaska	$100,000	$11,111	$111,111
Arizona	$179,474	$19,942	$199,415
Arkansas	$100,000	$11,111	$111,111
California	$988,710	$109,857	$1,098,567
Colorado	$130,679	$14,520	$145,199
Connecticut	$101,505	$11,278	$112,783
Delaware	$100,000	$11,111	$111,111
District of Columbia	$100,000	$11,111	$111,111
Florida	$519,757	$57,751	$577,508
Georgia	$272,041	$30,227	$302,267
Guam	$100,000	$0	$100,000
Hawaii	$100,000	$11,111	$111,111
Idaho	$100,000	$11,111	$111,111
Illinois	$329,141	$36,571	$365,712
Indiana	$164,289	$18,254	$182,544
Iowa	$100,000	$11,111	$111,111
Kansas	$100,000	$11,111	$111,111
Kentucky	$115,835	$12,871	$128,706
Louisiana	$175,073	$19,453	$194,525
Maine	$100,000	$11,111	$111,111
Maryland	$176,152	$19,572	$195,724
Massachusetts	$171,937	$19,104	$191,041
Michigan	$289,707	$32,190	$321,897
Minnesota	$123,675	$13,742	$137,417
Mississippi	$113,215	$12,579	$125,795
Missouri	$171,130	$19,014	$190,144
Montana	$100,000	$11,111	$111,111
Nebraska	$100,000	$11,111	$111,111
Nevada	$100,000	$11,111	$111,111
New Hampshire	$100,000	$11,111	$111,111
New Jersey	$217,628	$24,181	$241,809
New Mexico	$100,000	$11,111	$111,111
New York	$605,368	$67,263	$672,631
North Carolina	$272,566	$30,285	$302,851
North Dakota	$100,000	$11,111	$111,111
Ohio	$334,160	$37,129	$371,288
Oklahoma	$100,000	$11,111	$111,111
Oregon	$100,000	$11,111	$111,111
Pennsylvania	$341,055	$37,895	$378,950
Puerto Rico	$100,000	$11,111	$111,111
Rhode Island	$100,000	$11,111	$111,111
South Carolina	$142,481	$15,831	$158,312
South Dakota	$100,000	$11,111	$111,111
Tennessee	$178,061	$19,785	$197,845
Texas	$646,627	$71,847	$718,474
Utah	$100,000	$11,111	$111,111
Vermont	$100,000	$11,111	$111,111
Virgin Islands	$100,000	$0	$100,000
Virginia	$192,500	$21,389	$213,889
Washington	$171,388	$19,043	$190,431
West Virginia	$100,000	$11,111	$111,111
Wisconsin	$133,236	$14,804	$148,040
Wyoming	$100,000	$11,111	$111,111
Total	$10,000,000	$1,088,889	$11,088,888

Background Information

Designated State Agencies

In 1996, governors designated the State agency responsible for administering the Access and Visitation Grant program. To date, the majority of State access and visitation programs are managed by either the State Administrative Offices of the Court or State Child Support Enforcement Agencies.

Designated Federal Agency

The Office of Child Support Enforcement, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is officially responsible for managing this grant program.

Staff Contact:

Tracie Pogue, Program Specialist

Office of Child Support Enforcement

Administration for Children and Families

HHS

370 L’Enfant Promenade, S.W.

4^th Floor

Washington, DC 20447

Email: Tracie.Pogue@acf.hhs.gov

Enabling Legislation

The “Grants to States for Access and Visitation” Program (42 U.S.C. 669b) was authorized by Congress through passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996.

The goal of the program is to:

“…enable States to establish and administer programs to support and facilitate non-custodial parents’ access to and visitation of their children….”

States are directed to accomplish this goal through the provision of services including, but not limited to:

mediation (mandatory and voluntary);
counseling;
education (e.g., parent education);
development of parenting plans;
visitation enforcement (including monitored supervision and neutral drop-off/pick-up); and
development of guidelines for visitation and alternative custody arrangements.

Important Note

This is a formula grant program. States have the discretion to decide what services to provide, organizations to be funded, geographic areas to be covered, and persons to be served.

Annual Funding

$10 million appropriated each year by Congress.

Funding Formula

“The allotment of a State for a fiscal year is the amount that bears the same ratio to $10,000,000 for grants under this section for the fiscal year as the number of children in the State living with only one (1) biological parent bears to the total number of such children in all Sates.”

Required State Match

States are required by law to provide a minimum 10% match of the Federal grant amount. This match requirement can be fulfilled via cash or in-kind contributions by the State and/or local grantees. Guam and the Virgin Islands are exempt from this requirement.

