Improving Child Support Enforcement Through Transitional Jobs 2005 Statewide Conference on Housing and Community Economic Development Disincentives to Pay Incarceration is considered “ voluntary unemployment ” Child support accrues to high levels during a non-custodial parent ’ s jail or prison term 40-55% of wages may be garnished Low-wage workers may choose not to work as a result

Improving Child Support Enforcement Through Transitional Jobs 2005 Statewide Conference on Housing and Community Economic Development Some Facts 650,000 persons are released from State/Federal facilities 7 million are released from local jails Most will be rearrested in 3 years 55% of all ex-offenders are parents Over 10 million children have parents who were incarcerated at some point in their lives Few human service agencies have integrated programs to serve the whole family

Improving Child Support Enforcement Through Transitional Jobs 2005 Statewide Conference on Housing and Community Economic Development Some Questions Should Welfare, Child Support, and Prison Re-entry Programs Be Better Coordinated? Do We Understand How They are Related?

Improving Child Support Enforcement Through Transitional Jobs 2005 Statewide Conference on Housing and Community Economic Development Typical Scenario Low-income male non-custodial parents* Average age = 28 years old 68% have a felony and are on parole or probation 48% lack a diploma or GED 53% drive regularly but only 18% have a valid license 2% carry auto insurance *Welfare-to-Work program data ( )

Improving Child Support Enforcement Through Transitional Jobs 2005 Statewide Conference on Housing and Community Economic Development Out of the economic mainstream 15% unemployed (looking for work) 40% not in labor force (not even looking for work) No tax-paying job longer than 3 months in past year Worked in underground economy or engaged in criminal activities to make ends meet in the past year Carries an average debt of $18,000 (mainly child support) 82% can’t open a bank account due to writing bad checks

Improving Child Support Enforcement Through Transitional Jobs 2005 Statewide Conference on Housing and Community Economic Development Child Support Caseload Trends #1 In 2003, the child support program served 17.6 million children Half of poor children have parents who live apart from them, making them potentially eligible for child support Almost 85 percent of child support-eligible families with incomes below the federal poverty level participate in the child support program Nearly two-thirds of families participating in the child support program are current or former cash assistance recipients under TANF

Improving Child Support Enforcement Through Transitional Jobs 2005 Statewide Conference on Housing and Community Economic Development Child Support Caseload Trends #2 In 1980, 85 percent of families participating in the child support program were current recipients of cash assistance By 1996, when Congress replaced AFDC with TANF, 38 percent of families were current assistance recipients In 2003, just 17 percent of families in the child support caseload were current assistance recipients. Today, the largest group of families participating in the child support program is former welfare recipients

Improving Child Support Enforcement Through Transitional Jobs 2005 Statewide Conference on Housing and Community Economic Development What DOC is Doing #1 Instituting a comprehensive case management system  Individualized treatment and services for each offender that begins at intake  Regularly reviewed and updated  Continues throughout release to parole Pilot program to secure BMV-issued state identification cards at no cost to the offender prior to release from correctional facility

Improving Child Support Enforcement Through Transitional Jobs 2005 Statewide Conference on Housing and Community Economic Development What DOC is Doing #2 Pilot program to establish a WorkOne center in the correctional facility Pilot program to pay rental deposit and rent subsidies of up to 100% for a period of up to 18 months

Improving Child Support Enforcement Through Transitional Jobs 2005 Statewide Conference on Housing and Community Economic Development Blueprint to End Homelessness City of Indianapolis is Project Sponsor for Transitional Jobs project There is a link between an overtaxed criminal justice system and providing supports to homeless populations

Improving Child Support Enforcement Through Transitional Jobs 2005 Statewide Conference on Housing and Community Economic Development Blueprint to End Homelessness Housing First Housing Plus – services to support housing retention and self-sufficiency where appropriate Access to mainstream resources

Improving Child Support Enforcement Through Transitional Jobs 2005 Statewide Conference on Housing and Community Economic Development Blueprint Recommendations : Reduce the number of former criminal offenders in the homeless population and ensure that increasing numbers of people leaving incarceration achieve stable housing and employment Focus services on offenders most at risk of becoming homeless or reoffending Educate the community about reintegration challenges faced by people leaving incarceration and the benefits of enhancing services for returning offenders

Improving Child Support Enforcement Through Transitional Jobs 2005 Statewide Conference on Housing and Community Economic Development Re-entry Recommendations Increase collaboration between corrections, welfare and child support agencies Include child support education and parenting skills as a part of prison programming Do not suspend driver ’ s license as a first-level punishment Upon release, child support debt should be manageable, and releasing authorities should be aware of potential legal repercussions for failure to pay child support Reward responsible behavior

Improving Child Support Enforcement Through Transitional Jobs 2005 Statewide Conference on Housing and Community Economic Development Current Environment Child support a welfare cost recovery mechanism under current rules Child support intercepted by the State for TANF recipients (no pass-through) Interception continues after TANF ends until total cost of cash benefits is recovered

Improving Child Support Enforcement Through Transitional Jobs 2005 Statewide Conference on Housing and Community Economic Development Child Support Retained to Repay TANF Families

Improving Child Support Enforcement Through Transitional Jobs 2005 Statewide Conference on Housing and Community Economic Development Alternative Uses of Indiana ’ s Child Support Incentive Payments Besides TANF block grant, Indiana receives incentive payments for its welfare cost recovery Indiana ’ s 2002 incentive = $5,564,581 Investing a small portion of these funds in Transitional Jobs programs would pay great dividends Transitional Jobs Programs would:  Significantly increase child support collections  Maximize federal incentive payments

Improving Child Support Enforcement Through Transitional Jobs 2005 Statewide Conference on Housing and Community Economic Development A Solution Transitional Jobs An incubator for people who need meaningful work experience in order to enter the labor market and to participate in civil society — re-building the work muscle A service-enriched environment offering work supports and related services to promote work attachment A pipeline of able workers for local business A response to Mayor ’ s workforce development strategy outlined in Blueprint to End Homelessness

Improving Child Support Enforcement Through Transitional Jobs 2005 Statewide Conference on Housing and Community Economic Development Transitional Jobs Advantage Work attachment Workplace mediation Long-term retention management services (one year) Emphasis on paying child support (responsibility) Limited cash assistance with “ work supports ” (reward) – Rent & Utilities – Transportation – Vehicle Insurance – Uniforms – Vehicle Repairs – Legal Services – Driver's License Re-instatement

Improving Child Support Enforcement Through Transitional Jobs 2005 Statewide Conference on Housing and Community Economic Development Indianapolis Transitional Jobs Project “ Remaking Our Resources ” One of seven sites selected in a national competition to launch transitional jobs projects Sponsored by the Mayor ’ s Office Guided by a Planning Team of 20 community stakeholders Located in the Enterprise Zone

Improving Child Support Enforcement Through Transitional Jobs 2005 Statewide Conference on Housing and Community Economic Development How Work Pays Benefits to Court System Lighter dockets Lower jail costs Benefits to Community Increased child support More taxes paid Less burden on safety net services Families re-united

Improving Child Support Enforcement Through Transitional Jobs 2005 Statewide Conference on Housing and Community Economic Development For a copy of this presentation, please visit: Workforce, Inc. For other partner resources: Choices, Inc. City of Indianapoliswww.indygov.org CLASP