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DC New Hire Reporting Outreach Campaign

By: Joe Perry

In June 2002, the District of Columbia (DC) Child Support Enforcement Division instituted an outreach project to increase employer compliance with Employer New Hire Reporting (ENHR) requirements.

OCSE's quarterly report on data matches, indicating that the employer participation rate of DC employers during the fourth quarter of 2001 was 18 percent, was the motivating factor to initiate this project.

The project utilized information from its DC New Hire and employer databases and an Employer Participation Project (EPP) report from OCSE. Using this information, working with its contractor, the employers were grouped in three categories according to their compliance level.

Employers who had reported 50 percent or more of their new hires received thank you letters expressing appreciation for their participation and compliance. Employers who had not reported, or reported less than 50 percent of their new hires, received letters with reminders that New Hire reporting is a Federal and District requirement. The following is a list of the categories used to send the targeted outreach material:

1. Employers with more than 5 employees who did not report any new hires during the fourth quarter of 2001, but reported new employees in Quarterly Wage Reports.
2. Employers with more than 5 employees who reported some, but less than 50 percent new hire records.
3. Employers with more than 5 employees who reported 50 percent or more new hire records.

A total of 4,859 employer packets were mailed in August 2002, followed by 24 to DC Agencies in September 2002. Finally, 508 packets with updated employer addresses were re-mailed.

DC's New Hire Reporting Outreach campaign resulted in an immediate impact on DC employers. While it is too early to identify the specific trend and lasting increases in DC employer participation, in the month following the outreach campaign (September 2002), the contractor processed the highest volume of District New Hire reports since contract inception in October 2000.

Prior to the outreach campaign, the DC New Hire toll-free customer service lines received an average of one call per normal business day. During the outreach campaign, call volumes increased to 15 times per day on average, with a peak of 67 calls the second business day following the initial mail-out. As a result of this campaign, more than 600 employer names and addresses were entered into the New Hire employer database.

In September 2002, 14,403 New Hire reports were processed - 64 percent more than the monthly average (based on volumes since October 2000). Prior to this targeted outreach campaign, the highest monthly volume was 12,311 records in May 2001.

The outreach campaign resulted in immediate increases in employer new hire reporting, and in improved accuracy of employer information in DC's New Hire database. The longer-term effect of the outreach will be monitored over the coming months. Based on initial measurements, however, it appears that this outreach approach resulted in improved employer compliance, more timely new hire reporting, improved communication with the DC employer community, and, most importantly, an increase in child support payments for the children of the District of Columbia.

The ACF Assistant Secretary and the OCSE Commissioner Address NCSEA Policy Forum

Addressing the National Child Support Enforcement Association's Policy Forum and Training Conference on successive days, both Sherri Z. Heller, Ed.D., Commissioner, Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement, and Dr. Wade F. Horn, Assistant Secretary for the Administration for Children and Families, spoke to the conference theme: "Tackling Child Support Challenges in Tough Times."

Dr. Heller began her keynote address by highlighting the accomplishments of the child support program, including: 6 percent increase in collections over last year and an increase in the percent of cases with a collection from 44 percent in 2001 to 49 percent in 2002. Three more states - Georgia, North Dakota and Oregon - have received their PRWORA systems certification, bringing to 20 the number certified. These were just a few of the accomplishments the Commissioner noted.

She then moved to the "tough times" issue. Citing a recent article on how businesses - also facing tough times - are changing the way they operate, Dr. Heller said that the child support program would also have to change some of its strategies in order to continue to make gains.

"For instance," Dr. Heller asserted, "When funds are low and personnel cutbacks are a reality, in place of retrenching, child support agencies should reach out to new partners and stakeholders to get more people to buy into what we are doing. State legislators, judges, and workforce investment boards, among others, all need to be invited in to share the load with us." Dr. Heller noted that the Feds and the states have been working together for some time now in "a partnership that still exists and is one of the things that will carry us through these tough times."

Commissioner Heller stated that "2003 offers us some unique opportunities to make these tough times work for us and not against us - to seize this particular moment as a time of opportunity." For example, welfare reform re-authorization gives us a chance to get the message across to TANF workers that child support can play a significant role in getting people off the rolls. She also pointed out that the child support provisions in President Bush's budget hold great promise for the continued success of the program.

Dr. Heller addressed customer service by stating it is time to get in front of customer service and no longer do things the way we used to.

Dr. Horn began his comments with an appreciative word for the work that the child support community is doing, as well as a recognition of the difficult tasks the child support staff perform on a daily basis. He said, "Child support enforcement is not an easy business...I admire and commend you for your dedication to the health and well-being of children from coast to coast, border to border."

Assistant Secretary Horn focused on the child support issues in the 2004 Budget. He thanked the child support community for its suggestions on ways to improve the program. "Listening to people on the front lines of child support collection is one of the best ways to find out what improvements and resources are needed from the Federal government." Regarding the proposal to intercept gambling proceeds, Dr. Horn stated, "If adults are gambling with their children's money, the children will get the money owed to them."

