Child Support Report - ***

Speaking on July 12th to nearly 500 CSE professionals from across the country at a luncheon celebrating the Child Support Enforcement Program's 20th anniversary, HHS Secretary Donna Shalala paid tribute to OCSE's state and local partners. You know child support in America, she said to those she called the real frontline troops.

" You know the needs of our children. Every day you live and breathe the needs of families for whom the prompt and full payment of child support becomes an issue of survival. You see the anguished faces of parents fighting to go it alone to stay just above the poverty line.

You see the confusion, the bewilderment of young children caught in emotional and financial squeeze plays. You know firsthand that child support is about moneyfor clothing, food, utility bills, day care, school field trips. But you also know that child support is about much more than money. It's about engagement and involvement in a child's life, emotional support, love, and understanding. It's about both parents being a part of a child's life.

The Honorable Russell B. Long, former Louisiana Senator and the legislative force behind the pivotal 1975 child support enforcement law, also addressed the gathering. Senator Long, warmly received by an audience that included many with keen memories of his contributions, recalled some of the legislative debate that resulted in the new law and a national Child Support Enforcement Program. I never dreamed then, he said, that our efforts would bear fruit of the magnitude I see today.

In addition to the remarks of Secretary Shalala and Senator Long, congratulatory messages from President Clinton (see page 2) and former President Ford (see July CSR) were read to the assembled guests by Mary Jo Bane, Assistant Secretary for Children and Families.

OCSE Deputy Director David Gray Ross acknowledged the achievements of his predecessors, many of whom were in the audience, and thanked all of the participants for providing hope and support to America's children since 1975.

Greetings to everyone gathered in our nation's capital to mark the 20th anniversary of the national Child Support Enforcement Program of the Department of Health and Human Services.

I commend you for your efforts to put America's children first. Best wishes for a wonderful anniversary and for much continued success -- Bill Clinton.

A Silent Auction held during North Dakota's 1995 Family Support Council (NDFSC) conference in Bismarck attracted 150 bidders and raised $2,144 to benefit North Dakota children. Ronald McDonald House in Bismarck received $1,123 from the auction, with the remaining $1,021 going to a local branch of the national Blue Cross/Blue Shield Caring for Children Program.

Never heard of a Silent Auction? Here's how it works in North Dakota. Conference planners solicit local businesses for donations of goods to be auctioned off. (Bismarck merchants were generous: donations included jewelry, kitchenware, furnishings, sports and automotive equipment.) The itemseach with its own bid sheetwere displayed on a special bid table for the first two days of the conference. Bids were entered until 9 p.m. of the second evening.

See something you'd like? Write down your name and the amount of your bid on the sheet. Some items carry minimum bid requirements. And raises must be in $1 to $5 increments, depending on the item. You can bid as often as you like, or as necessary to protect your interests. As closing time approaches and unscrupulous sorts try to beat you out of your prize(s), it's a good idea to hang around the bid table to make sure yours is the last bid. A smile is permitted as you cart off the loot.

This Silent Auctiona terrific ice-breakerstands out, in the words of one participant, NCSEA's incoming president Sue Bailey, "as an example of how a conference activity can be fun, serve a community, and enhance child support enforcement's public image, all at the same time. Bailey enjoyed it so much she's planning to have one at the NCSEA conference in Kansas City. Congratulations to all those in the photo and to everyone else in Bismarck who helped make NDFSC's conference a memorable event and a special time for North Dakota children.

Kids Show They Care About Their Noncustodial Parents
Everyone a Winner in MO-KAN Contest

In the mid 1980s, the Missouri and Kansas child support offices, on both sides of the state line, formed a collaborative partnership called the MO-KAN Child Support Council. The mission of the Council is to share child support information through projects that promote positive relationships between children and their noncustodial parents. MO-KAN feels that when children have good relationships with their noncustodial parents, the parents are more likely to provide financial, as well as emotional, support to their children.

This positive attitude has paid off for over 100 children and their parents through the Kids Care contest sponsored by the Council. Now in its third successful year, children ages 2-6 are asked to draw a picture showing some activity they enjoy doing with their noncustodial parent. Children ages 7-18 are asked to write a letter telling why they think their noncustodial parent is great.

