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Child Support Report - April 2000
Defense Finance and Accounting Service Offers Electronic Option with Kids 1st Program
Military Issues in Child Support Enforcement
New Hire Data Helps Utah Recover Student Loans
Utah Student Loan Cross Match Results
OCSE Announces Management Course
Executive Director Named for Asian American/Pacific Islander Initiative
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Defense Finance and Accounting Service Offers Electronic Option with Kids 1st Program
The Defense Finance and Accounting Service-Cleveland Center, Garnishment Operations Directorate (DFAS-CL/L) is responsible for the legal review and processing of child support and alimony orders for all DoD civilian and military personnel. With a volume of over 8,000 support orders each month, DFAS continues to identify and implement technology systems and enhancements that will benefit both DFAS and state child support customers.
DFAS-CL/L has implemented Electronic Commerce/Electronic Data Interchange (EC/EDI) as an option for agencies to submit support orders electronically; however, the volume of EC/EDI processes remains low at this time. To provide another option for state agencies to submit support orders electronically, DFAS has developed the capability of sending support orders over the Internet.
This option, called DFAS Kids 1st, is free to states. "Using the Internet to send support orders electronically," says OCSE Commissioner David Gray Ross, "is a great way to reduce operating costs and improve service to our customers."
DFAS developed input screens for this option patterned after the standard child support form used by support caseworkers. The caseworkers enter data on these screens just as if they were creating a wage-withholding order using the standard child support forms.
The orders, sent over the Web and received at DFAS-Cleveland Garnishment office, will go directly to the electronic mail boxes of the paralegals responsible for processing support orders. This change will easily save 10-12 days in mail and processing times for implementing these orders.
Under this option, support order information sent over the Web will meet the minimum requirements of the EDI 521 transaction set (income or asset offset) developed based on the standard child support form.
DFAS also is developing a batch process that can be used for states that have advanced automated systems. The batch process is an electronic means of capturing the data from those state systems that have electronic wage withholding in place.
The Garnishment Operations Directorate has a Trading Partner Agreement (TPA) for state agencies that intend to use this process. The TPA specifies that orders received from the agencies' authorized personnel will be considered valid orders; the agreement also establishes security authorizations that are required before the state agencies can submit support orders via the Web.
Each hour of the day, the information will pass through a highly secured network using an encryption process. The program also provides an automated notification process that the transaction was successfully transmitted to DFAS.
Benefits of the DFAS Kids 1st option include:
- Reduces processing time by eliminating mail handling;
- Decreases errors caused by manual data entry requirements;
- Reduces rejects almost to zero;
- Eliminates the need for state agencies to purchase expensive EDI software and Value Added Network (VAN) services. This can save thousands of dollars;
- Enables agencies to conform to standardized child support order mandates;
- Reduces postal and paper cost of using a hard copy order;
- Reduces paper processing for the support agency; and
- Decreases the time required for agencies to receive initial payments.
Rod Winn is DFAS Assistant General Counsel for Garnishment Operations.
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Military Issues in Child Support Enforcement
By: Marilyn A. Michaels
Dealing with a noncustodial parent who is in the military can present special challenges. Typical questions from state caseworkers include pay and garnishment issues, how to locate a military member, and how to get medical care for the child.
Pay and Garnishment
Federal employers do not have to vary their established pay and disbursement cycles in order to comply with support orders. Active duty military personnel are paid on the 1st and 15th of the month. In order to bring about changes to military pay, such as allotments and garnishments, the change action must be input to the account by an established cutoff date. If the action misses the cutoff date, it will not become effective until the following pay cycle.
All garnishment orders for members of the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines must be served on DFAS.
The military pay garnishment process is handled by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) in Cleveland, Ohio. All garnishment orders for members of the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines must be served on DFAS.
DFAS only transmits withheld pay during the first week of the month following the withholding of pay. To expedite the receipt of payment, caseworkers need to send garnishment orders in sufficient time for DFAS to review the order and input it prior to the 15th of the month.
If, for example, a caseworker mails an order by January 5th and DFAS processes it by January 10th, income is withheld from the military member's paychecks on the 15th of January and 1st of February. DFAS then will send the payment to the state agency in early February. But if the order is not received and processed by DFAS until January 20th, then the first withholding will not occur until February 15th, with the payment disbursed to the state in early March.
Locating A Military Person
Most requests for addresses of active duty military personnel must be submitted in writing to the individual service's worldwide locator system. The service member's Social Security number must be included. The locator service will send a unit address and the permanent duty station but not a street address.
If the person is stationed aboard a ship or overseas, he or she will have a box number and an FPO or APO address. The APO/FPO address will either be designated by AE (Europe/Middle East/Africa/Canada), AP (Pacific) or AA (Americas other than U.S. or Canada), plus a zip code.
