The SAVES Center is a national resource center funded by the Office of Child Support Services. It works to expand safe access to child support, parentage establishment, and parenting time services. The Center supports state, Tribal, and local child support agencies—as well as partner organizations—through training, technical assistance, research, evaluation, and policy information. The SAVES Center is a collaboration among the Colorado Division of Child Support Services, the Battered Women’s Justice Project, the Center for Policy Research (CPR), and the Centre for Public Impact (CPI).
Safe Access for Victims' Economic Security Center
What is the SAVES Center?
Child support is a lifeline.
According to research from the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, two-thirds (67%) of survivors reported staying in or returning to an abusive relationship due to financial pressures—including the inability to pay bills, cover rent or mortgage, or provide food for their family.
According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) are more likely to experience chronic health conditions, such as depression, PTSD, diabetes, and heart disease. These health challenges often worsen when survivors are unable to access stable housing, income, or healthcare.
According to the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, there is a lack of adequate housing support for survivors and their families, particularly survivors who have multiple children in the household and those who have teenage dependents. The lack of adequate housing resources to support the needs of survivors with children often leaves survivors and their families with no alternative but to stay with the harm-doer until they can access safe housing.