A party is held in August for all those who enter the contest. Winners are selected from four age categories and receive a family fun pack of prizes donated by Kansas City corporations and business owners. In addition, all children who enter receive a prize. The Johnson County, Kansas Bar Association provides a donation to cover printing costs, and media coverage is sponsored by local radio and television stations. Kids Care, and so do parents....as the letters below demonstrate.

Dear Dad,
You are a great parent because you are always supportive of me and my mom. In the last few years you've made a huge effort to get along with my mom and me, and you also paid child support because you care. I'm really really really glad you're there. You always make the right decisions, take me to piano lessons, plus you made sure that you got me on Wednesdays and weekends. Dad, I'm glad you're there and always will be. I'm lucky to have a dad like you. Love, Stephanie (age 9).

Dear Kids Care,

My dad is very important to me because he helps me go to sleep every time I'm over at his house. (My mom and dad are divorced.)

He is very nice and funny. We go do things together. I play catch with him a lot, but the best thing I like about him is his hug, there is something magical about it. If I can't get to sleep I call him. He's sort of like my backup if my mom can't help me. He takes me to a lot of places. I love to play with him and sometimes when I'm talking to him on the phone I cry. Sometimes my dad makes mistakes, but we make mistakes sometimes. I love him very much. Andrew Spitsnagle (age 7).

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The best thing I like about him is his hug, there is something magical about it.

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To All Whom This Concerns:

I am writing today to offer your staff my deepest gratitude for the essay contest and reception that I attended last Friday at the Johnson County Courthouse. A letter is inadequate to express my feelings, but I would like to try.

Your efforts and concerns, and the love and caring for the families you serve are quite apparent to me. The time I spent with Andrew last Friday was priceless, and the memories will last a lifetime. I had not seen the entry that my son sent in before arriving, and reading it was a deeply moving experience. His letter was the most wonderful expression of love I have ever read. As Andrew wrote in his entry, our experience Friday was magical.

Thank you so very much for making my boy and me feel so alive, loved, and important. God truly blessed our family through your efforts. Sincerely, Steve Spitsnagle.

To learn more about the MO-KAN Child Support Council and the Kids Care Contest, contact Mrs. Peggy Elliott, Johnson County Court Trustee at (913) 764-8484, ext. 5126.

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Allocation of Support Withheld from Pay Among Multiple Families

By: Jeff Ball
See May CSR for Part 1 of this article, which discussed federal withholding allocation rules and the priority of child support withholding.

For all garnishments and income withholdings, the upper limit on what may be withheld is based on the Federal Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA).

The Federal Consumer Credit Protection Act

Health insurance premiums, union dues, other child support garnishments, and money owed to the employer are not deductible when determining the federal ADWE. However, a state may allow these items to be deductible when determining the state ADWE, since the federal CCPA limit is only a ceiling.

In computing the ADWE, if an employee is paid biweekly, the biweekly check is divided by 2 to equal the ADWE; if paid semi-monthly, by 2.15; and if paid monthly, by 4.3.

The federal CCPA limit is 50% of the ADWE if the debtor supports a second family and 60% if the debtor does not. The limit increases to 55% and 65% respectively if the debtor owes arrearages that are 12 weeks or more past due. Again, states may choose a lower limit. About two-thirds of the states use the federal limits, and about one-third cap the withholding at 50% regardless of second families or age of arrearages.

The CCPA covers wage-related and retirement income only. Interest from a savings account, for instance, isn't covered by the CCPA. If a state has a broad income withholding definition that includes interest or other periodic or lump sum payments, the state's law may permit the agency to withhold all or part of those types of income, subject to state personal property exemption claims.

Interstate Withholding

Which state is the state of employment? A consensus among participants at a 1994 OCSE-sponsored retreat on UIFSA direct withholding recommended that the state of employment be the employee's work-site state. This should be the case even when the payroll office, the office at which process was served, or company headquarters is in another state.

Here's how this would work. Two withholding orders from states A and B respectively are served on the employer at headquarters in state C. The employee works in state D but lives in state E. The law of state D should govern the multiple order allocation and CCPA limit because D is the state in which the obligor actually works. Assuming the employer does business only in states C and D, either state is acceptable for service of the withholding order or notice; but since, in this example, the employee works in state D, it generally makes more sense to serve the employer in that state. An exception to this rule of thumb arises if an employer has a central payroll in a state other than the state in which the obligor is employed, and the employer prefers to be served in the state of the central payroll. In this case the employer most likely has the work-site state's CCPA and allocation laws and procedures and can readily apply them.

