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Noncustodial Parent Choices — Program Overview
The Noncustodial Parent (NCP) Choices program targets low-income unemployed or underemployed noncustodial parents who are behind on their child support payments and whose children are current or former recipients of public assistance.
The goal of the program is to help noncustodial parents overcome substantial barriers to employment and career advancement while becoming economically self-sufficient and making consistent child support payments.
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Customers
The NCP Choices program serves low-income unemployed or underemployed noncustodial parents who are behind on their child support payments and whose children are current or former recipients of public assistance, helping them overcome substantial barriers to employment and career advancement while becoming economically self-sufficient and making consistent child support payments.
The NCP Choices program currently operates in 17 Workforce Development Boards in Texas:
- Alamo
- Cameron County
- Capital Area
- Coastal Bend
- Dallas County
- Deep East Texas
- East Texas
- Golden Crescent
- Gulf Coast
- Lower Rio Grande
- Tarrant County
- Panhandle
- Rural Capital
- South Plains
- Southeast Texas
- Upper Rio Grande
- West Central Texas
Despite the fact that this is one of the hardest-to-serve populations, the NCP Choices program has seen unprecedented employment, job retention, and child support results. The following information has been collected regarding the NCP Choices program between August 2005 and August 2010 (Fiscal Years 2006–2010):
- 71 percent of participating noncustodial parents entered employment.
- On average, the noncustodial parents entered employment within eight weeks.
- 63 percent of participating noncustodial parents retained employment for at least six months.
- Almost $30 million in child support was collected - more than $3 for every $1 spent.
The services provided to noncustodial parents mirror the services provided to TANF recipients under Texas’ Choices program. The services emphasize Work First, providing job referrals and job search assistance, and include:
- Job referrals and job development
- Support services
- Short-term training
- Subsidized employment/work experience
- General Educational Development (GED) and English as a Second Language (ESL) classes
- Retention and career advancement assistance
When a noncustodial parent is ordered into the program, Workforce Solutions office staff performs an assessment of needs and barriers and creates an individual employment plan designed to move that individual into a stable employment situation.
To be eligible for NCP Choices, a noncustodial parent must:
- Have a child support case in which the child and/or custodial parent is a current or former recipient of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or Medicaid benefits
- Be delinquent in child support payments
- Be unemployed or underemployed
- Reside in the geographical area served by the participating Board
- Be legally able to work in the United States
- Have an Office of the Attorney General (OAG)-issued consent order and/or be ordered by a court to participate in the program
Reports
Authority & Funding
Initiated in August 2005, NCP Choices is a collaborative effort of the Office of the Attorney General of Texas, the Texas Workforce Commission, and family court judges.
NCP Choices is funded by TANF and is authorized under the TANF State Plan
and the following federal statutes and regulations:
Tips & Guides
Access a comprehensive guide and a desk aid providing policies and procedures and TWIST instructions for the NCP Choices program.