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Giving Hope and Support to America's ChildrenHelping Fathers Become More Involved with
Their Children and Families
Privatization in Nebraska: Five Year
Trial a Success
Puerto Rico Meets Distribution
Deadlines
Indian Tribes and
Consultation
The National CSE Training
Workgroup
Program Announcement: CSE Demonstration
and Special Projects
States/Territories Now 100
Percent
System Certifications Continue: Total of
Certified States Now 30
She also noted that since October 1, 1997, 700,000 state interstate locate requests had been matched against individuals in the national new hire directory. When states receive this matched information, they are able to quickly establish an interstate case or enforce an existing order.
"By locating parents owing child support and expediting the transfer of an income assignment to a new employee," Ms. Bonar said, "the National Directory of New Hires plays a pivotal role in promoting both parental responsibility and family self-sufficiency." Ms. Fray reported that one of the keys to Connecticut's success with the new hire program was the close relationship maintained with the employer community. From October, 1997 through March, 1998, new hire reporting was responsible for $4.7 million in collections in Connecticut.
Ms. Griffin spoke of the success of New Jersey's Paternity Opportunity Program (POP). Since the beginning of POP in late 1995, more that 45,000 voluntary paternity acknowledgments have been obtained-making it one of the most successful voluntary paternity establishment programs in the country.
Mr. Cohen testified about Vermont's efforts to establish parentage in cases involving out-of-wedlock births. He reported that in 1988 only 42 percent of Vermont's unwed caseload had parentage established. By 1996 that number had risen to 82 percent-a significantly higher percentage than the 1995 national average of 55 percent.
The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of the Department of Health and Human Services has a number of initiatives in place to help fathers become more involved with their children and families. All 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, for example, have Access and Visitation grants from ACF to assist noncustodial fathers in becoming more involved with their children (see January '98 CSR). Funded services include: counseling; development of guidelines for custody and visitation arrangements; development of parenting plans; education; mediation; and visitation enforcement, including neutral drop-off and pickup, and monitored , as well as supervised visitation.
Eight states (California, Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, Washington, and Wisconsin) have received demonstration grants or waivers from ACF to allow testing of comprehensive approaches to encourage responsible fatherhood behaviors by noncustodial fathers. The approach is to provide low-income or unemployed fathers with needed services (e.g., job services and training, access and visitation, social services referral and case work, and child support services) to enable them to pay child support.
Fathers are referred by schools or social service agencies, or by self-referral, following in-hospital or judicial paternity establishment.
For a number of years, sites in California, Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, and Tennessee have received grants under the ACF Parents' Fair Share Program, which has served more than 1600 noncustodial parents (see July '94 CSR).
These programs provide a variety of services aimed at increasing child support payments, including on-the-job and employment skills training and related educational services, to secure employment or increase earnings. They also provide peer group support, parenting education, and mediation services to encourage low-income minority unwed fathers to become involved with their children.
If you would like more information about these or other ACF projects to help fathers, contact David Arnaudo at (202)401-5364.
The Illinois Department of Public Aid has also produced a 30-second public service announcement (PSA) for Father's Day.
Paying child support is not the only way to show you love your child . . .but it's a very important one.
As we celebrate Father's Day, children across the state say, "Thanks, Dad!" to all the fathers who faithfully provide emotional and financial support.
If you would like more information, call Lois Rakov in the State's Child Support Enforcement Division at (312) 793-4790.
There has been in the past several years a great deal of interest in the privatization of some child support enforcement (CSE) services and programs.. In January, 1996, CSR summarized the General Accounting Office's report on the privatization of CSE services. And in an interview with CSR (August, 1996) Montana child support director Mary Ann Wellbank reflected on her State's experiences with the private sector. This account of Douglas County, Nebraska's, five years of experience with privatization continues CSR's coverage of this important trend.
Having enjoyed five years of positive experience with privatization in Douglas County, the State of Nebraska, after a competitive bid, recently awarded a new contract to the incumbent for a minimum of three years, with options for further extensions. Said Nebraska Child Support Administrator Daryl D. Wusk, "Child support enforcement continues to be at the forefront of welfare reform. We are pleased with the results we have achieved through our public/private partnership in Douglas County." These results in a jurisdiction with one-third of the State's caseload include eliminated case backlogs, increased collections, achieved audit compliance, and improved customer service.
