DCL-00-77, Data Reliability Audit Requirements for FFY 2000

DCL-00-77 JUL 20, 2000

TO: ALL STATE IV-D DIRECTORS

RE: Data Reliability Audit Requirements for FFY 2000

Dear Colleague:

As stated in Dear Colleague Letter 99-108 dated September 29, 1999, section 452(a)(4)(C)(I) of Part D of Title IV of the Social Security Act, requires the Office of Child Support Enforcement’s (OCSE) Division of Audit to conduct audits to evaluate the completeness, reliability, security and the accuracy of the performance indicator data reported by the States. Under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), States will receive incentives based on performance, if their data is deemed to be reliable, complete, and accurate.

Since payment of incentives on Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2000 Performance Indicators will be dependent on the results of the Data Reliability Audits, the OCSE Division of Audit must conduct the FFY 2000 Data Reliability Audits expeditiously. The time spent validating the data, querying, sampling and matching sampled records can be shortened if the audit trails are provided in a format that can be easily used by the Area Audit Office. The requested audit trail should consist of the case information used to compile the performance indicator line items that are reported on the OCSE 157.

We are also requesting the complete Child Support case universe which would include all closed cases and all non-IV-D cases on the child support system as of the end of the fiscal year. The audit trail and Child Support universe should not be in a read-only format. Attached are suggested "Audit Trails Specifications" that will ensure that the data is in a format that can be used by the Area Audit Office. Your Division of Audit Area Office Supervisor will work with you to determine which specifications are suitable for your child support system.

In addition, the use of read-only remote access to a States child support system will allow the OCSE auditors to conduct the case review within the data testing phase of the audit more effectively and efficiently through better use of resources and less disruption of State and local child support operations.

Your OCSE Division of Audit Area Audit Office Supervisor will contact you soon to discuss plans to maintain the necessary data files and to plan for the remote access to the system. If the required data testing cannot be performed during the audit, we will be unable to assess your data for reliability, which is necessary for incentive payment.

Your timely cooperation in this matter is greatly appreciated. We will be available to answer any questions you may have in defining these "specifications" needed or to discuss alternative specifications.

Sincerely,

David Gray Ross
Commissioner
Office of Child Support Enforcement

Enclosures

cc: ACF Regional Administrators
Regional Program Managers