Child Support UX Discovery

Overview

Human-Centered Redesign of a Family-Facing Government Service

The Challenge

Michigan's child support system was navigated primarily by low-income parents who experienced it as opaque, adversarial, and disconnected from their actual family circumstances. The service had been designed around legal and administrative processes rather than the needs of the families it was meant to support.

My role

Lead UX researcher and service designer for an Innovation for Justice discovery project in partnership with the Michigan Office of Child Support.

  • Conducted discovery research including system actor interviews with parents, caseworkers, and system administrators to map the current-state service experience.

  • Produced journey maps documenting the family's experience across touchpoints, identifying moments of confusion, friction, shame, and disengagement.

  • Developed a UX Discovery Report with ecosystem analysis and design opportunity areas for a more family-centered service model.

Impact

What we learned

Families disengaged from the child support system because the system was rigid, confusing, difficult to connect with, and communicated through enforcement rather than support. The most significant design opportunities were in language, framing, support structures, flexible family-centered tech tools, and the creation or community advisory board.

The Michigan Office of Child Support has launched a family-friendly app and integrated community feedback into their process, including in the form of community advisory board. These low-cost interventions have had significant impact on family engagement and outcomes.

Key artifacts

  • UX Discovery Report: Michigan Child Support (Innovation for Justice, Spring 2022)

    Presented findings at the Legal Services Corporation Innovations in Technology Conference

Learn more: innovation4justice.org/portal-design