The impetus to privatize came from a need to address compelling performance issues in a jurisdiction where responsibility was divided between State and County offices. Concerns included a backlog of paternity and order establishment cases, fragmentation of duties, and a lack of clear lines of authority. Although total collections were considered to be at a reasonable level, shortcomings in audit compliance and customer service marred the overall performance.
Following the award of the contract, employment offers were made to all current child support staff at comparable compensation levels. Employees took a five-year leave of absence to preserve their civil service rights in case they later decided to transfer back into positions with the State or County.
Under the contract, authority is shared in a partnership arrangement between the contractor and the State, with the contractor being responsible for daily operations and the State for oversight management. Over the past five years, this combination has brought many benefits to the Douglas County child support enforcement program, including:
Results were achieved by a mix of management and technological strategies and a blending of the components of the operation into an integrated, team-based management structure. Productivity and quality goals were established for staff, with merit pay and bonuses tied to goals. All employees received training during the transition period, with strong emphasis placed on customer service.
A Windows-based case management and document generation system was developed to supplement the State's financially oriented computer system. This step greatly increased the ability of staff to prepare legal documents quickly and track case actions effectively.
The new contract will zero in on meeting new federal performance standards. The proportion of cases under order already has increased from 39 percent to 60 percent. An increase to 70 percent is expected by the end of the first renewal year and to 80 percent (the top of the federal incentive scale) no later than the end of the third renewal year.
A major focus of the new contract will be on the implementation of CHARTS, Nebraska's new automated child support enforcement system. A user-friendly, Windows-based system, CHARTS will provide greatly enhanced case tracking and automated enforcement capabilities that will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Douglas County program.
Through privatization, Nebraska has successfully forged a long-term public/private partnership that has improved child support outcomes in its largest county. Partnering, cost effectiveness, and performance are underlying themes of its approach. For Nebraska, and for Douglas County, privatization has proven to be an effective tool for increasing the support provided to the State's children and families.
For more information, contact Jan Overmiller at (402) 479-5505.
Welfare reform legislation mandates that child support collections must be distributed within two business days after receipt. Puerto Rico has been in compliance with this requirement for several years, even though more than 100,000 checks and electronic transactions are processed every month. The successful pre-Act implementation of this requirement is based on two factors: (1) a 1995 reorganization which turned a splintered IV-D program into a separate and single-purpose child support administration (ASUME), with new authorities, enhanced visibility, and improved salary scales; and (2) maximum utilization of electronic funds transfer technology (EFT) in support payment transfers.
The EFT results already exceed expectations. More than 7,000 custodial parents in Puerto Rico receive their child support payments via the direct deposit system. Many noncustodial parents pay child support through PC banking, using free personal computer-based software. And more than 500 employers use EFT to transmit income-withheld support payments under Puerto Rico's legislation that authorizes ASUME to order employers to transmit payments via EFT.
Direct deposit allows ASUME to automatically deposit child support payments into custodial parent checking or saving accounts nationwide. To sign up for this service, a support recipient is required to complete and sign an Authorization Agreement. The authorization can be completed at any local or regional ASUME office, at any of the more than 200 bank branches operated by the privatized collections vendor, or forwarded by mail.
To complete the application process the obligee must attach a copy of a voided check or deposit slip to the agreement, and provide certain bank information.
It takes ASUME approximately 30 days to contact the obligee's financial institution and set up future payments for direct deposit. All transactions are processed through the National Automated Clearing House (NACH) system pursuant to the guide and standard of the Bankers EDI Council of the NACH Association. ASUME continues to expand the use of EFT, so that as many of our customers as possible can benefit from this cost-effective and efficient technology. The Government of Puerto Rico has already agreed to transmit all child support payments withheld from state employees using EFT. And ASUME is in the process of requesting that the Social Security Administration, the Department of Defense Accounting Office, and other federal agencies use EFT for the transfer of support payments, as envisioned by the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996.
We likewise encourage all of our state partners to use EFT in the transfer of interstate child support payments. We believe that as other states increase their use of EFT in both intra and interstate transactions, they will see results similar to ours, of which we are very proud: a decrease in the rate of unidentifiable payment transactions from 34 percent in 1995 to 0.41 percent in 1998. Thanks to EFT and our highly skilled and motivated staff, as of today more than 99.5 percent of all payments are processed within 24 hours. The remainder are processed within the 48 hour window.
