Dear Colleague DCL9624

ACF/Office of Child Support Enforcement


TROP 1997 processing year deadlines


May 20,1996                             DC-96-24

TO ALL STATE IV-D DIRECTORS

Dear Colleague:

The Federal Tax Refund Offset Program's 1997 processing year will
begin very soon.  This Dear Colleague letter serves as a reminder
of deadlines for the program.  Please ensure that the appropriate
program and systems personnel associated with the Federal Tax
Refund Offset Program are aware of these dates.  An updated
Action Transmittal will be issued for processing year 1997 in the
very near future.  Please take special note of the June 30th
change.  States that request OCSE to print pre-offset notices
will no longer be required to send pre-payment checks for this
process.  Instead the money will be collected through offset in a
supplemental grant award on the 1st quarter's OCSE-131 report
(Child Support Enforcement Program Financial Report) or by check
before January 30th, 1997.  A bill will be sent to those States
that OCSE mails pre-offset notices for in December 1996.  The fee
for OCSE to process pre-offset notices has been estimated at $.41
per pre-offset notice for processing year 1997.


THE FOLLOWING ARE IMPORTANT DATES FOR THE STATES TO NOTE:

June 10 - July 1:

     TEST TAPE SUBMITTAL PERIOD.  WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE STATES TO
     SUBMIT THEIR TEST CASES AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE DURING THIS
     PERIOD IN CASE THERE ARE FORMATTING PROBLEMS WITH THE FILE,
     A CORRECTED FILE MAYBE RESUBMITTED TO OCSE BY JULY 1.  CASES
     RECEIVED BY JULY 1 WILL BE FORWARDED TO IRS DURING THE WEEK
     OF JULY 11 AND THE STATES WILL RECEIVE THE RESULTS AND
     ADDRESSES DURING THE LAST WEEK OF JULY WHICH WILL GIVE
     STATES TIME TO ANALYZE RESULTS AND CORRECT ERRORS FOR THE
     FINAL SUBMITTAL.  IN ADDITION, THOSE STATES WHO ISSUE THEIR
     OWN NOTICES WILL HAVE MORE TIME TO PROCESS THE ADDRESS
     INFORMATION.

     THOSE CASES THAT IRS RETURNS AS UNACCOUNTABLE WILL BE SENT
     TO THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION (SSA) TO BE RUN
     THROUGH THE ENUMERATION VERIFICATION SYSTEM (EVS).  OCSE
     WILL RETURN ANY CORRECTED SSN'S TO THE STATE.  ALL STATES
     ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS
     OPPORTUNITY AND CORRECT THE SSN FOR THE FINAL SUBMITTAL FOR
     TAX OFFSET.  FOR THOSE STATES WHO FAIL TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF
     THE TEST TAPE PROCESS, THE SAME ROUTINE WILL BE FOLLOWED FOR
     CASES SUBMITTED IN SEPTEMBER AND DECEMBER.  HOWEVER, WE
     SUGGEST THAT YOU SUBMIT DURING THE TEST TAPE PERIOD IN ORDER
     TO GET SSN AND NAME MATCHES CORRECTED AND RESUBMITTED FOR
     OFFSET IN SEPTEMBER AND DECEMBER.

     CASES SUBMITTED AFTER JULY 1 WILL NOT BE SENT TO IRS UNTIL
     THE WEEK OF AUGUST 22, AND THE RESULTS WILL NOT BE RETURNED
     TO STATES UNTIL THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 19.  THIS MAYBE TOO
     LATE TO ASSIST STATES WHO MAIL THEIR OWN PRE-OFFSET NOTICES.

3rd WEEK OF JUNE:

     FOR THOSE STATES WHO ISSUE THEIR OWN PRE-OFFSET NOTICES,
     OCSE WILL PROVIDE ADDRESSES FOR THOSE 1996 PROCESSING YEAR
     CASES WITHOUT A COLLECTION.  THIS WILL ASSIST THOSE STATES
     IN BUILDING UP THEIR ADDRESS FILE IN ORDER TO SEND OUT THEIR
     PRE-OFFSET NOTICES.

JUNE 28:

     THOSE STATES THAT OCSE PROCESSES PRE-OFFSET NOTICES FOR ARE
     REQUIRED TO SUBMIT AN ESTIMATE OF THE NUMBER OF THOSE CASES.
     THE ACTUAL DOLLAR AMOUNT WILL BE COLLECTED THROUGH THE GRANT
     PROCESS ON OCSE-131 OR BY CHECK IN JANUARY 1997.  SEE AT-96-
     01 DATED OCTOBER 30, 1995.  WE HAVE ESTIMATED THE FEE PER
     PRE-OFFSET NOTICE TO BE APPROXIMATELY $.41 FOR PROCESSING
     YEAR 1997.  PLEASE REMEMBER THAT AN AFDC AND NON-AFDC CASE
     FOR THE SAME PERSON ARE CONSIDERED TWO DIFFERENT CASES.

