Supervised Visitation and Safe Exchange Services
Each year, the Office of Child Support Enforcement provides approximately $10 million in mandatory federal grant funding to states and territories to operate the Access and Visitation (AV) program, which helps increase noncustodial parents' access to and time with their children. States are permitted to use grant funds to develop programs and provide services.
Historically, DCSE has utilized AV funding to provide services such as mediation, parenting education, parenting plan development, and supervised visitation, as well as related trainings. In Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2022, VDSS issued a sub-award to Total Action for Progress (TAP) to provide supervised visitation and safe exchange services through their Sabrina's Place program. DCSE looks forward to expanding upon AV initiatives in FFY 2023.
Safe Access for Victims' Economic Security (SAVES) Grant
In early September 2022, DCSE was awarded the Safe Access for Victims' Economic Security (SAVES) Grant. Virginia's project, titled "Virginia SAVES," will be a close partnership with a national SAVES Center, our federal partners at OCSE, and Virginia's statewide domestic violence coalition to increase safety measures throughout child support and parenting time services for victims and survivors of domestic violence.
In the early spring of 2023, the SAVES project team applied for and received an additional $385,500 in supplementary funding to expand the capacity to improve safety for families in Virginia. This supplementary funding is specifically for enhancing safety during voluntary paternity establishment in birth facilities, engaging our partners in the court to promote parenting time arrangements that incorporate safety modifications, and addressing disparities in access to parenting time services/arrangements.
Digital Marketing
The Digital Marketing to Increase Participation in the Child Support Program grant, sponsored by the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), was a 24-month demonstration project with the goal of researching various digital marketing approaches and partnerships to reach parents that could benefit from child support services, and/or to create or improve two-way digital communication and engagement with parents.
Digital Marketing Resources
Charting a Course for Economic Mobility and Responsible Parenting Grant
On July 7, DCSE was awarded the Charting a Course for Economic Mobility and Responsible Parenting Grant. This will allow us to partner with two agencies that are already serving youth audiences and instill DCSE knowledge about the financial, legal, and emotional impacts of being a parent.
Intergovernmental Case Processing
DCSE has partnered with the child support agencies in Maryland and North Carolina to apply for a grant from OCSE aimed at improving intergovernmental case processing and collections. At the end of the study, we will be able to provide a roadmap for implementation in other states.
