Evaluation Survey for Minnesota Child Support Program
The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) has partnered with Research in Action to develop an evaluation survey for the state child support program guided by parents’ lived experience. This work is one component of a 12-state consortium under the Advancing Equity in Child Support Grant — a federally funded opportunity to study issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the child support program and identify barriers to the receipt of services by historically underserved populations.
Partners
Legislation from 2023 established the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families that brings together programs centered on children, youth, and families across four state agencies, including the Minnesota child support program. The DCYF’s formation and its participation in the Advancing Equity in Child Support Grant reflects the agency’s broader commitment to supporting families through improved and responsive systems.
Problem
Child support is an important source of income that many parents need to meet their child's basic needs. But not all families navigate the same barriers within the program.
For example, Black parents are overrepresented in the child support program given their percentage of the national population, and Black fathers in particular are overrepresented in punitive child support proceedings for non-payment.
Low-income families generally also face inequitable order calculations compared to their higher-income counterparts, leading low-income parents to pay higher percentages of their income toward child support payments.
In response to ongoing inequities and the 2021 Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities through the Federal Government, the federal Office of Child Support Services formed the Advancing Equity in Child Support Grant.
Process
The DCYF specifically partnered with RIA to co-lead the development of an 18-person Parent Advisory Council (PAC). To assemble the council, we facilitated outreach to parents statewide through partnership with community organization and DCYF’s internal communications system to ensure the council was representative of those both within and outside of the Twin Cities Metro area.
This council is composed of individuals with extensive lived experience navigating Minnesota’s child support program as payers, receivers, or both. The PAC is guiding our development of an evaluative survey that will be sent statewide to parents with child support cases.
The survey will evaluate parents’ experiences and recommendations for program improvements to ensure parents, regardless of race, income, class, and ability are served equitably. The PAC will also guide our interpretation of findings from the statewide survey and the subsequent recommendations.
Solutions
Stay tuned for updates as this work moves forward!