May 25- 1:30 to 3:00
Gordon Bailey
Maureen Barber
Gary Kline
John Clark
Contestant # 1- Bruce Martin - Massachusetts
Contestant # 2 – Kesha Rodriguez - Iowa
Contestant # 3 –Keith Calhoun – WashingtonState
Contestant # 4 – Joseph Waters -Texas
Contestant # 5 – Judy Albury – Mower County, Minnesota
Contestant # 6 – Demetricus Johnson – OrangeCounty,
California
Contestant # 7 - LaShawn Williams –Carbon County, Pennsylvania
Contestant # 8 - Andrea Dodasovich –Kentucky
Finalist # 1– San Francisco, California - Enhanced Parental Involvement Collaboration
Finalist # 2 – Texas – Creation of a Cold Case Unit
UPdate: #2
Managing Existing Arrears
State: Massachusetts
Practice: Focus on the Cases with the Highest Arrears
After an analysis showed 10% of obligors owed more than 50% of the total debt, Massachusetts initiated a Top Ten Arrears project, where caseworkers regularly review the ten cases in their caseloads owing the highest amount of arrears to see what actions could be taken. Caseworkers were asked to track whether these cases were eligible for case closure, increased enforcement or some other action. Continuous updating of the Top Ten lists allows a systematic way to address this small group of obligors who owe more than half the total arrears.
Time Frame:
The results reflect the period June 1, 2005 through August 31, 2006.
Results:
The first Top Ten list distributed to the team leaders included a total of 260 obligors. The arrears balances for these obligors were reduced by $9.2 million, which was 14% of the total $67.7 million owed by this group. When the project was expanded to every caseworker, the arrears balances for almost 1600 Top Ten cases were reduced by $48 million either through collections, updated case data or case closure. Furthermore, 282 of these obligors are making monthly payments on time and in full; another 115 have made some payments after the caseworker contacted them; 859 have been referred for specific enforcement actions such as license suspension and contempt actions; case closing letters have been sent in 242 cases; and 174 cases have been closed. In one case, the caseworker secured payment of more than $92,000.
Costs: No additional costs. This project is incorporated into standard casework.
Contact:
Dolores O’Neill
Director, Special Litigation
Massachusetts Dept. of Revenue
(617) 626-4208
For further information on the Project to Avoid Increasing Delinquencies (PAID), please contact your Regional Program Specialist.
Update: #12
Employing Early Intervention & Setting Appropriate Orders
State: Iowa
Practice: Making Connections, Improving Collections (MCIC)
In 2004, the Iowa Bureau of Collections implemented its “Making Connections, Improving Collections” (MCIC) early intervention project to engage alleged fathers (AF) and non-custodial parents (NCP) in the child support process and encourage problem solving if NCPs had difficulty making their support payments. The program objectives were to increase the percent of current support paid in the month due, reduce the number of default paternity and support orders, obtain orders commensurate with the obligor’s capacity to pay, encourage timely payment, remedy any payment problems quickly to reduce arrearages, affirm the NCPs’ commitments to their children, and demonstrate that MCIC is an effective way of doing business with Iowa’s customers.
The project targeted three types of cases: establishment cases in which Iowa’s administrative processes were used to establish support and/or paternity, enforcement cases with newly-established orders, and enforcement cases in which regular current support payments had been made in 12 months but a payment was missed in the thirteenth month.
For establishment cases, the project developed Early Intervention Contact Points for the NCP so that staff could share information about the paternity and support establishment process as well as explain and emphasize the importance of returning a financial statement and staying involved in the process. When scheduling or rescheduling conferences or genetic testing appointments with AF/NCPs, staff conveyed the agency’s willingness to work with them to increase the likelihood that the appointment would be kept.
When it appeared that a new order amount would be based on imputed income or set by default, staff contacted the NCP to provide one last chance to supply actual income before establishing the order. In addition, within seven days of filing a new order, staff contacted the NCP to review the terms and provisions of the order, to ensure that the NCP knew where to send payments and how to report any changes in income, and to answer any questions.
For the targeted paying cases that then missed a payment, in the first month staff contacted the NCP to gain commitment to make up for the missed payment. If a payment was missed for a second month, staff contacted the NCP again to see if the agency could assist in problem solving to ensure that the NCP caught up the missed payments. After a missed payment in the third month, staff contacted the NCP regarding the consequences of not complying with the support order.
