SNAP & CA Housing & Prevention Services Health Assistance Other Benefits & Services

Information for Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) and other City agencies

The child support program continuously seeks to identify improvements to our program to achieve better outcomes for the children, parents, and guardians we serve. For a basic summary of our services, see Child Support Overview and the Infographic or access the OCSS Resources Flyer.

Community Partners and the partnerships OCSS has with other City agencies are vital to us for sharing information about child support with parents and informing strategies to best assist the families and children that we all serve. If your organization would like to receive training for your staff on any child support topics, please contact Alan Farrell at 929-252-5219 or alan.farrell@dfa.state.ny.us. You can also refer to the list of upcoming Training Institute Webinars.

For close to 10 years, we have had a committee of community partners who meet with us to share ideas, suggestions, and concerns. There have been several new initiatives and changes that have come out of the committee, as outlined in our Child Support Snapshot . Contact Alan Farrell at 929-252-5219 or alan.farrell@dfa.state.ny.us if you are interested in participating.

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Click a topic, or press the enter key on a topic, to reveal the details.

Relevant Documents

Child Support Snapshot
Debt Reduction Flyer for Service Providers
CBO Information Packet
Next Steps (For Referrals to Customer Service)
NYC's Job Training Program Adapts to Challenges
Her Justice: Towards Justice For Parents in Child Support Courts
Aspen Institute: Reducing Arrears: Child Support Policy Fact Sheet
Aspen Institute: An Evidence-Based Approach to Child Support
NCSEA Child Support Communique: Co-Parenting: Opportunities and Challenges for the Child Support Program
Urban Institute, Elaine Sorensen: Child Support Plays an Increasingly Important Role for Poor Custodial Families
Federal OCSS: The Child Support Program is a Good Investment, Story Behind the Numbers
Columbia University School of Social Work: The Role of Child Support Debt on the Development of Mental Health Problems among Nonresident Fathers
New York City Independent Budget Office, Fiscal Brief: A Shift In Priorities and Caseload at the City's Office of Child Support Enforcement
2022 Annual Report
2023-2024 Annual Report

Additional Videos

Although all of our videos are posted to the OCSS YouTube Channel, this section lists videos intended for our partners.

Upcoming Presentations

2026 Webinar Schedule

We look forward to you joining our free virtual child support webinars.

HRA’s Office of Child Support Services (OCSS) Training Institute presents The Child Support Information Hour – a series that sheds light on the sometimes-complicated issues around child support. The webinars are designed for both our clients – custodial and noncustodial parents – as well as staff at city agencies, community-based organizations, and other professionals that work with our clients. Each presentation is followed by a question-and-answer period.

NOW: Every presentation is simultaneously translated into Spanish.

How community-based organizations can benefit from learning about the child support program: Child support clients are often also participants in other programs such as: Child Welfare, Corrections, Veterans Affairs, Workforce One, DYCD, Head Start, SNAP, Cash Assistance, Nurse Family Practitioners, Jobs Plus, and many community-based programs. The services the child support program provides can support or detract from the goals of your organization. These information sessions can help you better understand the intersection between our program and yours. We would love for you to also encourage your clients to attend sessions that might interest them. All are welcome!

NOTE: If you have trouble registering for any session, please email us immediately at OCSS.TrainingInsitute@dfa.state.ny.us.

How Do I…? Information on Managing a Child Support Case

Tuesday, June 30th at 10:00 AM – click here to register:
https://www.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/qMGPBSLRSRS-9cBi6XsLoA

Attendees will learn how to complete several important activities related to child support, including how to prepare for court, make a payment, modify a child support order, complete a parenting time agreement, and get help with child support issues.

Best Suited For: Custodial and Noncustodial parents and staff of organizations that work with individuals who have a child support case or may be considering applying for child support.

2023 Policy Conference Materials

The Office of Child Support Services held its biennial policy conference, “Confronting Structural Racism in the Child Support Program: Listening, Understanding, and Taking Action.” The goal was to have an in-depth discussion about how structural racism affects the families we serve and delve into ways that we could reduce the negative effects that child support and closely related programs have on Black and Brown people paying and receiving child support. We brought together distinguished speakers and panelists, led by keynote speakers Jennifer Jones Austin (CEO/Executive Director, Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies) and David Pate, Jr., Ph.D. (School of Human Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison), from areas of child support, child welfare, economics, and law as well as parents who have experienced the child support system firsthand.

Link to conference overview by OCSS Executive Deputy Commissioner Frances Pardus-abbadessa and interviews with multiple presenters and panelists: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeg1TxRXTePhFKSUgbIojDu-Ypk-77TBx

Slides:

Child Support in the Community Newsletter