 EFT/EDI Child Support Payments
Common Questions
Q. What is the EFT/EDI Child Support Payments (CSP) Application?
A. The EFT/EDI CSP Application will allow federal agencies that process payroll payments to convert their wage withholding child support check payments issued to State child support enforcement agencies to direct deposit payments using the Automated Clearing House (ACH) Cash Concentration or Disbursement (CCD+) format with a single 80 character field, DED Segment, addendum record.
Q. What is the ACH CCD+ format?
A. The CCD+ format is a National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA) ACH corporate payment format with a single 80 character addendum record capability. The addendum record is used by the originator to provide additional information to the payment recipient about to the payment.
Treasury Disbursed Offices (TDO): Federal agencies that process payroll files directly through one of the FMS' Regional Financial Centers (RFC) will develop their ACH files for CSP using the FMS ACH Vendor/Miscellaneous (Vendor/Misc) agency payment file specifications (proprietary format) provided by the Regional Operations, Disbursement Management Division. The RFC converts the federal agency's ACH input file formats to the CCD+ format for processing through the ACH network.
Non-Treasury Disbursed Offices (NTDO): Non-Treasury Disbursed Federal Agencies, such as the Department of the Defense (DOD), Defense Finance and Accounting Service Centers (DFAS) process payroll files directly to their servicing Federal Reserve Bank (FRB). The NTDOs develop their files for CSP in the ACH CCD+ format provided by their servicing FRB, the NACHA, or FMS as necessary.
Q. What is the DED Segment Addenda?
A. DED Data Segment is an American National Standard Institute (ANSI), Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12 syntax which stands for DEDUCTION. The DED Segment, which can be used in various other EDI Transaction Sets, is used in the CCD+/CTX transactions. The DED Segment allows the originator of the transaction to provided specific EDI structured data about the CSP and the payer.
Q. Federal agencies currently process both court ordered and volunteer CSP. Among the many CSP that are processed on behalf of federal employees, how would an Agency know which payments to convert to the EFT/EDI CCD+ or CTX format?
A. The CSP targeted for conversion are: (1) All child support orders enforced by a State child support enforcement agency, and (2) Income withholdings for all child support orders that were initially issued on or after January 1, 1994 and that are not enforced by a State child support agency.
Some States have extended the Welfare reform legislative requirement, and developed the centralized collection capability for all old and new orders under the legislation, as well as other types of CSP.
FMS will provide implementation procedures and assistance for converting the CSP payments to EFT/EDI, using the CCD+ or CTX format, and the DED addendum record segment. Federal agencies are advised to coordinate their initial implementations with each of the States that will be receiving payments from them for unique program details, and further instructions that will enable agencies to identify the old and new CSP orders to be converted to the CCD+/CTX formats.
Q. Can all centralized States accept CSP in both ACH corporate formats, CCD+ and CTX?
A. The Welfare Reform legislation of 1996 initially required that States develop centralized collection capability for CCD+ payments. Further 1999 legislative requirements concerning State EFT/EDI Programs included the capability to process CTX payment transactions as a State certification requirement. See contacts listing for specific information States' EFT/EDI Payment Format capability.
Q. Can federal agencies use the same ACH file format for withholding CSP that is currently used to process payroll, salary payments, and allotments?
A. Payments processed through FMS are in accordance to the NACHA regulations for processing ACH transactions. Payroll and allotments are classified as consumer payments (issued through the ACH network in the Prearranged Payment and Deposit (PPD) format to a financial institution (FI) consumer account). The ACH processing regulations for consumer payments/FI accounts require that they be processed, and handled by the receiving financial institution in accordance to regulations governing consumer payments that are different from that of a corporate type payment (i.e., CCD+, CTX).
Q. What is a IV-D case as referenced as a part of the Social Security Act?
A. The term IV-D comes from Title IV, Section D of the Social Security Act which established the Child Support Enforcement Program in 1975. IV-D cases are opened for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) cases involving children. IV-D cases may also be opened for families not receiving public assistance if they apply for basic child support services (e.g., locating parents; establishing paternity; establishing child support orders; collecting and distributing child support; enforcing child support orders) through the State child support enforcement agency.
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