DCL-02-26, Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS) Release 02-02 Minor

DCL-02-26

DATE: September 27, 2002

TO: ALL STATE IV-D DIRECTORS

RE: Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS) Release 02-02 Minor

Dear Colleague:

Over the past couple of months, the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) has been preparing states for new system changes included in FPLS Release 02-02 that will be implemented on November 15, 2002. As part of the release process, states were invited to participate in conference calls in July and August 2002 to discuss the release manifest and record specifications.

This release includes changes to the Federal Case Registry (FCR), the Interstate Referral Guide (IRG), and the Federal Offset systems, and was in large part due to state feedback and suggestions presented to OCSE. Many of the comments were provided during Regional Data Quality calls conducted last March, IRG workgroup conference calls, and from the Federal Offset state workgroup. In an effort to assist states in maximizing their use of FCR, IRG and Federal Offset data, OCSE concurred with many of the states' recommendations and programmed for the state-suggested enhancements.

Similar to previous FPLS Manifest Releases, the November 2002 changes are deemed minor since implementation of the enhancements can be delayed until state planning and resources may accommodate the changes. Although states may delay the implementation, states are encouraged to make the needed modifications to their systems in order to benefit from the new enhancements. A summary of the enhancements to each system is enclosed.

States may contact their State Technical Support (State TS) liaisons or George Laufert at (202) 205-3605 or glaufert@acf.hhs.gov. with any questions regarding the November enhancements or to discuss future programming enhancements that enable state systems to effectively use the data.

Sincerely,

Sherri Z. Heller, Ed.D.
Commissioner
Office of Child Support Enforcement

Enclosure

cc: Regional Program Managers
ACF Regional Administrators

Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS) Release 02-02 Summary - September 2002