Who Benefits Most from Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt in the Child Support Program?

A noncustodial parent may be obligated to pay child support to help with the costs associated with raising the child. However, most parents receive less than the amount they are owed. Parents who do not make their child support payments can be subject to enforcement measures that might lead to arrest or jailing, but there is little evidence that such actions lead to increased child support payments. The Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) was developed by the Office of Child Support Service to integrate principles of procedural justice into enforcement practices in six child support agencies as an alternative to standard contempt proceedings. This MDRC report describes the PJAC demonstration and the impact it has on noncustodial parents.