October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a time when everyone — including state and tribal child support professionals — can recommit to end domestic violence. We can join in solidarity and support the approximately four million parents in the child support program who’ve experienced domestic violence. It’s important for our program to be mindful of and responsive to domestic violence safety concerns every day, but during October we shine the light on abuse a little brighter and with a little more focus. State and tribal child support agencies planned many special activities, and I want to elevate some of them.
Conferences
I was thrilled to learn that several state agencies hosted domestic violence summits or emphasized prevention and services in their statewide conferences. I sent a video message to New York for their summit that brings child support and public assistance workers together to learn skills for responding to domestic violence. Oklahoma hosted a two-day symposium for child support professionals, judicial officers, and community partners to address DV issues and share prevention strategies. Minnesota and Ohio also prioritized DV sessions at their statewide conferences, including the OCSS “If You Had To Decide” DV simulation, a judicial officer training, and survivor panel presentations.
Virginia worked closely with their state domestic violence coalition, the Virginia Action Alliance, to plan a series of activities that include:
- Hosting a virtual DV summit for child support staff and domestic violence professionals
- Collecting personal items to donate to local domestic violence service providers
- Posting social media messages about safety options available for receiving child support
- Kicking off the “#1 Thing” campaign where child support staff will post one thing they can do to address domestic violence
Social media
Social media campaigns are also a part of activities in Ohio, Colorado, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Texas. Missouri promoted brief videos on specific media outlets — and longer videos on their website — as part of a larger social media campaign. Texas relaunched its groundbreaking website GetChildSupportSafely.org with improved user experience and updated resources for those navigating the child support process. The focus was on safety and support for survivors of family violence.
Training
Ohio, Oklahoma, and Washington rolled out more domestic violence training for staff. Ohio conducted statewide training on the Family Violence Indicator and Good Cause rules. Ohio provided a DV awareness toolkit to all child support professionals. Oklahoma’s training focused on domestic violence and child support safeguards geared toward child support staff and tribal offices.
OCSS Resources
Our office hosted domestic violence training for tribal staff this month, and you can email michael.hayes@acf.hhs.gov to schedule our “If You Had To Decide” DV simulation. We also have resources to help support state and tribal programs responding to families affected by domestic violence:
- Survivor guide for getting child support
- Caseworker desk card for safely pursuing child support (PDF)
- Model screening questions and practices (PDF)
- DV tear sheet posters in English (PDF) and Spanish (PDF) and for tribal communities (PDF)
Together, we can help survivors safely pursue child support, which could be a source of income that helps them leave an abusive relationship. For more information and resources, visit the OCSS Family Violence webpage.
Tanguler Gray, Commissioner
This blog gives the commissioner a forum to communicate directly with child support professionals and other partners about relevant topics. The Commissioner’s Voice is reprinted from the October 2024 Child Support Report newsletter.