You may recall that engagement through the 3Ps—people, process, and performance—is a priority for me at OCSE. It helps us listen to our stakeholders, assess what we’re doing, and enhance our work of helping children and families. Engaging fathers is part of our focus on people. We must always prioritize the people we serve in our efforts to promote their economic and social well-being. Fathers are not only members of the child support caseload, they’re also a group that's historically underserved across human services.
Father’s Day gives us a chance to celebrate fathers and father figures for their roles in supporting their children and families, but the child support program is working to lift fathers year-round.
Here are some ways the program supports fathers that you can read about in the June issue of Child Support Report:
- Federal collaboration: It’s important to cultivate good working relationships and collaborate with our colleagues to advance our joint mission to serve the entire family. We’ve started a new project with the Office of Family Assistance to develop father engagement training for state, county, and tribal child support programs.
- State programs: We’re also proud to spotlight the exciting work that state, tribal, and county programs are doing to connect with fathers in meaningful ways. Read about Georgia’s Fatherhood and Parental Accountability Court programs that connect parents struggling to make regular payments to resources that lead to employment and help overcome other barriers they may face.
- Peer-to-peer training: We strive to reinvest in programs that support fathers and financial self-sufficiency. Our Knowledge Works initiative helps child support agencies implement or enhance noncustodial parent employment programs. Read about this peer-to-peer training and on demand webinar series.
These are just a few important ways the child support program helps to connect with and support fathers. I look forward to continuing to champion this work and ushering in an era of engagement to serve the entire family.
Tanguler Gray, Commissioner
This blog gives the commissioner a forum to communicate directly with child support professionals and other stakeholders about relevant topics. The Commissioner’s Voice is reprinted from the June 2022 Child Support Report newsletter.