For more information about establishing EFT transactions to and from Puerto Rico, or for information about our payment processing system, recently described as "efficient, innovative, and highly automated," please contact our office at (787) 767-1828.
Under this law, Tribes can establish child support enforcement programs based on their own tribal law, including norms, traditional practices, and customs.
To assist Tribes in preparing for this opportunity and responsibility, OCSE hosted a series of three regional Tribal consultation meetings: in Albuquerque, New Mexico (April 22-24), Portland, Oregon (May 20-22), and Nashville, Tennessee (June 4-6). The purpose of these consultations was to solicit Tribal input into the Tribal child support enforcement regulation development process.
At each consultation site, Tribal representatives received a briefing from federal speakers on the fundamentals of the child support enforcement program and the importance of participating fully in the regulations development process. Lucille Dawson, OCSE's Native American Program Officer, told the group in opening remarks at Albuquerque, "These are your sessions. We are here to listen to what you have to say."
Tribal speakers emphasized the significance of taking part in historic sessions that, for the first time, give Tribes a strong voice in a federal program designed to serve them. "Take full advantage of this opportunity," Judge David Harding said, "to develop policy that will incorporate Native American values into Tribal child support enforcement programs." After opening presentations on child support enforcement, the new legislation, and the regulations-writing process, participants broke into three consultation groups: for Tribal leaders, Tribal judges and attorneys, and Tribal front-line workers. Led by Tribal judges, with federal staff participating, these sessions were intensive exercises in the unfolding of an overall approach to the development of regulations that would be faithful to Tribal cultures and values and supportive of vigorous child support programs.
Following the three conferences, Tribal recommendations will be organized and presented to OCSE for consideration as the Tribal regulations are written.
In addition to the three formal Tribal consultations, there is an 800 number (1-800-433-1434) for communication between OCSE and Tribes on the formulation of regulations. Other communication tools are also planned, including forums in regional and national Indian organization meetings and conferences.
If you would like more information, contact Lucille C. Dawson, OCSE Native American Program Officer, at (202) 401-5437.
April '98 CSR presented a number of articles on different aspects of training: computer-based, learning partnerships, cross-training, distance learning, and traditional classroom training. Much of the credit for OCSE's diversified approach to training belongs to the forty members of OCSE's National Training Workgroup, who represent a broad cross-section of state, local, and federal child support staff. The following is a brief account of some of their training-related activities.
The National Training Workgroup (NTW) was formed in 1995 with federal, state, and local child support representatives. The Workgroup members work closely with OCSE's National Training Center and with State Training Contacts and Regional Training Liaisons.
Workgroup Mission Statement
"As a collaborative effort with the child support community, to develop a national strategy for meeting our diverse training needs in order to improve child support enforcement program results and customer services at the federal, state, and local levels. This strategy supports the mission of the child support enforcement program to improve the lives of America's children." Initial Workgroup Tasks
This year the NTW, along with representatives from OCSE's central office divisions, is serving as the planning committee for OCSE's Eighth Annual Training Conference (see below).
Major Accomplishments
The NTW's major accomplishments to date reflect the information derived from the Training Needs Assessment conducted in 1996 (see April '97 CSR). They include:
Other initiatives, such as establishing a child support training Website, are being planned. If you would like more information about the National Training Workgroup, contact OCSE's Charlene Butler at (202) 401-5091.
This year's conference theme: Meeting the Child Support Challenge-Children First.
The agenda is designed for state and federal child support professionals, with an emphasis on welfare reform changes, cross-program collaboration, and training technology. The registration fee of $100 is eligible for Federal Financial Participation at the regular matching rate.
The project includes:
For more information contact Jeffery Johnson at NPCL (202) 822-6725 or Susan Notar at OCSE (202) 401-4606.
Awards will be contingent on the outcome of the competition and availability of funds. The closing date for submission of applications is July 7, 1998.
Application kits containing the necessary forms and instructions to apply for a grant under this program announcement, and the CSE Strategic Plan, are available from: ACF/OCSE/Office of Automation and Special Projects, 370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW, 4th Floor, West Wing, Washington, DC 20447, Attention: Jay Adams (202) 401-9240.
With the passage of UIFSA legislation in the Virgin Islands on May 6, 1998, as part of a comprehensive welfare reform legislative package, all states and territories are now carrying out their interstate activities under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, or UIFSA.
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