Dr. Horn discussed his work on fatherhood initiatives and announced the proposal to increase funding for the access and visitation program. The proposal calls for an increase to $12 million in the first year, $14 million in the second, $16 million in the third, and $20 million per year thereafter.

Assistant Secretary Horn addressed Private Collection Agencies. "The freedom to make choices is an important part of being a good parent. Parents have the freedom to choose to engage a private collection agency, and we should cooperate with that choice."

Dr. Horn closed his remarks by stating "we believe that the policies discussed today will work to the advantage of children and families, which - after all - is our main objective."

Federal Parent Locator Service Receives Award

The Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS) received one of five best-in-show recognitions for the Excellence.Gov awards sponsored by the CIO Council, the Industry Advisory Council and E-Gov at the Web-Enabled Conference in Washington.

FPLS gives authorized agencies access to a database of up-to-date employment information and national support data to prevent, detect and recover erroneous payments and fraud.

FPLS was honored for its impact on the agency, financial and other resource savings realized, the degree of interagency collaboration and the ability for others to use the same technology.

Oregon Certified

The Oregon child support automated enforcement system, (CSEAS) was certified by OCSE on January 29, 2003 as meeting the automation requirements of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996. Oregon is the 20th State to be PRWORA certified.

Child Support Proposals in the Administration's 2004 Budget

"We've been concerned about the problem of unpaid child support in America. We propose to enhance and expand automated enforcement of child support collections. Over ten years, under our proposal, the federal government would invest $218 million, and expect to provide children an increase of $7.5 billion in increased child support payments over the same period. We will begin examining the gambling winnings of those who owe overdue child support, as well as insurance claims and multi-state bank accounts. We want to make sure that children get the support family courts have decided they need and deserve."

(Taken from remarks by HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson in presenting the President's Fiscal Year 2004 Budget.)

The following are the child support items in the 2004 Budget.

• Federal seizure of accounts in Multi-State Financial Institutions. This proposal would provide federal authority to freeze and seize assets in accounts held in multi-state financial institutions to satisfy child support obligations. It is estimated that this tool would result in $528 million additional collections over five years.
• Require intercept of gaming proceeds. This proposal would require states and tribal child support enforcement programs to intercept gaming winnings that meet the threshold for IRS reporting. An estimated $709 million would be collected over five years as a result of this enforcement tool.
• Provide for Federal garnishment of longshore and harbor workers' compensation benefits. This action is estimated to result in an estimated $86 million additional collections over a five year period.
• FPLS matches with insurance settlement databases. This proposal would enable the Federal Parent Locator Service to conduct matches with pending insurance claims and settlement databases in order to assist states in identifying claimants who owe past-due support. This is expected to result in an estimated $101 million additional collections over a five year period.
• Increased funding for Access and Visitation Grant Program. This proposal would gradually increase the current funding of $10 million for these grants to $20 million by FY 2002, and direct a portion of the increase to tribes operating child support programs under title IV-D. It is estimated that this proposal would add $14 million in additional collections over a five-year period.
• Direct access for Indian Tribes to the Federal Income Tax Refund Offset Program and the Federal Parent Locator Service. It is estimated that this access could result in $101 million additional collections to tribal families over five years.

These legislative proposals will increase collections on behalf of families and, as a result of distribution and pass-through changes already proposed by President Bush for welfare reform reauthorization legislation, direct more of this increase to families. This will help move the program more towards a focus on families and away from the historic purpose of recoupment of Federal and state outlays for welfare.

Report on Health Care and Child Support

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation has recently released a research report entitled, "Health Care Coverage Among Child Support Eligible Children." It is now available at: http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/CSE-health-ben02/index.htm or under the "Reports" section through OCSE's website at: /programs/cse/.

Vermont OCS Announces New Customer Feedback Initiative

By: Sara Lee

The Vermont Office of Child Support has launched a new initiative to solicit feedback from its customers regarding the service they have received. A customer service comment card has been developed and posted on the Child Support Office's new interactive Web site. Preliminary analysis of the responses received indicates overall customer satisfaction.

Most of the responses have come from parents, many of whom expressed appreciation for the interactive nature of the Web site and the ability to use the Internet to obtain information on their cases. Several parents praised the staff of the Office of Child Support for the collection of child support, especially several paralegals who had handled a difficult court enforcement process.

Beginning in October, 2002, the same comment card that is available on the Web site is being sent to the homes of parents who have cases with the office and have had recent telephone contact with child support staff. Originally, the office planned quarterly mailings of the comment cards. However, due to budget constraints, there will only be two mailings of the approximately 2,500 cards.

Parents will be solicited randomly and all cases - both intra- and interstate- that receive child support services cases will be included. The cards will be analyzed for customer satisfaction and for suggestions for improvement. After the first year, the process will be evaluated for its effectiveness. Vermont's Web site: www.ocs.state.vt.us.

