$2.2 million awarded to explore link between digital marketing and child support payments

Fourteen child support agencies will soon begin testing digital marketing approaches that will help engage parents to make child support payments and encourage child support involvement through a new demonstration grant project.

Awarded by the Office of Child Support Enforcement within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families (ACF), the digital marketing demonstration project will allow grantees to collect and analyze data on how digital marketing may help child support programs more effectively reach and serve families in their communities.

“I am excited that we are funding this project in response to two growing challenges for child support agencies around the country,” said Scott Lekan, Commissioner of the Office of Child Support Enforcement. “The first is communicating with parents through social and other digital media. The second is making parents aware of how child support services may benefit their family. I look forward to seeing rapid, positive results and to sharing approaches that agencies can implement easily and cost-effectively.”

Twelve state child support agencies and two tribal child support agencies will use the funding to design at least three digital marketing interventions during the two-year project period. Examples of proposed interventions include launching social media campaigns, internet advertisements, and communicating through various communication mediums such as text messaging.

Funded by Section 1115(a) of the Social Security Act, this year’s awardees includes two tribal child support programs for the first time under the funding authority. While state child support programs have been able to receive funding for years, Congress amended the statute in 2014 making tribal child support programs eligible to receive the funding as well.

Grantees will be required to prepare a communications plan for each intervention and evaluate projects using analytics from the digital marketing tools used in the campaigns and child support program data.

The following states are recipients of the digital marketing demonstration grants:

• California Department of Child Support Services
• : Del Norte, Merced, and Imperial Counties, California

FY 2019 Award: $170,000

• California Department of Child Support Services
• : San Diego County, California

FY 2019 Award: $170,000

• California Department of Child Support Services
• : Sacramento County, California

FY 2019 Award: $170,000

• California Department of Child Support Services
• : Orange County, California

FY 2019 Award: $141,533

• Colorado Department of Human Services
• : Denver, Colorado

FY 2019 Award: $170,000

• Indiana Department of Child Services
• : Indianapolis, Indiana

FY 2019 Award: $170,000

• Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
• : Lansing, Michigan

FY 2019 Award: $170,000

• Minnesota Department of Human Services
• : Saint Paul, Minnesota

FY 2019 Award: $170,000

• Texas Office of the Attorney General
• : Austin, Texas

FY 2019 Award: $170,000

• Virginia Department of Social Services
• : Richmond, Virginia

FY 2019 Award: $170,000

• Washington State Division of Child Support
• : Olympia, Washington

FY 2019 Award: $170,000

• Wyoming Department of Family Services
• : Cheyenne, Wyoming

FY 2019 Award: $170,000

The following tribes are recipients of the digital marketing demonstration grants:

• Cherokee Nation
• : Tahlequah, Oklahoma

FY 2019 Award: $100,000

• Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Indians of Wisconsin
• : Hayward, Wisconsin

FY 2019 Award: $100,000

For additional information about the federal child support program, please visit: Office of Child Support Enforcement.