A Helping Hand to Self-Sufficiency

Problem Solving Court

Presenters: Honorable Judge Philip T. Raymond III, Macon Judicial Circuit Susan F. Cosby, DCSS PSC Program Manager Steven Giglio, PSC Coordinator, Macon Judicial Circuit

Presentation For: 2013 Georgia Accountability Court Conference

Date: Tuesday, May 21st 2013 3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Georgia Department of Human Services

Division of Child Support Services

Vision, Mission and Core ValuesVision Vision

Stronger Families for a Stronger Georgia.Stronger Families for a Stronger Georgia.

MissionMissionStrengthen Georgia by providing Individuals and Families access to services that promote self-sufficiency, independence, and protect Georgia's vulnerable children and adults.

Core ValuesCore Values• Provide access to resources that offer support and empower Georgians

and their families. • Deliver services professionally and treat all clients with dignity and

respect. Manage business operations effectively and efficiently by aligning resources across the agency.

• Promote accountability, transparency and quality in all services we deliver and programs we administer.

• Develop our employees at all levels of the agency.

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Division of Child Support ServicesServices and Demographics

• Child Support Services include:• Locating Non Custodial Parents• Establishing Paternity• Establishing, enforcing and modifying financial and medical child support orders• Collecting and distributing support payments

•Caseload:• Georgia DCSS has 394,800 cases representing over 1.2M Georgia citizens• Caseload represents 529,200 children• 94% of caseload consists of Custodial Parents who have never received public assistance or formerly received public assistance

•Georgia distributed over $693M to families in FY12•Moved nationally from 47th to 26th in Current Support Paid in 6 years•2010 “Most Improved Child Support Agency in the Nation”•2012 “Most Outstanding Child Support Program in the Nation”

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Division of Child Support ServicesA New Way of Thinking…

• Name change from “Child Support Enforcement” to “Child Support Services” in 2006 • Added two key values to value statement

– Put Children First– Children Need Both Parents

• “Government should be a resource to families, not a substitute”– Parent Accountability– Investment in our citizens and the community

• Established new outreach programs and enhanced others– Fatherhood Program – serves 4,000 Non-custodial Parents (NCPs) per year

by assisting in breaking down barriers to employment• Career Fairs, which includes resume writing

– Prison Paternity Program– Access and Visitation Program

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• Community Outreach Council– Focus group to find ways to help

NCPs and CPs become self-sufficient

– Enhanced Transitions Job Grant Partnership with Goodwill that will ensure 500 non-custodial parents in Atlanta area receive transition jobs

• Problem Solving Court– Child support alternative to

incarceration– Utilize free community resources– Referrals for initial assessment

through local CSBs• Substance abuse• Mental health

• Fatherhood Program– Serves over 4,000 NCPs per year– Serves Non-Custodial Parents

who are Fathers and MothersRe-entry Services– Partnership with DOC to assist

NCPs with re-entry into societyPrison Paternity Testing– Voluntary DNA testing done at

all Georgia Prisons; 17 - 20% exclusion rate

Homeless Veterans Initiative– Metro Atlanta Pilot Partnership

with Veterans Affairs and Legal Aid; GA one of 10 sites selected by the Feds

– Columbus Veterans Initiative

Division of Child Support ServicesKey Initiatives

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Division of Child Support ServicesWhy Problem Solving Court?

• 60.63% of NCPs paid as ordered by the courts on a consistent basis• 79.25% of NCPs paid something on their child support case• Remaining NCPs either will not pay or have so many barriers to employment that they cannot pay, examples:

34% of NCPs in the Fatherhood Program do not have a GED84% of NCPs in the Fatherhood Program have a criminal record

•Revolving door of NCPs in court for contemptNCPs not paying as ordered are being referred to court over and over again for non- payment

• Approximately 7% of NCPs on caseload are incarcerated Currently it costs $3 million a day to operate the Department of Corrections Georgia has 53,000 individuals incarcerated

•Alternative to incarceration•Decrease in cost to taxpayers•Reduction in customer complaints

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Community Services such as counseling, mental health or

substance abuse

Participants

DCSS Office Manager/Agent

Division of Child Support Services Problem Solving Court Partnerships

Judge – Decision Maker

Community Resources for training or employment opportunities

DCSSProblem Solving

Court Coordinator

DCSS Attorney

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Division of Child Support ServicesServices Offered by Resource Providers include:

Clinical AssessmentsSubstance/Drug Abuse

Mental HealthJob Skills Training DOL/WIAJob Assistance/Placement

Computer LiteracyCoaching/Mentoring

Volunteer Work Opportunities8

Division of Child Support Services Problem Solving Court Locations

DCSS REGIONS

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Active Problem Solving Courts

Coweta – Carrollton October 2009

Northeastern - Gainesville February 2011

Augusta – Augusta November 2011

Appalachian – Ellijay January 2012

Atlanta – Atlanta February 2012

Stone Mountain – Decatur May 2012

Flint – McDonough June 2012

Pataula – Cuthbert June 2012

Alcovy - Covington January 2013

Mountain - Toccoa January 2013

Macon - Macon April 2013Problem Solving Court Expansion

Enotah - Dahlonega Pending

Southwestern - Americus Pending

Towaliga - Jackson Pending

Rockdale - Conyers Pending

Dublin - Dublin Pending

The Honorable Philip T. Raymond, III• “Although the term ‘dead beat dads’ is frequently used to

universally describe non-custodial parents who are not meeting their court ordered child support obligations, the truth is there are many such parents who are willing but simply unable to pay due to involuntary unemployment or underemployment. The goal of the Problem Solving Court is to identify these individuals and provide to them the resources to overcome their personal barriers to full employment, while stressing parental responsibility and self-sufficiency, and offering an alternative to the cycle of incarceration in which many of them find themselves.”

