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Giving Hope and Support to America's Children and Families: Child Support At 25

David Gray Ross

This month the national child support program -- a federal/state/local partnership nearly 60,000 strong -- celebrates 25 years of service to America's children and families. It has been my privilege to be the Commissioner of the Child Support Program for the last seven of those years, and I'm very proud of what, together, we have accomplished.

During my tenure I have visited every state in the union and talked with many of you about child support issues, the problems we face, and how best to resolve them. I have found in every instance a spirit of participation-a willingness to contribute, to partake, to be engaged in the shared task of serving the children of this great country-that goes far beyond what is required by any job. I am grateful to you for that spirit and for the privilege of being in partnership with you during a time of tremendous program growth and progress.

In 1999, our program collections were nearly $16 billion, double the amount collected in 1992 and a 10 percent increase from 1998. In 1999 we collected a record $1.3 billion in overdue child support from federal tax refunds alone. A new program to match parents in arrears with financial records found nearly 900,000 accounts since August 1999, with a total value of about $3 billion. Nearly 1.5 million men acknowledged paternity in 1998, an increase of 12 percent in one year and three times as many as in 1992. The Passport Denial Program has collected more than $4 million in lump sum child support payments and is currently denying 30 to 40 passports to delinquent parents per day in an effort to collect financial support for their children.

These outcomes have helped so many custodial parents and their children to have better lives and are, by any standard, impressive achievements. They also validate our determination to see to it that legal child support obligations are met--that money owed is paid to children who both need and deserve it.

But the child support program is about much more than money. In an important sense, we really have just one job to do and that is to give hope and support--emotional as well as financial-to America's children and families. That puts us squarely in the business of promoting families and responsible parenthood, of helping to establish better relations between parents and their children.

We reach out to noncustodial parents who owe child support to involve them in the lives of their children, to draw them into the circle of the family, to celebrate their roles as fathers and mothers and to underscore the need for love and support from both parents.

In making this effort, I believe we have reshaped the culture of the agency into one that is more inclusive and welcoming to those who would like to share the struggle with us.

In an important sense, we really have just one job to do and that is to give hope and support - emotional as well as financial - to America's children and families.

Can we rest on our laurels? No. We all know that there is much more to be done to meet the mounting needs of our nation's vulnerable children and families. The next 25 years will bring new challenges to new staff. Though many of us will be gone, the work we have done will live on, and the foundation we have laid will, I believe, serve the program well.

On behalf of the children and families we are charged to serve, I thank you for your dedication and support during my time as Commissioner and wish only the best for you in coming years.

"Children First!"

Tenth National Training Conference

In Baltimore, Maryland, September 25 - 27, OCSE continues its tradition of sponsoring a national training conference for child support professionals from across the country. The conference reflects the high priority OCSE has given to training in recent years and is of special significance this year because of the child support program's 25th anniversary. The theme is: "OCSE's Silver Celebration: 25 years of Giving Hope and Support to America's Children." Throughout the conference, there will be special activities to acknowledge and celebrate staff of the child support enforcement community who have worked together to achieve remarkable results for America's children.

Professionals from all segments of the child support enforcement community will be able to select from over 45 workshops and plenary sessions. Over 100 experts from federal and state programs, as well as nonprofit organizations, will share information and ideas on a wide variety of topics. There will be workshops on OCSE's Interstate Reform Initiative and a case-by-case synopsis of legal issues regarding UIFSA. Four workshops are dedicated to state automated systems. Six workshops in the Technology Center will address such topics as automation of state plan processing and the use of distance learning techniques.

Other workshops will feature OCSE's Project Save Our Children program, the new Tribal child support enforcement program, and the next steps in implementing the recommendations of the Medical Child Support Working Group. Also, among others, there are workshops on noncustodial parents and welfare- to-work, fatherhood issues, customer service, financial institution data match, the use of FPLS data, security and privacy of data, and undistributed collections.

Housed at the Baltimore Hilton and Towers in downtown Baltimore, close to the Inner Harbor and Camden Yards Stadium, the conference offers opportunities to learn and network, to celebrate and enjoy, to consider the great progress the CSE program has made, and to plan for the future.

If you haven't already registered, we encourage you to do so immediately. For registration information contact Bertha Hammett at (202) 401-5292. For other conference information, contact Brenda James at (202) 401-4536.

Nonresident Fathers and Their Access to Employment-Based Health Care Coverage

A Variety of Obstacles Limit Coverage

In the Child Support Performance and Incentive Act of 1998, Congress directed the establishment of the Medical Support Working Group by the Secretaries of HHS and Labor. The Working Group was charged with submitting a report to HHS and Labor identifying impediments to the effective enforcement of medical child support and recommending solutions to those impediments.