In response to requirements of the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1993 (see November '93 CSR), Delaware lawmakers passed legislation, effective January 1, 1995, which created a presumption of paternity. This presumption is rebuttable only by clear and convincing evidence and only under the following conditions:

• If the parent signing is over age 18, the presumption is rebuttable for two years following the signing of the Acknowledgement of Paternity; or
• If the parent signing is under age 18, the presumption is rebuttable for a period of two years after that parent turns 18.

If the Acknowledgement of Paternity is not rebutted within the time frames stated, the presumption of paternity is final, binding, conclusive, and determinative of the child's paternity.

Before the new law was signed by Delaware's Governor Thomas R. Carper, IV-D Director Barbara Paulin and her staff, working with a contractor, prepared for implementation. During November and December 1994, the following tasks were completed to ensure the program's success:

• Letters were delivered to hospital administrators informing them of the program's implementation date and the need to have trained staff and notary publics at each birthing facility;
• Briefings were provided to the Association of Delaware Hospitals and to State Legislators;
• Procedures and forms were developed and a contest held to select a name for a brochure and video. The winner: Make a
• Difference: Acknowledge Paternity;
• Specialized training was provided to the staffs of eight birthing facilities and the Office of Vital Statistics;
• The required systems document and database was developed and federal approvals obtained; and
• The video script was finalized.

Implementation

The Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity Program was implemented on schedule, January 1, 1995. To expedite the process, acknowledgement of paternity forms, brochures, and notary public services were made available at all birthing facilities, vital statistic and child support enforcement offices, and two state service centers.

When a parent signs an acknowledgement, the form is sent directly to vital statistics in Dover, Delaware, which is responsible for recording and amending all birth certificates. Routing acknowledgements to them allows for a validity review before the form is sent on to the Division of Child Support Enforcement. Required data elements are then entered into a separate statewide database.

By allowing child support to access this information, staff can identify an acknowledgement quickly and make a determination on how to proceed with the case.

The program was implemented smoothly and without major problems, thanks in large part to the high level of automation achieved through the combined efforts of state staff and contractors. This included formalizing requirements; designing documents to identify programming modifications; testing modifications to the system; training staff; and developing numerous system-generated reports to support the program.

In addition, a batch program was developed to match paternity acknowledgements filed against child support enforcement cases in the system. The system also allows caseworkers to generate a copy of the acknowledgement, which is then used to demonstrate to the court that an acknowledgement has been filed. The printed copy from the system is a facsimile on which signatures are replaced with a message indicating that the signatures are on file with the original documents at the Office of Vital Statistics.

Results

As of July 19, 482 acknowledgements have been processed, a rate which should yield over 800 acknowledgements by the end of this year. Of those 482 acknowledgements, 54, or 11 percent, have matched with open child support enforcement cases, a rate which should yield nearly 100 matches by the end of the year.

The best way to find out if customers are satisfied with service is to ask them. And that is just what Australia's Child Support Agency (CSA) did earlier this year. Over 14,000 customers were randomly selected as potential participants in a telephone survey. CSA wrote to each one, explaining the survey and giving each customer an opportunity to withdraw from consideration.

Surprisingly, only 300 asked for their names to be removed from the potential list, while some even phoned the agency to make sure they would be included. From these respondents, CSA selected a further random sample of 2,500, with equal numbers of custodial and noncustodial parents, to be the actual participants in the survey.

To help with survey design and to make sure the right questions were asked, CSA staff conducted focus groups around the country.

The results? Custodial parents expressed greater satisfaction with services overall than noncustodial parents did, although they would like to see improvements in communications and collections.

Noncustodial parent concerns tended to focus on CSA being more sympathetic to them, their needs, and their circumstances. Clearly, the survey turned up areas where CSA would like to improve its performance.

And how will the agency know if services are getting better? This survey is just the first part of a 3-year effort, with work scheduled to commence soon on next year's.

CSA plans to use the current results as a benchmark in tracking changes over the next three years in the way clients perceive service.

The idea of surveying CSA clients is not new. Over the past six years CSA has undertaken many surveys to determine how satisfied customers are with specific areas of service, such as telephone inquiries.

