Child Support Report XXV, No. 5, 20030501

Child Support Report

Vol. XXV, No. 5, May 2003

Child Support Report is a publication of the Office of Child Support Enforcement, Division of Consumer Services.

CSR is published for information purposes only. No official endorsement of any practice, publication, or individual by the Department of Health and Human Services or the Office of Child Support Enforcement is intended or should be inferred.

Washington State Wins Award For Technology to Support Families

STRIVE DC...The Father Factor Program

FPLS Receives Award

Commissioner Requests Best Practices from IV-D Directors For New Compendium

Dr. Heller Receives Ovation - Nancy Benner Receives Award

Improving Customer Service: New York State Goes On-Line

Using Limited Resources to Help Low-Income Workers

ACF Approves Child Support Demonstration in Michigan and Idaho

Section 1115 Demonstration Grant Applications

Washington State Wins Award For Technology to Support Families

Lynnie Larsen

In August 2001, the Washington State Division of Child Support (DCS) set up its Child Support Internet Payment Service (CSIPS)-a web-based payment service for both employers and non-custodial parents (NCPs). As a result of this effort, DCS won first place in the Washington Software Alliance's Outstanding Contribution to Digital Government category for 2002

In setting up CSIPS, DCS worked with the Washington State Department of Information Services and banking partners that offer on-line banking services to customers.

Washington State's Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), Division of Child Support, has been working to increase the number of employers remitting child support payments electronically. For years, DCS has offered the option of paying by phone to small employers as well as by EFT/EDI (electronic funds transfer/electronic data interchange), and the ACH (automated clearinghouse) credit banking option used by many large employers. However, 70 percent of child support payments come from mid-sized employers who do not have the resources to set up the EFT/EDI infrastructure and too many employees with child support obligations to pay by phone.

In implementing their state disbursement units (SDUs), states have faced both a large volume of paper checks arriving daily and a federal mandate to process those payments within two business days. Faced with decreasing resources, many states are actively promoting electronic payments for child support as a cost-saving measure. However, getting employers to convert from paper checks to electronic payments has been a challenge.

CSIPS is similar to other on-line banking services. An employer registers for the service and receives a user ID and password. After CSIPS has validated the employer's bank account, the employer sets up a list of employees (up to 200) who owe child support. Each pay period the employer accesses the CSIPS web site and makes any necessary changes to the child support payment amount of each employee/obligor prior to initiating the payment. Once the payment is initiated, CSIPS deducts the amount from the employer's account. An individual obligor (for example, a self-employed NCP) who is paying child support directly to the Washington SDU may also use the cost-free web-based payment service.

Currently, Washington's SDU receives about $60 million a month from 250,000 payments. Approximately one third of these payments come through EFT/EDI, by phone, or on-line through CSIPS. A total of 35 percent of CSIPS' 3000 users are employers.

Electronic payments are cheaper, faster, safer, and more accurate than paper checks. These are important advantages to state child support enforcement agencies which are required to identify and distribute child support payments to custodial parties within 48 hours of receipt. The Washington State DCS processes 95 percent of payments within 48 hours and virtually 100 percent of electronic payments are distributed the same day they are received, with the payments going by direct deposit to the families.

Washington State DCS has been a leader in using technology to improve the child support program. In 2001, DCS's Support Enforcement Management System (SEMS) - its automated system for child support processing - was the first statewide automated system certified as meeting all federal requirements. Further, the Washington SDU was among the first to meet all federal requirements for a centralized payment processing center.

Washington DCS employees have worked hard to implement CSIPS and been pleased to see the steady increase in the number of employers using the service. According to Georgiann DeKay, Director of the Washington State Division of Child Support, "The system benefits everyone by saving costly paperwork and labor-intensive handling costs, while helping to ensure payment accuracy." DeKay added, "It is easy to use, gets child support to families faster, and gives users complete control of their payments in a secure environment."

Because the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) provided matching funds for the development of CSIPS, OCSE shares a license with Washington State DCS for the web-based payment service as an electronic product. OCSE has shared programming and documentation for this product with other states that are interested in setting up similar web-based payment services.

For more information about CSIPS call 1-800-468-7422. A demo is also available at www.childsupportpayment.dshs.wa.gov.

Lynnie Larsen is Chief, Central Services, Washington Division of Child Support.

STRIVE DC...The Father Factor Program

STRIVE DC, a one-stop employment program for inner city men, women and youth, was awarded a Special Improvement Project (SIP) grant to assist unemployed non-custodial fathers on parole and/or probation who have a child support order. This "Father Factor" program was designed to demonstrate that, with proper support, ex-offenders can be helped to get and maintain jobs, comply with their child support obligations, and resolve other child support issues in a constructive manner. An ancillary goal of the grant was to gather information that might lead to policy changes and could lead to an increase in child support collections.

Initially, recruitment and outreach efforts were used to enlist participants. Some of these activities consisted of distribution of flyers at the high intensity drug trafficking areas, court Services, health and job fairs, community events and others. As a result, 173 participants were recruited, of which 82 (46%) attended the Father Factor Program.