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Intake• Complete assessments, forms and

interviews• Referral to Service Providers• Drivers License Reinstatement Review

Phase II• Obtain Full-time employment with IDO or

making payments for 3-6 months• Compliance with Service Providers• Negotiate payment on State arrears• Referral for Access and Visitation• Seek legitimation rights if applicable• Communicate/Cooperate with DCSS

Phase I• Regularly attend Group Sessions• Meet with Coordinator as specified • Compliance with Service Providers• Complete weekly verifiable 40-hour job

search• Communicate/Cooperate with DCSS

Graduation• Successfully completed all phases

Division of Child Support Services Program Phases

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Problem Solving Court in Macon

• A Journey towards Self Sufficiency

• Creating strongerfamilies for a strongerGeorgia

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Problem Solving Court’s

Meeting Place!

Our place in the community!

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Opening the door to new possibilities!

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Mondays are for Group sessions!

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Fridays we check in with the Coordinator

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Our C.G.T.C. campus partners!

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C.G.T.C. lab and our Bus-stop with MTA!

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Success stories! PSC working in Macon…• Antonio• “This program has been a

second chance at life.”• Yellow Cab of Macon

• Matthew• “A chance to do the right

thing and have a career.”• Hilton Garden Inn—Mercer

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Can’t spell community without “UNTY”

You can’t spell community without “Unity”A roll call of our exceptional partners!

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Our Community Begins Here!

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Central Georgia Technical College

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River Edge Behavioral Health Center

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Middle Georgia Regional Library• Computer Classes

• Build Your Skills withFREE Computer Classes

• Computer Classes are offered free of charge at Washington Memorial Library.

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Crossroads Counseling Center

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Goodwill Industries of Middle Georgia

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Georgia Department of Labor• The Mission of the Georgia Department of Labor is:

To work with public and private partners in building a workforce system that contributes to Georgia's economic prosperity. We will accomplish this by creating opportunities and providing services that: Assist individuals to attain their work goals and increase self-sufficiency through employment, training, comprehensive rehabilitation, and support services, and

• Assist employers to meet their business needs through employee recruitment and selection services, workforce information, and technical support.

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Morningstar Children and Family Services• Providing Child Access

& Visitation Services• Serving Baldwin, Bibb,

Crawford, Houston, Jones, Monroe, Peach, Pulaski, Putnam and Wilkinson counties.

• Macon Family Support Center is available for our PSC participants locally.

• Coordination of visitations or parenting time

• Mediation between the parents (non-legal, non-binding)

• Written parenting plans• Group parenting education• Counseling on access

issues

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Macon Volunteer Clinic

• Macon Volunteer Clinic provides free primary medical and dental care, as well as medication assistance, to uninsured working adults of Bibb County Georgia.

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Macon Re-Entry Coalition

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Macon-Bibb County E.O.C., Inc.

It is the purpose and mission of the Macon-Bibb County Economic Opportunity Council, Inc. to break the cycle of

poverty by coordinating available resources, in a structured manner, to affect the economic and other causes of poverty in

the Macon-Bibb County area.

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Christ the Healer Ministries

• Christ the Healer Ministries is an interdenominational ministry dedicated to praying for healing: encouraging and teaching people how to pray for spiritual, physical and emotional healing.

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Christian Intervention Program

• A unique and comprehensive Bible based program designed to instruct the chemically dependent and bring them out of the bondage of alcohol and other drugs. The CHRISTIAN INTERVENTION PROGRAM® (CIP) is administered by the local church, working in cooperation with the local courts, college administrators, industry management teams and prison authorities.

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Macon Transit Authority!

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The Superior Courts / Macon Judicial Circuit

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Preliminary findings from “AOC Carroll County Child Support Court (CCCSC) Preliminary Evaluation Findings. Applied Research Services, Inc., June 25, 2010." conducted by Applied Research Services and the Georgia Administrative Office of the Courts

Division of Child Support ServicesProgram Evaluation

$18,838

$1,723

$17,115

$537.00 $54.00 $483.00

$0

$2,000

$4,000

$6,000

$8,000

$10,000

$12,000

$14,000

$16,000

$18,000

$20,000

Annual Collections Monthly Collections

Treatment GroupComparison GroupDifference

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Division of Child Support ServicesProblem Solving Court – Making A Difference… FY2012

NCP’s Served 207

Total Cases 449

Children Served 539

Support Collected $217,013.96

Paying Percentage 73.48

Incarceration Savings $2,142,581.14

Graduates 90

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