DCL-08-23, PAID In Full Practices Guide

DCL-08-23

DATE: May 16, 2008

TO: ALL STATE AND TRIBAL IV-D DIRECTORS

RE:PAID In Full Practices Guide

Dear Colleague:

The Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) in partnership with the States is pleased to provide two new guidance tools for use in promoting the aims of PAID - Project to Avoid Increasing Delinquencies. These two PAID In Full guides supplement Dear Colleague Letter DCL-07-34, which transmitted the first four PAID In Full guidance tools.

PAID In Full #5 addresses suggestions for improving license suspension and revocation, an enforcement mechanism designed to encourage obligors to pay their child support or risk restriction of various licenses, including occupational, recreational and drivers’ licenses. States that have enhanced this enforcement remedy have found that the risk of losing a license often brings a delinquent obligor into compliance.

PAID In Full #6 addresses Social Security Administration (SSA) Benefits and Prisoner information available through the Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS). In 2002, the external locate process with SSA was enhanced to begin allowing States to request data from SSA’s State Verification and Exchange System (SVES). Most recently additional improvements have been made to the SVES process, including proactive matches of FCR cases with the pending claims file and existing Title II claims information. The data available from SVES includes the following:

Title II benefits, based upon wage earner’s work history for individuals who are disabled, retired or survivor benefits for noncustodial parents (NCPs), custodial parties (CPs), and children,
Title XVI benefits, needs tested Supplemental Security Income benefits for individuals, including children, who meet age or disability requirements.
Prisoner Information for NCPs and CPs.

PAID In Full is intended for use by States, Tribes, and Territories to foster discussions of policies and practices, along with implementation criteria, that may be employed to increase the collection of current support and prevent and reduce arrears. The questions under each topic are intended to assist readers in looking for methods to optimize their processes. Future PAID In Full topics will be distributed as separate documents and numbered accordingly.

OCSE hopes you will find this material useful in thinking about new approaches you might take in your jurisdiction to improve your program results. Other tools in support of the PAID initiative include:

PAID Practices Guide: A high-level overview of practices that may increase collections and/or reduce arrears (see http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cse/pol/DCL/2007/dcl-07-17.htm);
PAID Updates: Highlights of individual PAID best practices collected from Child Support Enforcement agencies across the country and then transmitted electronically to IV-D Directors and accessible through the PAID Workplace; and
PAID Workplace: A virtual workgroup accessible to State, Local, and Tribal staff designed to provide up-to-date PAID related documents and resources.

OCSE will continue to provide information about these tools, and other PAID materials, as they become available. If you would like more information about PAID, please contact your Regional Program Specialist or email PAID@acf.hhs.gov to join the PAID Workplace to learn more and share your ideas.

Sincerely,

Margot Bean
Commissioner
Office of Child Support Enforcement

Enclosure

Cc: ACF/OCSE Regional Program Managers