The report Nonresident Fathers: To What Extent Do They Have Access to Employment-Based Health Care Coverage? contains findings presented to the Medical Support Working Group during the course of its deliberations. These findings provided a fact-based analytical framework for the Working Group members to consider as they developed their own report (see back page).

Half of the nonresident fathers who do not provide health care to their children do not have access to employer-based health care.

Custodial parents are currently more likely than nonresident parents to carry private health care coverage for their child support eligible children. Of the 10.2 million custodial parent families included in the analysis, nonresident parents provide health care coverage for 24 percent, custodial parents (or their spouses) provide health care coverage for 35 percent, and public coverage only is provided for 35 percent. About six percent have no health care coverage during the year.

Most nonresident fathers required to provide health care coverage do so, but there is still room for improvement. Sixty-eight percent of nonresident fathers provide health care coverage when required to do so. An additional 12 percent of nonresident fathers provide health care coverage even though the award does not require them to do so (15 percent) or there is no child support award (12 percent).

Half of the nonresident fathers who do not provide health care to their children do not have access to employer based health care. Thirty-eight percent of nonresident fathers work for employers who do not provide any coverage or do not provide dependent coverage. Of the remaining, 10 percent are self-employed, 38 percent are not working, and 14 percent are incarcerated.

Most nonresident fathers (68 percent) required to provide health care coverage do so.

Almost half of the nonresident fathers who do not provide health care coverage for their children who live elsewhere have incomes below 200 percent of poverty. The majority (73 percent) of nonresident fathers with incomes below 200 percent of poverty do not have access to employment based coverage. At this level of family income, resident children would usually be determined to be eligible for Medicaid or SCHIP.

Continuity of coverage and lack of geographic proximity represent additional barriers to providing employer-based coverage. Of the nonresident fathers who report covering their children who live elsewhere, 44 percent covered their children for the entire year. Only 40 percent of nonresident fathers live in the same city or county as their children, making access to geographically limited health care plans, such as HMOs and PPOs, more difficult.

The findings in this report are based on an analysis of data collected by the Bureau of the Census as part of the 1993 Survey of Income and Program Participation and on micro-simulations of nonresident fathers' access to employer-provided health care coverage based on data from the April 1993 Current Population Survey Employee Benefits Supplement. Examination of health care and income trends since 1993 indicates that the findings are still relevant.

The executive summary and full text copy of the report are available on the Internet at fatherhood.hhs.gov.

New National CSE Strategic Plan

We are pleased to report that the strategic plan for FY 2000-2004 is now in place. In June, the state/federal partners reached consensus on the new plan at the annual meeting of the states' child support directors. Said OCSE Commissioner David Gray Ross on releasing the plan, "We would like to thank everyone involved in the development of the plan. We continue to appreciate the wonderful work of the nation's child support partnership on behalf of America's children."

"This plan gives us a solid blueprint for success." ... Mary Ann Wellbank

Added Mary Ann Wellbank, President of the National Council of Child Support Directors, "We will continue to face many challenges in the years ahead, but this plan gives us a solid blueprint for success."

OCSE and its state partners originally developed a 1995-1999 strategic plan as part of a pilot project under the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA). That plan served as the foundation for the performance-based incentive and penalty systems and revised data reporting and set a new direction for the child support program.

Five years have passed since that first plan was developed and the child support enforcement program has continued to grow and change. This new plan with its revised mission, vision, goals, objectives, and indicators will provide a common path for the course of the program for the next five years.

Tribal Program Rules Issued

HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala has announced the publication of new regulations to implement direct child support enforcement (CSE) program funding to federally recognized Indian tribes and tribal organizations. The regulations carry out provisions of the 1996 welfare reform law as amended by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, which for the first time provided the option of direct funding of tribal CSE programs. "We are committed," said OCSE Commissioner David Gray Ross, "to helping those tribes that choose to run their own programs be successful. And we're putting federal dollars behind that commitment."

Two rules were published. The interim final rule, effective immediately, applies to Indian tribes and tribal organizations currently operating comprehensive CSE programs. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposes new rules that will allow most Indian tribes and tribal organizations not currently operating comprehensive child support programs to do so in the future with direct funding.

Under the new regulations, HHS can make direct payments for administrative expenses to tribes, tribal organizations, and Alaskan Native villages that demonstrate their capacity to operate a CSE program. Tribes will have to meet the objectives of the program, including establishment of paternity; modification and enforcement of support orders; collection and distribution of support; and location of noncustodial parents.

Initially, the Federal Government will pay 90 percent of reasonable and necessary costs of the programs.