The Program consisted of regular meetings, employment training, interactions with service providers, and ancillary services, such as participants enrolling in the External Diploma Program at a local high school to complete assignments to earn a high school diploma.

Three specific findings resulted from this program:

1. In order for people to get and successfully keep a job, employment programs must be comprehensive, while addressing the special needs of the participants.

2. A common problem among this group of non-custodial parents was that they did not have a clear understanding of the child support system or good communications with their children's mother.

3. It takes time to deal with issues such as fatherhood, child support, conflict resolution and a myriad of other concerns particular to ex-offenders. The fatherhood workshops were increased from once to twice a week to better deal with these issues.

Results:

Success was achieved during the grant period of March 2001 to July 2002. A total of 32 non-custodial parents graduated from the program. This was eight more than the projected goal. Of that group 21 (69%) were placed in jobs, and 20 (95%) were still employed at the end of the grant period. Of the 32 non-custodial parents who graduated (69%), 22 were known to the District of Columbia Child Support System. Of those 22, 15 (68%)were placed in full-time employment. All but one was still employed at the end of the grant period. Eight (57%) of these are still paying child support at the end of the grant period, and one (4%) had his order dismissed.

For more information or questions, contact Christine Hart-Wright at (202)484-1264.

FPLS Receives Award

The Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS) received the E-Gov 2003 Pioneer Award on June 10 at the E-Gov 2003 Conference and Exposition at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. The E-Gov Awards recognized solutions for improving electronic government delivery and exemplary achievements in E-Government and higher education service delivery.

Commissioner Requests Best Practices from IV-D Directors For New Compendium

Dr. Sherri Z. Heller recently sent the following letter to all IV-D Directors:

I hope you've been finding the annual compendium of best practices a good source of creative ideas as you rethink ways to continue improving your program. It's stimulating to read about the innovations and we're pleased to publish and promote your good work.

This year I've decided to kick off the search for best practices personally, rather than have staff do that. I wanted to re-emphasize several of the points I made at the NCSEA Policy Briefing: we need to find new ways of doing business, new ways to advance the program, new ways of delivering our services from the customer's point of view. Especially in the face of growing resource cuts.

So, this year, we would like to publicize a broader range of practices: those for which you have a track record of results and those you've recently put in place that are showing promise. If you're wondering about topic priorities we may have, there is no limit. Certainly, all of us would like to know how you've gotten better results on your performance measures, improved customer service, increased medical support coverage; expanded partnerships with other agencies, the courts and with faith-based organizations. But, again, don't limit yourselves to these areas: we would like to know about any aspect of the program you've improved.

Please contact Sue Sosler, with our Division of State, Tribal and Local Assistance, with leads. Ms. Sosler edits the compendium. She can be reached at 202-401-5561 or at ssosler@acf.hhs.gov.

You can access the 2002 Edition of Best Practices/Good Ideas Compendium by searching the OCSE website, /programs/cse/

Thanks, in advance.

Dr. Heller Receives Ovation - Nancy Benner Receives Award

The American Payroll Association (APA) held its annual conference in April in Las Vegas with over 2,000 employer-participants. Members of OCSE's Employer Services Team were invited to conduct a series of workshops, and this year Dr. Sherri Z. Heller was honored as one of the keynote speakers.

Dr. Heller recognized the APA audience for their partnership with the Child Support Enforcement Program. Her speech covered a wide range of issues, from new hire reporting to medical support to the importance of electronic payments. Dr. Heller received a standing ovation from the lively audience after realizing her lifelong dream of singing "Cabaret" in Las Vegas - move over, Liza Minelli!

The Government Partner Award was presented to Nancy Benner of Employer Services Team for her tireless efforts in promoting electronic child support payments across the nation. APA thanked Nancy for her "immeasurable assistance" in exchanging information between employers and states.

Improving Customer Service: New York State Goes On-Line

By: Monique Rabideau

It is estimated that approximately 54% of American households have Internet access, and many individuals without access from home utilize the Internet at work or public libraries. Internet users have 24-hour access to information that helps them become more informed consumers of products, and avoid having to make telephone calls or visits to obtain information.

Recognizing that the Internet offers another venue for increasing the quality and quantity of customer service, the New York State Division of Child Support Enforcement (NYS DCSE) redesigned its existing website to provide easy-to-understand child support information as well as case-specific information. It is anticipated that by providing more extensive information on the website, fewer calls and walk-ins will be received at local district customer services offices.

The website provides information on child support services, eligibility criteria, applying for services, paternity establishment, support establishment, teen parents, as well as telephone number, address, and e-mail address for each local district child support office, and quick links to other useful child support sites.

Individuals who have child support accounts in New York State, using a secure sign-on process, can access account-specific information that is updated daily. For example, custodial parents can determine the last payment receipt date and amount, as well as the last 10 payments made to the account during the current and prior months. The date of the last 10 disbursements made on the account during the current and prior months can be determined, and whether they went to the custodial parent or to a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th party. Custodial parents can also ascertain the amount of arrears owed by the non-custodial parent.

The site allows custodial parents to update information not only for themselves, but for the non-custodial parents as well.

