‘Let’s Bring It Into the 21st Century’: Perceptions of fairness in child support

Engaging families in child support services is an ongoing challenge. In recognition of the limitations of traditional strategies, the child support program has started to incorporate service-based approaches and procedural justice ideas (i.e., approaches based on the idea that perceptions of process fairness affect an individual's response) into program efforts with a goal of improving outcomes for parents and children. Amidst this shifting landscape, the current study aims to provide insight into family experiences with child support, and specifically, how stakeholders (including parents served by child support and actors working within the system) conceptualize fairness in the context of child support. Through semi-structured interviews with parents who owe and are due child support (n = 26) and child support agency leaders and staff (n = 12), this study explores what fairness in child support means to these stakeholders; overall perceptions of fairness and perceptions of fairness at key junctures (e.g., order establishment, modification, and enforcement); and stakeholder visions for a more fair system. We found that interview participants across stakeholder groups often felt that having a program to ensure children are cared for financially is fair conceptually, though perspectives on how and when the program should engage with families varied within and across participant groups, as did perspectives on the realities of fairness in family experiences. Interview participants perceived some aspects of child support processes and outcomes to be unfair. Key sources of perceived unfairness included pathways into the child support program and when participation is required; difficulty accessing order modifications in response to changing circumstances; strategies used to enforce orders; and communication challenges. Visions for a more fair system included a desire for a more family-centered, holistic services; more personalized service delivery and communication; targeting services towards families who want and need them; and more connections to mediation and legal resources. Findings suggest that parent perceptions of fairness and experiences with the program could be supported through comprehensive community engagement, careful consideration of policies and processes for public benefits referrals, expansion of efforts to connect parents to supports and resources, simplification of processes, and improving resources and accessibility.