JULY 15:

     IV-D DIRECTOR'S CERTIFICATION REGARDING PRE-OFFSET NOTICES
     ARE DUE AT THE REGIONAL OFFICES.  IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY
     OF THE REGIONAL OFFICES TO REVIEW THE PRE-OFFSET NOTICES.  A
     COPY OF THE PRE-OFFSET NOTICE SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO:

          ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
          OFFICE OF CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT
          SPECIAL COLLECTIONS UNIT - ROOM 484
          370 L'ENFANT PROMENADE, S.W.
          WASHINGTON, D.C.  20447

AUGUST 26:

     EARLIEST DATE FOR SUBMITTING PROCESSING YEAR 1997 FINAL
     SUBMITTAL TAPES TO OCSE.  IF OCSE IS MAILING YOUR PRE-OFFSET
     NOTICES, PLEASE ENSURE THAT ALL COUNTIES OR LOCALS HAVE
     BEEN INCLUDED IN THE SUBMITTAL.  THE OMISSION OF ONE OR MORE
     COUNTIES OR LOCALS CAN RESULT IN A STATE LOSING ITS PRIORITY
     IF THAT COUNTY'S CASES HAVE TO BE ADDED TO THE SUBMITTAL
     FILE AT A LATER DATE.  THE STATE MAY ALSO RUN THE RISK OF
     NOT HAVING THESE CASES ADDED TO THE FILE IF THE OCTOBER 31
     DEADLINE HAS PASSED AND PRE-OFFSET NOTICES ARE NOT ISSUED.
     STATES ARE TO PROVIDE OCSE WITH INFORMATION FOR THE OFFSET
     NOTICE.  SEE EXHIBITS M, R, S, AND X.

     STATES MUST PROVIDE OCSE WITH INFORMATION FOR THE MONTHLY
     WIRE TRANSFER OF FEDERAL TAX REFUND OFFSET COLLECTIONS VIA
     THE AUTOMATED CLEARING HOUSE (ACH) (SEE EXHIBIT BB IN AT-94-
     05 DATED AUGUST 23, 1994).

     THE LOCAL ADDRESS TAPE OR CHANGE SHEET(S) (SEE EXHIBIT W)
     ARE DUE AT THIS TIME AT OCSE.  ONLY CHANGES SINCE AUGUST
     1995 TO LOCAL ADDRESSES OR PHONE NUMBERS ARE REQUIRED BY
     THE IRS.  CHANGES MAY BE MADE THROUGHOUT THE PROCESSING YEAR
     USING EXHIBIT W.  IF THERE ARE MORE THAN 5 CHANGES AT ANY
     GIVEN TIME A TAPE OR CARTRIDGE MUST BE SUBMITTED, OTHERWISE,
     EXHIBIT W WILL SUFFICE FOR EACH CHANGE.  PLEASE NOTE THAT A
     STATE'S FINAL SUBMITTAL TAPE CANNOT BE PROCESSED UNTIL WE
     HAVE RECEIVED AND PROCESSED LOCAL ADDRESS CHANGES.  IF THERE
     ARE NO CHANGES, PLEASE NOTE SO ON EXHIBIT S.

SEPTEMBER 16:

     THIS IS THE DEADLINE FOR FINAL SUBMITTAL TAPES FOR
     PROCESSING YEAR 1997 FROM THE STATES THAT HAVE OCSE ISSUE
     THEIR PRE-OFFSET NOTICES.  TAPES ARE ALSO DUE FROM STATES
     THAT ISSUE THEIR OWN NOTICES BUT WISH TO BE INCLUDED IN THE
     EARLIER FILING DATE.  THERE WILL BE NO EXTENSIONS.  OCSE
     MUST SUBMIT THE CASES TO IRS FOR ADDITIONAL ADDRESSES THAT
     WE DO NOT HAVE ON FILE AND WE MUST ABIDE BY IRS' SCHEDULE TO
     OBTAIN THEM.

     IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT ALL FILES SENT TO OCSE VIA
     CONNECT DIRECT/NETWORK DATA MOVER (NDM) OR TAPE OR CARTRIDGE
     ARE ACCURATE AND COMPLETE BECAUSE OF THE LARGE VOLUME OF
     PRE-OFFSET NOTICES THAT OCSE WILL MAIL IN THE NEXT FIVE
     WEEKS.

SEPTEMBER 23 - OCTOBER 31:

     THE ACTUAL MAILING OF PROCESSING YEAR 1997 PRE-OFFSET
     NOTICES OCCURS DURING THIS PERIOD (NOTICES MUST BE MAILED BY
     OCTOBER 31).  APPROXIMATELY 2.6 MILLION PRE-OFFSET NOTICES
     WILL BE MAILED DURING THIS PERIOD.

