DCL-05-13, Standardized Electronic Format for the ORDER/NOTICE TO WITHHOLD INCOME FOR CHILD SUPPORT Form

DEAR COLLEAGUE LETTER

DCL-05-13

DATE: May 9, 2005

TO: ALL STATE IV-D DIRECTORS

RE: Standardized Electronic Format for the ORDER/NOTICE TO WITHHOLD INCOME FOR CHILD SUPPORT Form

Dear Colleague:

In August, 2004, the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) convened a workgroup for the purpose of developing standardized record layouts for the electronic transmission of wage-withholding orders to employers. The workgroup was composed of representatives from 18 states, tribes, and territories, 11 employers, three large Federal agencies (Social Security Administration, Department of Defense and the United States Postal Service), and a large payroll processing company.

This workgroup met throughout the fall of 2004 and developed a draft record format for the electronic income-withholding order (e-IWO). In addition, the workgroup also developed an acknowledgement record format to be used by employers to electronically notify a Child Support Enforcement (CSE) agency that a wage-withholding order can be implemented. Employers can also use this acknowledgement format for notification of a change with respect to an income-withholding order, e.g., employee no longer working at the employer.

Electronic transmission of wage-withholding orders will increase processing efficiency and improve the speed with which payments are made to families by:

• Reducing the time from IWO preparation to employer processing,
• Reducing errors that can occur through manual processing,
• Reducing cost of postage and processing paper documents, and
• Providing an on-going communications link between CSE agencies and employers should additional actions be necessary.

As a result of this workgroup’s effort, several states and employers will begin pilot testing these new e-IWO record layouts shortly. The formats that will be tested include flat-file, Extensible Markup Language (XML), and Portable Document Format (PDF). Various data transmission methods have been proposed by the workgroup and are currently being evaluated by OCSE.

Information regarding the data elements, file formats, including an XML schema, will be distributed in the near future.

During the pilot-testing phase, meetings and conference calls will be conducted to discuss the efficiency and effectiveness of the e-IWO process and whether any procedural or programming changes are necessary. Information concerning the outcome of the pilot phase will be shared with all states.

We encourage any state, tribe, or territory that is interested in participating in this exciting process or that wants additional information about the e-IWO process to contact Carol Callahan at 202-401-6969.

Sincerely,

David H. Siegel
Acting Commissioner
Office of Child Support Enforcement