The state of South Carolina has over 225,000 child support cases.  The SC Center for Fathers and Families (SCCFF) works with the Department of Social Services, judges, and Clerks of Court to help meet the needs of those that struggle to pay their child support.  While some support our work, others are unaware of our efforts or do not see the need to formulate policies, laws, and procedures that encourage service provision versus incarceration for those that fall behind on their child support payments.  We would like to address this issue by educating state legislators, judges, and other state officials on this issue and help encourage reform in this area to help low-income, non-custodial avoid prison and get the services they need to be able to provide for their children.

For this project, SCCFF seeks assistance with conducting research and formulating a plan that will help us educate stakeholders on the barriers that are faced by those that fall behind on their child support and provide recommendations on what can be done to address this issue.  Activities within this project will include conducting research on child support, the cost of incarcerating low-income non-custodial parents versus providing them with employment services, and identifying best practices to address this issue by highlighting what other states are doing to better address this population.  The final project will include print, video, and other forms of media that can be shared with politicians, judges, clerks of court, and other stakeholders that have the ability to impact this detrimental system.

Success for this project would include a written document highlighting the areas noted above along with other ways of sharing this message with the public (i.e. videos, social media, website, etc.).  With the production of these materials, the goal of the project would be to present these materials stakeholders throughout South Carolina and inspire change at the legislative and judicial level.