Case Study: Orange County Child Support Services improves child-support payment outcomes and empowers caseworkers with SAS Analytics

Orange County’s data-driven approach empowers caseworkers to help parents make decisions that benefit their children

Orange County Child Support Services (California) faced a persistent challenge: noncustodial parents frequently missed child support payments and traditional punitive responses (fines or jail) often worsened poverty rather than helping children. The agency wanted to understand the underlying causes of nonpayment so caseworkers could offer constructive, long-term help that keeps families out of multigenerational poverty.

Using SAS predictive analytics, Orange County created an iScore that combines about 30 key variables (from an initial 450) to predict ability to pay and surface tailored interventions—education, benefits, expungement or employer referrals, medical help, and more. Adopted by 60 caseworkers within six months, the tool streamlined casework, raised rookie productivity to near veteran levels, enabled collaborative earnings‑improvement plans, and produced early wins (for example, unlocking benefits that restored $100/month payments), improving engagement and long‑term prospects for children.

Orange County Child Support Services

Steve Eldred

Director