If the member is on a deployment, information will have to be forwarded from the permanent duty station to the temporary unit. It may be necessary to call the base locator at the permanent duty station to get the phone number of the unit or of the member himself. A street address can then be obtained.
Medical Care
Medical care in the military is obtained through TRICARE, and a child must be enrolled in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) in order to be eligible to receive military medical care (this is in lieu of traditional medical insurance). If the child is a dependent of the service member, he or she is entitled to medical care; however, the dependency status must first be established.
If the military member is the father and the child was born out of wedlock, paternity must be judicially determined. If there is no judicial determination, and the child does not live in the sponsor's household, then the member must prove that the child is dependent upon him for over 50 percent of his or her support.
With all requirements met, the member can directly enroll the child in DEERS. If the noncustodial parent fails to do so, then the custodial parent may apply on behalf of the child. To initiate the process, the custodial parent usually will have to travel to the ID card-issuing section of the nearest military installation. He or she must bring appropriate documents to prove paternity/dependency and the military status of the sponsor. The application will be processed and the custodial parent will have to return at a later date for the issuance of an ID card for medical benefits for the child.
For more information, contact Marilyn Michaels at (808) 692-7139, or by e-mail at either mmichael@pixi.com or mmichaels@acf.dhhs.gov.
Marilyn Michaels is OCSE's Military Liaison Officer.
New OCSE Military Liaison
Marilyn A. Michaels has recently joined OCSE as Military Liaison Officer. Lieutenant Colonel Michaels, USAF (Ret.) is on an assignment under the Intergovernmental Personnel Act arranged by the State of Hawaii. She will be working with the Special Initiatives Branch in the Division of State and Local Assistance. Her primary responsibilities are to engender cooperation among the military and in the Department of Defense for child support enforcement and to market child support enforcement to military personnel. She will coordinate and provide direction and guidance to our regional, state and local partners to resolve issues between U.S. military personnel and child support enforcement.
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Web-Based Training in Texas
By: Larry Acevedo
The Texas Attorney General's Child Support Division recently implemented a new large-scale training program, the Child Support Virtual University (CSVU). This program uses the Internet to augment agency PC and technical software training efforts. Over 200 self-study and instructor-led courses are available, including Excel 97, Access 97, WordPerfect 8.0, GroupWise 5.5, HTML, C++, Java, and UNIX.
The CSVU also contains a technical reference library with full electronic versions of books from leading technology publishers. And recently, Human Resources and Management Development courses have been added to the CSVU Course Catalog, including Managing Your Time, Coaching, Hiring, and Project Management.
Taking courses through CSVU enables staff to participate without leaving the office, thus avoiding travel expenses and minimizing lost time.
Taking courses through CSVU enables staff to participate without leaving the office, thus avoiding travel expenses and minimizing lost time. Students study at their own pace, which offers them an opportunity to incorporate the training course into their work schedules with minimal disruption.
Students participating in the CSVU program must have Internet access and access to a PC with speakers or headphones. Also, they must sign a registration form which includes "Principles of Participation" and must enroll in work related classes.
In less than three months, over 175 students have participated in courses and feedback has been positive. We anticipate greater usage of the CSVU program as staff become familiar with its ease of use and the variety of courses available.
Post-training class discussion forums, another feature of the training, create an interactive environment where students can discuss their post-training experiences online and simultaneously receive answers to their questions or problems.
The forum is like an electronic bulletin board where students can ask questions and contribute to discussions while subject matter experts provide answers and solutions. Comments and responses are posted immediately and the discussion information stays online for future reference. If users cannot stay on line, they still can ask questions and request that replies be sent to them by e-mail.
Forums have moderators who can delete or move messages to keep a discussion organized, open new topics, delete old ones, and close a forum to further discussion, leaving it available as read-only. In the few months that the forums have been available, users have enjoyed the interactive sessions and found them to be a useful and cost effective training resource for the agency.
Larry Acevedo is a Training Manager in the Procedures and Training Section of the Child Support Division of the Office of the Attorney General of Texas.
Conference Calendar: 2000
April 12-14 Mississippi CSE Association Ninth Annual Conference, Bayview Spa and Resort, Biloxi, MS, Monty Simpkins (601) 965-1200.
26-28 North Carolina 16th Annual CSE Conference, Holiday Inn Four Seasons, Greensboro, NC, Cindy Wilson (704) 342-6325 X 264.
May 1-5 Fifth Annual Bi-Regional Interstate Child Support Conference, Site To Be Announced, Reno, NV, J.P. Soden (415) 437-8421.
3-5 North Dakota Family Support 11th Annual Training Conference, Doublewood Inn, Fargo, ND, Kathleen Ziegelmann (701) 241-5640 or Rosanne Robinson (303) 844-3100 X 394.