Non-custodial parents can also access complete payment information, including the amount of arrears owed, update their information, and print payment coupons for remitting support payments.

Having a well-developed and user-friendly website will not meet all customers' needs but, by designing a site that deals with many of the frequently-asked questions received by customer service personnel, more time will be available to address more complicated questions and issues from everyone, including those without Internet access.

Designing a user-friendly website is not an easy task. It involves bringing together content experts, users, database and web designers, and other stakeholders - each of whom may have preconceived content and design ideas. However, each of these individuals plays a key role in ensuring that the final website will be accurate, comprehensive, and easy to use.

The next phase of the NYS DCSE website redesign will offer even more interactive services, in an attempt to expand the customer base to include employers, hospitals, and community and faith- based organizations.

For further information, contact Kevin Boyle (518) 474-0766.

Monique Rabideau is Director of Community Outreach, Division of Child Support Enforcement, NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance.

Using Limited Resources to Help Low-Income Workers

The U. S. Department of Health and Human Services and the National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices presented the first in a series of NGA webcasts on delivering employment and social services to low-income working families in a period of financial crisis. The first webcast, "Using Technology and Public-Private Partnerships to Help Low-Income Workers," was aired in early May 2003.

The meeting explored how states and localities have used technology to conduct outreach and provide direct services to low-income workers. Meeting participants discussed how public-private partnerships could be used to leverage new resources and connect low-income workers with existing community services in a period of fiscal crisis.

Panelists included state officials and program directors representing the following initiatives:

The Work Central Call Center in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, which provides case management to low-income working families via the telephone;
The "N-Focus management information system in Nebraska which has improved service delivery to social service agency clients;
The "Help Indiana" online system in Indiana which offers preliminary benefit screening, information and referral se3rvices to organizations serving low-income clients; and
The "America's family" program in Colorado Springs, a non-profit organization created by a local employer to connect his and other low-income employees with community resources and career advancement opportunities.

Viewers were able to email questions during the live event, and the webcast recording will be posted for future viewing. To view the live webcast video, users will need Windows Media Player version 8+ and a minimum of 150 KBPS Internet connection/bandwidth. For listening to just the audio portion, users will need Windows Media Player version 6.4 or later, and 28.8 modem Internet connection/bandwidth or better. The NGA Webcast Series is available online at: http://www.nga.org/LowIncomeWorkers/

The second webcast on "Maximizing Income and Assets to Help Low-Income Workers" will be held July 9, 2003, from 2:00 to 3:30 PM (EST).

For more information contact Karen Letchworth, Administrative Assistant, Connectinc. Work Central Career Advancement Center, (252) 442-3467 Ext. 239, www.connectinc.org.

ACF Approves Child Support Demonstration in Michigan and Idaho

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) recently announced that $1.5 million in funding has been awarded for support demonstrations in Michigan and Idaho to promote improvements in child support enforcement efforts.

"The projects will develop and test new strategies in these communities to support healthy marriage and parental relationships with the goals of improving the well-being of children, promoting paternity establishment, and increasing financial and emotional support to children," Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson said.

Michigan will receive $990,000 in federal funds, while Idaho will receive $544,400 in federal funds. ACF will conduct a comprehensive evaluation to assess how the projects were implemented and their effects on families and children and the operation of the Child Support Program. Each project will last five years and will be supplemented by private funding. These grants represent additional funding to the states and will not affect the amount of federal funds available to administer child support programs.

"These projects are a sensible government approach to testing and evaluating creative approaches that enhance the overall goals and effectiveness of the child support enforcement program by integrating the promotion of healthy marriage into existing child support services," said Wade Horn, Ph.D., Assistant Secretary for Children and Families at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The grants are awarded under the authority of Section 1115 of the Social Security Act and require that each project be designed to improve the financial well-being of children or otherwise improve the operation of the child support enforcement program. Section 1115 of the Social Security Act authorizes states to conduct experimental, pilot or demonstration projects that are likely to assist in promoting the objectives of Title IV-D of the Social Security Act.

The goals of the demonstration projects include improving the establishment of paternity and increasing financial support for children as well as improving fathers' relationships with their children and mothers of their children. The projects also will include efforts to improve couple relationships and reduce the potential for domestic violence. Both projects will be required to screen participants for domestic violence and refer appropriate individuals for services.

Section 1115 Demonstration Grant Applications

The Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) is requesting applications from state Child Support Enforcement (CSE) Agencies for funding for fiscal year 2003 demonstration projects under section 1115 of the Social Security Act. These grants are to be awarded to State Title IV-D agencies to fund demonstration activities intended to add to the knowledge and to promote the objectives of the CSE Program.

Demonstration and pilot projects are invited in the following five priority areas:

Improved services to low-income custodial parents;
Enhanced and innovative interactions between the child support program and the TANF program;
Innovative means of establishing health coverage for children for whom a child support order exists or are being sought;
Improved partnerships between the CSE office and workforce investment and other Department of Labor and/or TANF work programs; and
Projects that further the national goals of the CSE Program.

The closing date for submitting applications is June 30, 2003.