State Reporting Requirements

The enabling legislation requires States to monitor, evaluate, and report on services funded through the Access and Visitation Grant Program. This statutory requirement is satisfied through the annual completion of the “State Child Access Program Survey” (see Appendix A) which includes:

State agency contact information;
services funded;
provider agency contact information;
number of parents served;
socio-economic and demographic information of families served; and
outcome data (i.e., number of parents whose parenting time with children increased as a result of services).

Disclaimer

This report is based on data submitted by States.

A Guide to Understanding the Data

The information presented is based on data reported by 53 States. Florida did not report complete and verified data, and Arizona did not report data on types of services provided.

Apparent inconsistencies in State data were addressed with State AV representatives. Corrections to the data were made where appropriate. Remaining inconsistencies may be based on:

State by State differences in how client participants are counted (e.g., NCPs only versus mothers and fathers);
Inconsistent reporting from local service providers regarding client characteristics and services; and
The need for more consistent State review of data from local service providers prior to submission.

This information is provided to assist the reader in understanding the FY 2006 State program statistics contained in “Section III: State Profiles” of this report. The Federal OCSE continues to work with States on improving data submissions.

Parents Served

The totals represent the number of parents receiving one or more services.

Service Data

The totals represent the number of parents receiving services by service type. The sum of all parents served could exceed the total number of parents served by the State if parents received more than one service.

Definition of Services

Mediation May include, but is not limited to, court-connected or community-based services involving professionals (certified and trained as family mediators) who meet with both parents to: a) resolve parenting disputes; b) develop a parenting plan and visitation agreement; and c) increase noncustodial parenting time with children.

Counseling May include, but is not limited to, services provided by mental health professionals who help parents work through their inter-personal conflicts by focusing on the best interests of the child.

Parent Education May include, but is not limited to, seminars or classes for providing custodial and non-custodial parents with information on a range of issues, such as: a) adverse consequences of divorce and parental conflict on children; b) benefits of co-parenting; c) State custody and visitation guidelines; d) court procedures for filing a motion for visitation; and e) importance of developing a parenting plan, etc.

Development of Parenting Plans May include, but is not limited to, the development of formal or informal parenting plans or parenting agreements through services other than mediation which increase NCP parenting time with children and/or reduce parental conflict over issues related to child access and visitation. Plans may or may not be filed with the court dependent upon the wishes of the parents.

Visitation Enforcement Services

Supervised Visitation May include, but is not limited to, monitored, therapeutic, and supervised visitation services for noncustodial parents (usually ordered by the court) who would otherwise be denied access to their children. These services are generally provided by trained and certified mental health professionals at a safe and secure setting.
Neutral Drop-Off/Pick-Up May include, but is not limited to, services for high-conflict parents and their children in a neutral environment for the safe exchange of a child from one parent to another. These services are often available through community and faith-based organizations and/or supervised visitation centers.

Marital Status Marital status between biological parents only.

Annual Income & Race/Ethnicity Self-explanatory.

Source of Client Referrals Identifies how parents were referred to access and visitation services reported through this program.

Outcome: Increase in NCP Parenting Time with Children The number of noncustodial mothers or fathers who increased parenting time (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, and/or annually) with their children compared to time spent with their children prior to receiving access and visitation services.

“Unknown” Data Category State did not collect and/or report data.

Local Service Providers Sub-grantees providing access and visitation services.

Section II: National Data Trends

Chart A: Parents Served Over Time

Chart B: Number of Parents Served and Children Involved (FY 2006)
(Based on data reported by 53 of 54 states)

Chart C: Services Delivered by Program Activity (FY 2006)
(Based on data reported by 52 of 54 states)

Chart D: Number of States Providing Services (FY 2006)
(Based on data reported by 52 of 54 states)

Chart E: Marital Status of Parents Served (FY 2006)
(Based on data reported by 52 of 54 states)

Chart F: Income Ranges of Parents Served (FY 2006)
(Based on data reported by 52 of 54 states)

Chart G: Race/Ethnicity of Parents Served (FY 2006)
(Based on data reported by 52 of 54 states)

Chart H: Referral Source for Parents to Services (FY 2006)
(Based on data reported by 52 of 54 states)

Chart I: Grouping of States/Jurisdictions by Grant Amount (FY 2006)

Section III: State/Jurisdiction Profiles

Appendix

The State Child Access Program Survey may be found here:
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cse/forms/omb-0970-0204.pdf (118K byte Adobe PDF Document)