This page provides information about select past Section 1115 Demonstration and Special Improvement Project grants.
Behavioral Interventions for Child Support Services (BICS)
In September 2014, OCSE awarded Section 1115 grants for the BICS project (PDF) to 8 state child support agencies in California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Ohio, Texas, Vermont, and Washington. In addition, OCSE awarded a grant to Washington to manage the evaluation (PDF) of the project.
Behavioral Interventions for Child Support Services Demonstration Program (BICS) was a five-year demonstration project that allowed states to explore individual behavior and decision-making ability when it comes to child support. Known as behavioral economics, this approach uses insights from psychology and related fields to explain why and how people act. BICS grantees are testing how strategies from behavioral economics can be used to improve child support services.
Notices of Funding Opportunity
- BICS Demonstration (PDF)
- BICS Evaluation (PDF)
Reports
- Tools for Better Practices and Better Outcomes: Final Report
- Meetings and Reminders: Testing Approaches to Increase Child Support Payments in Colorado (PDF)
- Personalized Outreach: Testing Early Parent Engagement in Washington's Child Support Program
- A Better Resolution: Reaching Child Support Agreements Between Parents in Vermont
National Child Support Noncustodial Parent Employment Demonstration (CSPED)
In 2012, OCSE awarded Section 1115 grants to California, Colorado, Iowa, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin to test the efficacy of child support-led employment programs through the CSPED project. The goal was to increase reliable child support payments among noncustodial parents who are unable to pay child support. Wisconsin was also awarded a grant to manage the evaluation of CSPED.
Notices of Funding Opportunity
- CSPED Demonstration (PDF)
- CSPED Evaluation (PDF)
Reports
Parenting Time Opportunities for Children (PTOC)
In 2012, OCSE awarded Special Improvement Project grants to California, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, and Oregon to launch the Parenting Time Opportunities for Children (PTOC) program. The three-year pilot program tested approaches to safely develop parenting time orders at the time child support is established. The goal was to ensure children had a safe, ongoing relationship with both parents even after their parents’ romantic relationship ended.
Notice of Funding Opportunity (PDF) (PDF)
Reports
- Research Brief: Parenting Time Opportunities for Children
- Research Brief: Child Support, Parenting Time, and Safety Concerns
- Fact Sheet: Discretionary Grants for Parenting Time Opportunities for Children in the Child Support Program
- Fact Sheet: Child Support and Parenting Time: Improving Coordination to Benefit Children
University Partnership Programs
In 2011, OCSE awarded three Section 1115 demonstration grants to Iowa, Michigan, and Washington to work with university partners to:
- Improve analysis and interpretation of various types of data, and
- Improve capacity across organizations by identifying areas that needed changing and then assessing how those changes affected families.
Universities and scholars brought expertise in research design and data analysis. State child support agencies shared expertise in managing and operating complex child support activities. Together, the universities and states developed pilots to test new ways of understanding paternity establishment rates, collecting on arrears-only cases, and incentivizing regular child support payments through debt reduction.
The grants ended in September 2016, but the work will continue because the activities foster a culture of critical inquiry focused on improved program effectiveness.
Final Evaluation Reports