The sternly named Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (CMEC) has a softer side - persuading resident parents to make what they call "family-based arrangements". This means that parents avoid using the statutory CSA collection service by reaching agreement with each other on how much is paid.
FNF Scotland took part in a recent visit by Scottish voluntary organisations to one of the key components of this service - the Child Maintenance Options call centre in Doncaster.
140 staff work from here, taking phone enquiries and also making outward calls to newly separated parents who have made benefit claims or notify change of circumstances to the HMRC. The centre is operated by Ventura, an outsourcing company which handles services for organisations ranging from Next to the RSPCA as well as CMEC and the Pensions Service.
They handle 20-25,000 phone calls per month, all focusing on child maintenance, but giving signposts to other services (including Families Need Fathers) for people who require support on other issues.
While we were impressed by the sensitivity of the call handlers, who were having to make what could be tricky calls to newly separated parents, these conversations only skated round the issue of child contact.
The resident parents were asked whether the other parent sees the children only as an indicator of the degree of communication between the ex-partners, and no further advice or help with child contact was offered.
This would seem to be a missed opportunity to at least reinforce the message about the benefits to children of spending significant time with both parents, alongside discussion of financial arrangements.
Child Maintenance Options do offer the Kids In the Middle leaflet as a download from their web site, but we have suggested that their telephone and face-to-face staff should spend more time re-inforcing the message in person.