However, some survivors face serious barriers to safely pursuing and receiving child support. The Safe Access for Victims’ Economic Security (SAVES) Center is a national resource center that provides research, training, technical assistance, policy review, and collaboration guidance to increase safe access to child support, parenting time, and establishment of parentage for survivors of domestic violence. As a national resource center, the SAVES Center supports the vision of the Office of Child Support Services (OCSS) to ensure that every survivor who wants or needs child support, parenting time, and establishment of parentage services receives those services from a trauma-informed child support program.
About Us
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Child support is an important source of economic stability and a way to increase financial independence for survivors of domestic violence.
Our Work
The SAVES Center aims to build the evidence and knowledge base needed to better serve survivors through:
Technical Assistance
Providing technical assistance to 13 SAVES demonstration sites and the national child support program to support the development, implementation, and evaluation of safe access initiatives.
Evaluation
Conducting an evaluation of promising interventions SAVES demonstration sites implement to enhance survivor safety.
Research
Conducting research to:
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- Better understand the needs and safety of survivors in and out of the child support system.
- Learn how new and existing policies and practices support or hinder survivors’ interest in and ability to safely access child support services.
Training
Enhancing, creating, and delivering trainings on practices that promote safe access to child support, parenting time, and establishment of parentage.
Public Awareness
Developing, curating, and disseminating resources and research on child support, parenting time, and domestic violence.
Our Partners
The SAVES Center is a collaboration of partner organizations overseen by the Colorado Division of Child Support Services. These partners include:
Colorado Division of Child Support Services (DCSS), within the Colorado Office of Economic Security, is Colorado’s state-supervised, county-administered child support program. DCSS has experience implementing OCSS 1115 demonstration and evaluation grants in many areas including in-hospital paternity, domestic violence, and parenting time. For the SAVES Center, DCSS provides project leadership and oversight and is also the recipient of a SAVES demonstration grant.
Center for Policy Research (CPR) improves the lives of individuals, children, and families who face social and economic barriers by providing customized research, evaluation, and technical assistance to human services practitioners and policymakers. Since 1981, CPR has developed deep expertise on the child support system through conducting research, policy, and demonstration projects with agencies in over 35 states. CPR leads the SAVES Center’s research, evaluation, and policy activities.
BWJP is the national legal resource for gender-based violence. Comprised of seven national centers, BWJP provides some of the nation’s leading specialized policy and practice initiatives on improving survivor safety. BWJP’s work addresses the many facets of gender-based violence, such as complex family dynamics, the importance of protection orders, the risk or firearms, and how to prevent violence. It’s through the many projects and partnerships that BWJP is able to think both systematically and at a community level. For the SAVES center, BWJP leads the SAVES National Clearinghouse.
Centre for Public Impact (CPI) is global nonprofit organization committed to reimagining government so that it works for everyone. We act as a learning partner for governments, public servants, and a diverse network of changemakers to understand the complex challenges we face as a society and drive meaningful change through learning and experimentation. Since 2018, CPI’s North American region has worked with over 275 government teams, 2,000 government officials, and 12,600 community members.
The SAVES Center also convenes an advisory committee of representatives from groups including domestic violence survivors, domestic violence service providers and advocacy groups, child support services, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) agencies, legal services providers, fatherhood organizations, and courts.
Demonstration Sites
The SAVES Center works closely with 13 SAVES demonstration sites to support and learn from them as they implement various policies and practices aimed at increasing safety and fair access for survivors in their local child support system. Learn more about the SAVES demonstration sites and their safe access interventions.