We are seeking pro bono assistance to evaluate the effectiveness of the Mississippi Department of Human Services’ current method of collecting child support. We want a better understanding about their rate of successful collection, how much is actually disbursed to the family, and what the cost benefit of using DHS to collect child support is to the state.

Additionally, in Mississippi, single parents are required to file a claim for child support against the noncustodial parent through the Department of Human Services before they are eligible to receive child care certificates. We have found that single mothers often do not want to file such a claim, for any number of reasons, including fear of retribution or out of a desire not to disrupt a support arrangement that is already in place. We believe that the number of single mothers in Mississippi is disproportionately African-American, so a policy that targets single mothers has a disparate impact on African-Americans and is discriminatory. We seek pro bono assistance researching this requirement and determining whether legal action to change the provision is viable.

For more information about this or other pro bono projects, please contact pro bono counsel Crystal Utley at (228) 435-7284 or via e-mail at cutley@mscenterforjustice.org.  We also invite you to visit our latest Pro Bono Wish List.