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To form the intervention group, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) identified 494 noncompliant noncustodial parents (from among the OAG’s caseload) in participating counties whose children were receiving or had received public assistance. The OAG presented the eligible noncustodial parents with three choices: to pay child support, to participate in the Choices program, or to go to jail. In four Texas sites, people who were still noncompliant at the time of the 30-day compliance report had a second chance to enroll in the Choices program (rather than face jail). A matched comparison group (494 people) was identified from among the state's database of noncustodial parents by using a nearest-neighbor matching process. Each individual in the intervention group was matched to a nontreatment noncustodial parent who was as similar as possible based on several characteristics, including county of residence, age, sex, marital status, race and ethnicity, child support case features and collection history, characteristics of the custodial parent in the case, history of participation in employment programs, and employment and earnings history. Matches were based on the intervention group members' characteristics at the time individuals entered the Noncustodial Parent Choices program.
The Noncustodial Parent Choices initiative was implemented in four sites in 2005. Participants were monitored for six months after they secured employment.
The study is funded by the Texas OAG. The Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin was contracted to conduct the study.
Texas Office of the Attorney General (OAG) and the Texas Workforce Commission
The Noncustodial Parent Choices program seeks to engage noncompliant noncustodial parents to provide them with services to become more responsible parents. The program gives them three options: pay their child support, participate in the Choices program, or go to jail. This program relies on collaboration among the OAG, court systems, and workforce agencies. If noncustodial parents opt to engage in the Choices program, they are referred to the local one-stop center for services. The Choices program—previously available only to custodial parents receiving public benefits—provides employment and training to noncustodial parents of children who are receiving public assistance or who have previously received public assistance. The program begins with a workforce orientation, job-readiness services, and job search activities. People pursuing employment are also eligible for supportive services, including transportation assistance. Those who do not find employment face community service requirements. Participants are also eligible for post-employment services related to job retention and advancement. Training is available through Choices, but few participants engaged in training activities. Finally, those who secure employment are monitored for six months.
The comparison group was composed of noncustodial parents in the same regions of Texas who were not ordered to participate in the Choices program and who therefore had access only to business-as-usual services.
Intervention participants were required to pay child support, participate in Choices, or go to jail.
Noncustodial Parent Choices was implemented in 2005.
Noncustodial Parent Choices was implemented in four areas in Texas: El Paso County, Gulf Sites, Brazoria County, and Galveston County.