Currently, 15 tribes in eight states are running their own child support programs, either through demonstration grants or cooperative agreements with states, and handling about 20,000 cases. In the development of the interim and proposed rules, HHS consulted extensively with tribes in meetings across the country. Many tribes expressed interest in developing and operating their own child support enforcement program.

To obtain input on the regulations, HHS will hold additional consultations during the 120 day comment period. The locations, dates, and times of these consultations will be announced in a separate notice in the Federal Register, which will be mailed to tribes, states, and interested parties.

In Illinois, Birth Certificate Registrars Help Strengthen Parent-Child Bonds

Lisa Spengler

Every day, Denise Andrews and Pat Hayes make a lasting impression on a child's life. Sometimes all it takes is a short conversation with a child's parents or a phone call to a baby's father. Through these and other measures, Andrews and Hayes, birth certificate registrars, are helping to strengthen parent-child bonds for the future.

Each day either Andrews or Hayes meets with mothers who recently gave birth at Chicago Lying-in Hospital. They interview moms to determine what information will appear on a birth certificate and to assist with other necessary papers, like applications for Social Security cards. Andrews and Hayes are an unbiased resource for families with questions and concerns after the birth of a child. They also work closely with Hospitals' social workers to make sure new mothers and fathers receive the services they deserve.

To Andrews and Hays, a birth certificate is much more than paper and ink. "The birth certificate is the only document you have from the day you're born to the day you die," Hayes says. "So it's very important that it's been done correctly."

A birth certificate can help a child receive important entitlements like medical and financial support from both parents. Also, a birth certificate is a legal document that can indicate paternity when a child is born to unwed parents.

The majority of fathers are enthusiastic to establish paternity and are eager to be involved in the lives of their children.

As birth certificate registrars, a major part of Andrews' and Hayes' work is to encourage parents of children born out of wedlock to legally establish paternity. Andrews and Hayes do so through a special program called Project HOPE (Hospital Opportunity for Paternity Establishment) that was created by the Illinois Department of Public Aid. Through Project HOPE, the registrars work with couples to fill out the necessary forms that establish voluntary legal paternity.

Both Andrews and Hayes believe that Project HOPE has affected the lives of thousands of families since its inception at the Hospitals more than four years ago. They report that the majority of fathers are enthusiastic to establish paternity and are eager to be involved in the lives of their children.

"Establishing paternity creates a special sense of belonging for a child," Andrews says. It's a legal way of saying that both parents want and love a child, she notes. "This will also allow the child to be eligible for his or her father's Social Security benefits, Veterans' benefit, life insurance, and other benefits if the legal father dies or becomes disabled," Andrews says. "It's important for a child to know both sides of his or her heritage for many reasons that go beyond financial responsibilities," Hayes adds. "Children should know both sides of their family for medical, physical, mental, and spiritual reasons."

Andrews and Hayes often encounter economic, educational, language, and religious barriers when working with families. They often go the extra mile to reach out to families who require special services. Both Andrews and Hayes recently completed a course in Spanish to improve accessibility to Hispanic families, and they regularly work extra hours to be available to families. Andrews' and Hayes' hard work has not gone unnoticed. They have been recognized statewide as one of the top Project HOPE programs. In the past, they have been invited to speak at events to share their successful methods with other Illinois birth certificate registrars.

Both Andrews and Hayes theorize that their success comes from a love for working with people, an eye for detail, and a genuine interest in helping others. "We're both 'people' persons," Andrews says. "And we love working together."

Reprinted, with permission, from the April, 2000 issue of the University of Chicago Hospitals and Health System publication, Tablet.

Working for Kids in Wake County, North Carolina

Lisa A. Rowe

The Working for Kids program, a federally funded Welfare-to-Work program that serves Wake County, North Carolina, was implemented in the spring of 1999. It serves noncustodial parents whose children receive public assistance and who face barriers to employment, including: limited education, poor work history, substance abuse problems, homelessness, and ex-offender status.

The goals of the Working for Kids program are: (1) to assist noncustodial parents who are unemployed or underemployed in obtaining employment with wages high enough to support themselves and to make required child support and arrearage payments; and (2) to help clients become more involved emotionally with their children.

Referrals come from a variety of sources, including the courts, the Child Support Enforcement (CSE) office, program literature, word-of-mouth, Wake County Human Services programs, and community organizations. Case managers attend court sessions each Wednesday to recruit new clients, to support and advocate for the clients they are working with, and to screen and assess those individuals the judges and/or the CSE attorneys refer to the program.

Case managers work one-on-one with clients to determine needs, set goals, and provide support and referrals. Services include screening and assessment, intensive case management, job readiness training, job placement, support groups, skills training, budget counseling, job retention, and support services. In addition, referrals for legal services, educational/vocational training, mediation services, substance abuse treatment, mental health services, and health services are provided as needed.