Iowa Embraces Electronic Funds Transfers

By: Nancy Thoma

Iowa has inaugurated a project that will move child support payment distribution further into the age of technology. When fully operational, all support payments will be delivered to custodial parents through electronic funds transfer to local banks.

The impact of state budget cuts, coupled with increasing mailing costs, has prompted Iowa to look at tax-saving options, while maintaining support collection levels for families.

In addition to cost savings and other payment processing efficiencies, such as reducing the level of undistributed collections due to lack of updated mailing addresses, electronic deposits of support benefit families in several ways. For instance, in most cases, the support payment is received a few days faster when a check is deposited directly as opposed to being mailed. Checks can't be lost, stolen or damaged. Finally, customers no longer have to pay check-cashing fees or waste valuable time standing in lines.

Iowa's child support staff waged an aggressive promotional campaign in the spring of 2002 to encourage customers to have their payments electronically deposited. Since January 2002, the number of customers using direct deposit has more than tripled, now exceeding 37,000.

To initiate this statewide program, an administrative rule change was adopted that provides the legal basis needed to proceed with plans to replace the process of mailing support checks with having them deposited electronically.

Iowa intends to establish a partnership with a financial institution to utilize electronic banking services for the disbursement of support payments to those customers who do not sign up for direct deposit or do not have a bank account. The financial institution will issue a VISA or a MasterCard branded "electronic access card." As child support payments are deposited, the card can be used for purchases wherever VISA/MasterCard is accepted. The card can also be used to access funds from automated teller machines. The state is currently seeking proposals from financial institutions to administer the system.

Recognizing the impact this transition will have on customers, Iowa is building on lessons learned from other states. Colorado and Washington have piloted similar types of programs, and have had positive feedback from participating customers.

Another important component of Iowa's electronic funds transfer system is an active promotion campaign with employers through various outreach strategies. Currently, Iowa's state disbursement unit receives electronic payments from more than 2,400 employers, a number that has more than doubled since December 2000.

Additionally, Iowa exchanges interstate payments electronically with forty-two states and three jurisdictions.

Electronic funds transfer is an excellent, low-cost way to achieve program efficiency, and also improve payment accuracy and customer service.

Contact Jeanne Nesbit at (515) 281-5647, or by email at jnesbit@dhs.state.ia.us for more information.

The Brown Bag Training Series

By: Sheila Bradley

The Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) has developed a series of training materials called "Brown Bags." To date, OCSE has released three "Brown Bag" training packages with plans to issue several more in the coming months. As each "Brown Bag" is released, it is posted to the OCSE website at: /programs/cse/pubs/training/index.cfm.

The "Brown Bag" series is designed so that the training can be conducted by local child support staff within a 1.5 hour timeframe. Each "Brown Bag" includes a PowerPoint presentation, a detailed trainers' guide and a flyer to announce the training. When appropriate, the package also includes handouts for participants.

The series offers a wealth of information on a variety of topics. The training titled, What is Your Security IQ? is designed to raise security awareness in the Child Support enforcement Program. The Child Support Program and the Family Violence Indicator provides information to child support professionals about how and when to indicate a family member is at risk of family violence. Mining for Gold focuses on using the expanded Federal Parent Locate Service's resources efficiently and effectively in a state's Child Support program. In addition to being posted on NECSRS, The Child Support Program and the Family Violence Indicator and Mining for Gold are also available in CD format. These training discs were sent to ACF Regional Administrators, Regional Program Representatives, State IV-D Directors, State Training Liaisons and State Trainers.

All of the training materials in the "Brown Bag" series are designed for line staff and are easily adaptable to include state-specific information. They also provide excellent material for presentations at state and regional conferences.

OCSE hopes that the "Brown Bag" series will assist you and your staff in the quest for better and faster ways to serve America's children and families.

If you have suggestions about the series, feedback on using the training or new topics to suggest, please contact Sheila H. Bradley at (202) 260-2785 (sbradley@acf.hhs.gov) or Yvette Riddick at (202) 401-4885 (yriddick@acf.hhs.gov).

Access and Demonstration Grants

The Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently completed a study to determine the extent to which the Access and Visitation Grants increased access rights, visitation, and child support payment compliance for parents in five states. 254 cases were studied in Nevada, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Illinois, and in Georgia.

Results for the first four states were as follows: 76% of these cases resulted in a mediated agreement and in 86% of these cases access rights were increased; for all of the cases, whether an agreement was reached or not, 66% of parents gained increased access rights, and 61% of non-resident parents increased the percent of current child support they paid.

The following were the findings for Georgia: at least 60% of cases that successfully completed the program saw an increase in visits, and 55% increased the percentage of current support paid.

Editor's Correction

The cover article, "New York City Helps Parents Help Their Children," in Vol. XXIV, No. 12, December 2002 issue, had an incorrect author. The author should have been Beth Forrest, Director of Public & Client Information. We regret the error.