Special Improvement Project (SIP) -- Improving Child Support Enforcement (CSE) and Court Collaboration

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), invites eligible applicants to submit competitive grant applications for Special Improvement Projects (SIP), which further the national child support enforcement (CSE) mission, vision, and goals to ensure that all children receive financial and medical support from their parents. For Fiscal Year (FY) 2009, approximately $200,000 is available for this solicitation which addresses the priority area of improving CSE and court collaboration. Applications will be screened and evaluated as indicated in this program announcement. Awards will be contingent upon the outcome of the competition and the availability of funds. A non-Federal match is not required. Given that the purpose of these projects is to improve child support enforcement programs, it is critical that applicants who are not Title IV-D of the Social Security Act (IV-D) agencies have the cooperation of IV-D agencies to operate these projects. Also, projects are encouraged to collaborate with workforce development and other organizations to expand employment opportunities for noncustodial parents or with IV-D Tribal agencies/courts to improve services for Tribal customers. All applications developed jointly by more than one agency/organization must identify a single lead organization as the official applicant. The lead organization will be the recipient of the grant award. Participating agencies and organizations can be included as co-participants or subcontractors with their written authorization.