9-11 California Family Support Council Quarterly Meeting, Granlibakken Resort & Conference Center, Tahoe City, CA, Noanne St. Jean (559) 582-3211 X 2403.
21-24 ACF Users' Group Meeting, Galt House, Louisville, KY, Robin Rushton (202) 690-1244. State and Federal Staff Only.
21-25 Eastern Regional Interstate Child Support Association, Marriott Renaissance Center, Detroit, MI, John Graham (724) 830-3263.
June 4-7 Colorado Annual Training Conference, Vail Cascade Hotel and Club, Vail, CO, Ingrid Holmes (303) 271-8904.
11-14 National Council of Child Support Directors Annual Conference and Business Meeting, To Be Announced, Whitefish, MT, Mary Ann Wellbank (406) 444-3338.
12-14 Indiana Child Support Alliance Annual Training Conference, Indianapolis Marriott, Indianapolis, IN, Susan Schroeder (219) 449-7244.
18-21 Southwest Regional CSE Association Annual Training Conference, Sheraton in Old Town, Albuquerque, NM, Myrna Vigil or Frank Murray (505) 476-7040.
July 18-20 South Dakota Annual Child Support Investigator Conference, Brookings Inn, Brookings, SD, Carmin Sommer (605) 773-3641.
26-28 California Family Support Council Quarterly Meeting, Town & Country Hotel & Convention Center, San Diego, CA, Noanne St. Jean (559) 582-3211 X 2403.
30 - August 3 NCSEA 49th Annual Conference, Town and Country Resort, San Diego CA, Tara McFarlane (202) 624-8180.
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New Hire Data Helps Utah Recover Student Loans
By: Bill Sparks
Welfare reform requires each state to collect information from employers on all newly hired employees. The information obtained is used to locate parents who have a child support obligation and to assist in the collection of overdue payments. The law also allows state agencies to use the new hire data to determine eligibility and to detect possible fraud in other state assistance programs.
In June 1998, the Utah Unemployment Insurance (UI) program began using data collected for the State's New Hire Registry to identify individuals who might be committing UI benefits fraud. The Benefit Payment Control (BPC) unit of the UI program now conducts a daily cross match between the State New Hire Registry and UI benefit recipients to identify individuals who have returned to work but are still receiving benefits. Individuals identified by this cross match system are referred for investigation of potential benefit fraud under provisions of State law that limit earnings while one is receiving UI benefits.
From June 1998 through January 1999, the New Hire Registry cross match program identified 173 individuals who fraudulently received $148,939 in benefits while working. The $861 average overpayment amount detected by the New Hire Registry cross match is 43 percent lower than the $1,513 average overpayment detected using all other fraud detection methods during the same period.
A lower average overpayment means that the fraud has been detected earlier; new hire data is fresher than quarterly wage data, historically used by UI programs to detect fraud. Using the New Hire cross match system saved the Utah Unemployment Benefit Trust Fund an estimated $115,000 during the June 1998 to January 1999 period.
Next, Utah began a review of its State student loan program. One year after the Utah State Legislature passed legislation setting up the New Hire Registry, it passed legislation allowing the Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority (UHEAA), a branch of the State's Office of Higher Education, to receive employment information from the Department of Workforce Services (DWS). UHEAA intended to use this employment information to collect on defaulted student loans. As the guarantor of these funds, the UHEAA was interested in locating persons who had obtained student loans but failed to repay them.
In the spring of 1999, the UHEAA began sending a list of its student loan defaulters to DWS. The DWS compared the student loan default list to its new hire database and then (if no matches were detected) to its UI wage database. The result: more than 50 percent of the individuals on the student loan default list were found to be working.
Through the use of administrative wage garnishment, the UHEAA collected more than $728,000 in just the first seven months of the program.
As the above table indicates, for the first month of the cross match (May 1999) there was a 56 percent match rate between individuals (the "clean matches") who had defaulted on their student loans but who were now working. Through the use of administrative wage garnishment, the UHEAA collected more than $728,000 in just the first seven months of the program.
Many other states are now using new hire data to improve state programs. Close to half the states, for example, run cross matches between their state new hire data and their unemployment insurance benefit claims data.
Congress has passed legislation mandating the use of new hire data to help collect debts owed on defaulted student loans or to recover overpayments of grants. The Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY 2000, signed by President Clinton in November 1999, includes language allowing the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to run a cross match at the federal level between new hire data and data on defaulted student loans for the purpose of collection of debt from those whose income exceeds $16,000 per year.
At the State level, Utah is already benefiting from its own new hire/student loan cross match, which could become a model for other states looking to reduce fraud and re-coup expenditures in another state program.
For more information contact David Shore at (801) 526-4366.
Bill Starks is the former Manager of Utah's New Hire Registry.