In preparation for obtaining full-time, unsubsidized employment, clients may elect to participate in work experience or on-the-job-training activities. After obtaining unsubsidized employment, participants can receive assistance in continuing their education by going back to school or enrolling in a training program. In working with noncustodial parents, Working for Kids has learned that it is essential to build a collaborative relationship with CSE and the courts. By forming these partnerships, programs can deal with all aspects of a noncustodial parent's situation.

Working for Kids has had a successful first year, due in large part to these established relationships. Examples of the program's success include:

• 25 of 54 currently enrolled participants are employed with an average hourly wage of $8.20;
• 20 have maintained 13 or more consecutive weeks of employment;
• 9 have jobs with benefits; and
• 23 have begun making regular child support payments.

Benefits to Participants

• Becoming better informed about the child support enforcement program and in some cases receiving more lenient sentencing (to give them time to "get back on their feet" with the support of their case managers);
• Obtaining full-time employment. Several have participated in paid work experience and on-the-job training activities; many have improved their housing situations. Others are enrolled in occupational training programs, and nearly all have improved their job readiness, job search, and job retention skill levels; and
• Being provided the opportunity to set up payment plans to tackle current obligations and arrearages.

The long-term impact on participants' lives and on their children is potentially immense.

If you would like more information about Working for Kids, contact Lisa Rowe at (919) 212-9346.

Lisa Rowe is Wake County Program Coordinator for the Working for Kids Program.

CD-ROM Multimedia Training Courses in Texas

Ted N. White

States have now received the six CD-ROM based multimedia child support-training courses. (See May, 1999 CSR for more on these courses.) As a member of the National Child Support Enforcement Training Work Group, I want to share the issues we encountered in Texas in getting the courses into production:

• Justifying and obtaining computer speakers;
• Installing a necessary software application; and
• Copying the CDs.

With more than 2,000 child support employees in 70 locations, we needed to wait until the first CD was received and tested before we could justify the purchase of computer speakers. We knew that if we liked the courses, each child support office would need a set of all six CDs, and we were fortunate to have in-house capability to make copies of each.

In April 1999, we received the first course (Orientation). We quickly tested it and decided we would be able to use it as part of our formal training program. This supported the justification to purchase speakers and recordable CDs.

Also, with receipt of the Orientation CD, we learned that each course requires a small software application called QuickTime to be installed on the PC hard drive.

Although the CDs contain the necessary files and setup program, our system of centrally managed and networked PCs does not allow users to install any software applications. The centralized Information Technology staff had to test the compatibility of the QuickTime application, then devise a plan to install QuickTime on every PC by a centrally managed software roll out.

In October 1999, the speakers and blank CDs were received and the plan for installing QuickTime was ready. Meanwhile, the second, third and fourth courses (Paternity, UIFSA and Enforcement) were received.

With the software issue resolved, we authorized the copying of the CDs. When we tried to do so, we discovered a software problem with our CD-ROM copier.

In November 1999, we received the fifth course (Locate). With the CD-ROM copier finally ready, we decided to wait for the sixth and final CD to be received so we could send each location a full set of all six courses.

The last course CD, Distribution, arrived in January 2000. The CD copying was completed and speakers were sent to each unit. But it took two more days for staff from the training section to label the CD copies, insert copies of the inserts into plastic cases, and organize the packets for shipping.

In January 2000, we provided a set of all six courses to each child support office, to each regional administrative office, and to each regional trainer. (Extra sets are maintained at our State central office to be checked out as needed.)

These six modules are now being used to give new employees a high-level program orientation. We are editing existing course listings to indicate when the new OCSE courses should be used as prerequisites for additional classroom training.

If you would like more information about how Texas is using these CBT courses, contact Ted White at (512) 460-6515.

Ted White is an Assistant Attorney General in the General Counsel Section of the Child Support Division of the Office of the Attorney General of Texas and Co-Chair of the National Child Support Enforcement Training Work Group.

Medical Support Order Report Sent to Congress

The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Labor recently forwarded to Congress a report by the Medical Child Support Working Group that contains recommendations to attempt to expand health coverage for children eligible for child support enforcement activities. The report, Twenty One Million Children's Health: Our Shared Responsibility, responds to the Working Group's statutory mandate to identify and provide recommendations to address barriers to the effective enforcement of medical support by state child support enforcement agencies.

Medical support orders, which provide for children's health care coverage, may require noncustodial parents to include their children under their employment-based health insurance coverage. They may be established and enforced with the help of state child support enforcement agencies.

Copies of the 260 page report, as well as questions and answers regarding its findings, are available on the HHS Web site at: /news.