OCTOBER - DECEMBER 6:

     PHASE I FOR 1997 UPDATES (PROCESSED AGAINST OCSE MASTER FILE
     BEFORE FINAL REFERRAL TO IRS).  PLEASE REMEMBER, STATES THAT
     SUBMIT AFTER THE SEPTEMBER 16 DEADLINE, MAIL THEIR OWN PRE-
     OFFSET NOTICES, AND CHOOSE THE DECEMBER 2 DEADLINE INSTEAD
     OF THE SEPTEMBER 16 DEADLINE, SHOULD NOT SEND IN UPDATES AT
     THIS TIME BECAUSE OCSE HAS NO MASTER FILE OF CASES TO
     PROCESS THE UPDATES AGAINST.  STATES THAT CHOOSE THE LATER
     SUBMITTAL DATE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR PROCESSING ALL UPDATES
     IN-HOUSE BEFORE THEIR FINAL SUBMITTAL TAPE IS SENT TO OCSE.

DECEMBER 2:

     PROCESSING YEAR 1997 FINAL SUBMITTAL TAPES ARE DUE FROM
     STATES ISSUING THEIR OWN PRE-OFFSET NOTICES.

DECEMBER 9:

     PHASE II BEGINS FOR PROCESSING YEAR 1997 UPDATES.  THESE
     UPDATES WILL BE PROCESSED AGAINST THE IRS DEBTOR MASTER
     FILE.  HOWEVER, PLEASE REMEMBER THAT NO PROCESSING IS DONE
     AT IRS FROM APPROXIMATELY THE SECOND WEEK OF DECEMBER UNTIL
     APPROXIMATELY THE THIRD WEEK IN JANUARY.  CASES SENT FOR
     UPDATE DURING THIS TIME ARE HELD BY OCSE UNTIL THE FIRST
     UPDATE AT IRS IN LATE JANUARY.  IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT
     THAT STATES TRACK ALL UPDATES FORWARDED TO OCSE DURING THIS
     TIME PERIOD BECAUSE THE RESULTS WILL BE CONSOLIDATED INTO
     ONE REPORT AND FORWARDED TO THE STATES ON THE FIRST UPDATE
     CYCLE RETURNED TO THE STATES IN JANUARY 1997.  IF THERE ARE
     ANY DISCREPANCIES PLEASE CONTACT THE SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
     UNIT IMMEDIATELY.

WEEK OF DECEMBER 10:

     OCSE CERTIFICATION TAPE DUE AT IRS.

DECEMBER 16:

     CUTOFF DATE FOR REPORTING PROCESSING YEAR 1996 UPDATES
     (DELETIONS/MODIFICATIONS) FOR THE CURRENT PROCESSING YEAR.
     THERE IS NO CUTOFF FOR STATE PAYMENTS.  HOWEVER, THESE TOO
     WILL BE HELD UNTIL UPDATE PROCESSING BEGINS LATER IN
     JANUARY.

     THOSE STATES THAT OCSE PROCESSES PRE-OFFSET NOTICES FOR WILL
     BE BILLED FOR THE ACTUAL AMOUNT OWED AT THIS TIME.


JANUARY - 3RD WEEK:

     IRS RUNS THE UPDATES THAT WERE HELD BY OCSE SINCE DECEMBER
     9 AGAINST THE CERTIFICATION FILE SUBMITTED TO THEM IN EARLY
     DECEMBER, THUS CREATING THE CERTIFIED MASTER FILE.  THESE
     ARE THE CASES IRS WILL FLAG FOR POTENTIAL OFFSET.

FEBRUARY - 1ST WEEK

     THOSE CASES THAT HAVE BEEN CERTIFIED BY THE IRS WILL BE
     RETURNED TO THE STATES BY OCSE.  THIS WILL BE REFERRED TO AS
     THE STATE'S CERTIFIED MASTER FILE.

FEBRUARY - 3RD WEEK:

     CASES THAT WERE NOT CERTIFIED (UNACCOUNTABLES) WILL BE RUN
     THROUGH THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION'S (SSA)
     ENUMERATION VERIFICATION SYSTEM (EVS) IN AN ATTEMPT TO
     CORRECT AS MANY OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER PROBLEMS AS
     POSSIBLE.   A FILE OF THE CORRECTED CASES AND THOSE STILL
     LISTED AS UNACCOUNTABLE WILL BE RETURNED TO THE STATES FOR
     CORRECTION AND RESUBMITTAL THE FOLLOWING PROCESSING YEAR OR
     FOR FURTHER REVIEW IF A CORRECTED NUMBER WAS NOT PROVIDED.

FEBRUARY - DECEMBER 1997:

     MONTHLY COLLECTION REPORTS TO STATES.


If you have any questions on how the process works or with the
dates listed, please feel free to contact the Special Collections
Unit on (202) 401-9389.

                                   Sincerely,




                                   David Gray Ross
                                   Deputy Director
                                   Office of Child Support
                                      Enforcement

cc:  Regional Administrators
     Program Managers
     Assistant Regional Administrators