the number of effective child maintenance arrangements in place and a statutory duty to provide an information and guidance service. Child Maintenance Options was launched in July 2008 to meet this statutory duty. Around 200 experts work at Child Maintenance Options answering people’s queries on the phone, by e-mail, via the live chat service on their website or providing face-to-face support when needed. In 2010, Child Maintenance Options ran a national promotional campaign, involving TV, radio, online and print advertising. This generated 66,500 calls to the service showing a growing demand for this type of support. Impact of Child Maintenance Options As of September 2010, Child Maintenance Options had handled more than 500,000 successful contacts (defined as a meaningful conversation about child maintenance) and had more than a million hits on its website. As at March 2011 around 91,000 children were benefiting from a family-based arrangement set up by separated parents after contact with the service. The success of the Options service was further demonstrated in 2010 by its success in winning the Contact Centre Association Global Service Excellence award for Best Outsourcing Partnership, as well as being shortlisted to the final three for the Best Public Service award at the 2010 Civil Service Awards. References External links The Henshaw Report Strengthening families, promoting parental responsibility:the future of child maintenance (Government green paper) Child welfare in the United Kingdom Public bodies and task forces of the United Kingdom government Department for Work and Pensions