But the agency had never before asked clients to judge all aspects of the services provided. Nor had both custodial and noncustodial parents been targeted to determine whether their perceptions and needs are different.

For more information about the survey, call Allyson Dutton at (202) 401-4639; or Internet: ADutton @acf.dhhs.gov

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Allyson Dutton, an official with Australia's Taxation Office, which houses the Child Support Agency, is on a 1-year special assignment with OCSE..

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Handbook on Customer Service

Customer Service was the topic of the day May 24th for Regional staff and IV-D directors and their staffs in Regions IX and X (San Francisco and Seattle). The get-together included a lively discussion of thoughts about and approaches to maximizing customer service at the local level. IV-D directors sketched out the importance of improving service to customers and outlined how measuring customer satisfaction fits into their states' strategic plans. Most of the states reported an interest in surveying customers to measure satisfaction with services, while a few states had already begun, in a preliminary way, to do it. In September CSR, SRSCSR Jan Jensen of Washington State, who just completed a six-month detail in OCSE's Seattle Regional Office looking at states' customer service activities, will report on progress to date. For the participants at that May 24th meeting Jan put together a handbook of information on customer service, which includes sections on:

• philosophy and techniques of providing quality customer service;
• descriptions of 15 states' customer service units;
• summaries of surveys being used in 10 states to measure customer satisfaction; and
• a resource section listing individuals, books and articles for further information.

If you would like to know more about the handbook or states' customer service experiences, contact Jan Jensen at (360) 586-3293; Internet: jjensen@fcs.dshs.wa.gov

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Fifth National Conference Delivers the Goods

A 2-way satellite hookup gave everyone at OCSE's Fifth National Conference a view of the future of conference communications. Held July 10-12 in Washington, DC, the conference drew 250 participants from 40 states. High tech wizardry hooked them up with an equal number at the Southwestern Regional Support Enforcement Association Annual Training Conference in Albuquerque.

For a few hours, nearly 500 CSE professionals could forget the thousands of miles between them and share their experiences as partners in service to the children of America.

Presented in conjunction with the Center for the Support of Children, the conference treated participants to a string of dynamic, goal-centered plenaries and workshops on everything from asset identification to UIFSA.

• I thought my blood testing program was good, a participant in the paternity establishment workshop said. I like this presentation much better.
• Another participant described the workshop on innovations in enforcement as so informative that each of the six presenters could have been a free-standing session.
• Another summed up the conference in a way that many could recognize: I got more information here that I can use back home than at any other conference I've been to."

  The conference concluded with a luncheon and program celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Child Support Enforcement Program, which drew many former OCSE employees and managers.

  OCSE's National Training Center's hard working staff would like to thank everyone who attended for helping to make this Fifth National Conference the best one yet.

  Still available are a limited number of copies of the conference notebook. If you would like a copy, or if you have any questions about the conference or need further information, please get in touch with Roy Nix of the National Training Center. Roy can be reached at (202) 401-5685; or Internet RNix@acf.dhhs.gov.

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  The Value of Training

  
  

  The Value of Training

  To hear you discuss your personal willingness to go the extra mile in order to preserve the high level of credibility and availability which you have established as trainers was an eye opening experience for me. Your conversation [and example] made me examine my own standards of performance as a state employee and make some personal commitments of my own. Lizette Woods, Louisiana Department of Social Services, Office of Family Support, Training Section, to OCSE trainers Yvette Riddick, Roy Nix, Dianne Offett, and Mae Rowlett, following the May 1995 Training of Trainers course delivery. Want to get in on a good thing? Call Roy at (202) 401-5685.

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  August is National Child Support Awareness Month

  
  

  President Clinton has proclaimed the month of August, 1995 National Child Support Awareness Month and called upon all Americans to observe it with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.

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  Children are the best part of ourselves.

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  Providing for our children is one of humanity's worthiest and most fundamental endeavors, the President said in signing the proclamation. Children are the best part of ourselvesthe sum of our past and the promise of our future, the guarantee that our lives and values and dreams will flourish long after we are gone.Those who bring children into the world must bear the responsibility of supporting them. We must rededicate ourselves to the task of putting these youngest and most vulnerable of our citizens first.
  William J. Clinton.