Time Frame:
MCIC training was provided in two phases and consisted of 12 hours of training on five modules. Training was later reduced to four hours when the MCIC concept was rolled out statewide and the remaining staff was trained. The targeted cases were tracked from May 2005 through January 2006.
Results:
The length of time from support established to first regular payment was 39.6 days for the treatment group and 55.1 days for the control cases. There was a slight increase in the percentage of current support paid in the month due. The percentage of cases with some current support paid on time was 66 percent in the treatment group compared to 64 percent in the control group. Also, the paternity default rate for paternity cases in the treatment group was 26.5 percent while in the control group it was 29.4 percent. Although the percentage of alleged fathers requesting a genetic test almost doubled, the exclusion rates remained about the same.
Iowa has adopted MCIC as a way of doing business with all newly-established cases. MCIC has enhanced the skills and abilities of staff in providing quality customer service and customer view it as a positive way for the child support program to do business.
Costs:
The MCIC project was funded through an 1115 grant in the amount of $100,000. These funds were used for the development and delivery of training materials to CSE staff, implementation of the MCIC concept, and analysis of MCIC data.
Contact:
Carol Eaton
515.281.5767
For further information on the Project to Avoid Increasing Delinquencies (PAID), please contact your Regional Program Specialist or
Update: #19
Improving Locate and Enforcement
State: WashingtonState
Practice:Child Support Offices Coordinate with City and CountyJails
Washington State Division of Child Support (DCS) has entered into local agreements with jails to intercept money held on-person by a non-custodial parent (NCP) upon arrest and incarceration. They also attempt to obtain personal service.
While many child support programs have developed enforcement relationships with the Department of Corrections, there has been an enforcement gap when the NCP is incarcerated in local city and county jails. Upon arrest, many NCPs are booked into city or county jails for short-term stays of just a day or two before they are released or transferred to another facility. Recently, several DCS county offices have reached out to local jails in order to expand collection potential by actively pursuing and often intercepting money held by an NCP upon booking.
Agreements and practices are negotiated locally and vary from location to location, but generally the processes are similar. The local jail either faxes a list of currently incarcerated people to the local IV-D or Prosecuting Attorney’s office or publishes its jail roster on-line. The list often contains a notation whether the jailed person had cash on his/her person upon arrest and may also include the expected length of stay. These lists are immediately cross-referenced by IV-D staff to see if the incarcerated individuals have cases. If IV-D and jail records match, IV-D staff determines if enforcement or personal service is needed. The appropriate documents are then faxed or otherwise delivered to the jail on the same day. DCS is also creating a procedure matrix that will serve as a resource to staff if the NCP is held in a participating jail that is not local to the responsible IV-D office. Any money collected is sent via the SDU to the custodial parent.
Not every local jail is willing to invest the time necessary to respond adequately to DCS’ efforts. Also, court orders or other legal obligations may require that the funds being held be applied to another obligation. In addition, the IV-D offices have to balance the potential for additional collections with the staff time necessary to cross-reference jail rostersmanually. There is an effort in one jurisdiction to create an automated data exchange. If this is successful, WA will determine if it can be replicated elsewhere.
Time Frame:
Ongoing. Attempts to expand these linkages are in process. As the data indicate, positive results can be observed soon after programs are implemented.
Results:
The Kennewick IV-D Office began working with the BentonCounty jail in 2007. That year, 1,300 withholding orders were sent to the jail. Payments totaling $14,320 were received on 699 cases (53 percent success rate). Of these 699 cases that received payment, 380 had no payment in the last year. There were also 43 successful services of process.
The Olympia IV-D Office established a link with the ThurstonCounty jail. In 2007, that office sent 49 withholding orders to the jail with 42 of those being successful in obtaining collections (71 percent success rate) for a total of $7,441.
The Seattle IV-D Office established a relationship in 2006 with KingCounty jail.
In 2007, 210 withholding orders were sent to the jail resulting in $16,309 collected; 33 cases received their first payment ever, 53 cases received their first payment in that fiscal year, and service was completed on 89 inmates.
The Spokane IV-D Office began a project in 2003 with the SpokaneCounty jail. Since the effort began, $250,160 has been collected from 2,165 withholding notices. Of 4,406 inmates booked and cross-referenced by IV-D in 2007, there were 855 “hits” (a 19 percent success rate) totaling $67,760. Also, 250 NCPs were successfully served legal notices while incarcerated.
The Vancouver IV-D Office, together with the Clark County Prosecutor’s Office, began a project in 2001 with the ClarkCounty jail. Since its inception, this project has netted Vancouver cases a total of $263,130.
Costs:
Costs for these projects are minimal. Most of the costs are for the time spent by local staff (both IV-D and jail staff) negotiating agreements, processes and procedures as well as doing reviews of jail rosters. The Kennewick office, for example, estimates that three to four hours of staff time each week are devoted to reviewing the BentonCounty list. Participating jail staff also spends time processing enforcement or service documents and handling payment processing tasks.
Contact:
Brice Montgomery
(360) 664-5442
For further information on the Project to Avoid Increasing Delinquencies (PAID), please contact your Regional Program Specialist or .
Update: #20
Employing Early Intervention
State:Texas
Practice: NCP Choices – Work Mandate Program for NCPs with Arrears
The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) Child Support Division and Texas Workforce Commission collaborate on a multi-site employment project linking IV-D courts, OAG child support, and local workforce development boards. The NCP Choices project was initiated in five, largely urban sitesand later expanded to an additional seven sites. Non-custodial parents (NCPs) ordered into the project are unemployed, have unpaid arrears, are residents of the area served by the participating local workforce board, and are associated with families who are receiving or have received public assistance.
NCP Choices has three goals:
- Increase child support and medical support payments on current obligations by increasing employment rates and job retention
- Prevent additional arrears accumulation by increasing NCP employment rates and monitoring child support compliance
- Reduce reliance on TANF by custodial parties(CPs) associated with NCP Choices participants
Local OAG staff identifies unemployed NCPs who meet the project’s eligibility requirements. IV-D courts hold enforcement dockets and direct eligible NCPs into the project as part of the judicial orders. Workforce staff provide job leads and matching, supportive services (e.g., work tools, transportation vouchers) and assessment for, and placement in, job or technical skills training. They also monitor employment efforts and report NCP progress to the IV-D judge/OAG child support.
Compliance hearings are held at regularly set intervals, the dates of which are typically written into the judicial orders. Employment/collection results are reported back to all partners. Project performance is tracked in a database called the Choices On-line Tracking System (COLTS).
Time Frame:
The program began as a pilot in August 2005, expanded in FY2007 and continues to the present. Given the program results, ongoing funding and statewide implementation are strong possibilities in the future.
Results:
In approximately three years of operation, about 2,000 parents – who were neither working nor paying their child support when ordered into the project – have paid more than $5 million in support to their children.
The RayMarshallCenter for the Study of Human Subjects at the University of Texas is conducting an ongoing evaluation of the project, including a control/treatment group comparison of the program participants to measure impact on payment rates, employment status, and TANF use by the CPs associated with program participants. These are some key findings from the evaluation:
- NCP Choices participants paid an average of $63 more per month in child support than the control group ($165 per month compared to $102).
- NCP Choices participants demonstrated a 57 percent increase in consistency of child support payments over the control group.
- NCP Choices participants had a 15 percent increase in quarterly employment over the control group.
- CPs associated with NCP Choices program participants saw a 10 percent decrease in TANF use compared to the control group.
Costs:
The Texas Workforce Commission has provided funding for all of the work activities using TANF funds (approximately $1.7 million committed). The cost per NCP served is less than $750. With a return on investment of approximately $3 for every $1 spent to date, the Texas Workforce Commission and the OAG are working to develop a statewide expansion of the project in the next two years.
Contact:
Kammi Siemens
(512) 460-6128
For further information on the Project to Avoid Increasing Delinquencies (PAID), please contact your Regional Program Specialist or .
Update: #24
EMPLOYING EARLY INTERVENTION
State:Mower County, MN
Practice: Employment and Training Programs for Non-custodial Parents
Minnesota’s Mower County IV-D program offers non-custodial parents an employment and training program through contracted service providers. Child support case workers, court magistrates, and judges make referrals to the program.
The services provided include, but are not limited to, general employment counseling, resume building, job application assistance, job search skill development, interviewing skill development, funding for work clothing, funding for GED classes, and temporary transportation. The services are similar to those provided to TANF recipients. This program also offers an opportunity for employment case workers to discuss community social services options with parents who may have other issues such as mental health problems or chemical dependency that prevent them from working.
The program began as a means for the court to refer parents to a mandatory employment service program in lieu of incarceration. It was another remedy and option for the court to use at its discretion. MowerCounty has also offered it to parents prior to contempt of court actions or in conjunction with other enforcement remedies to avoid further legal proceedings. Participation at that point is optional but it allows parents an opportunity to receive and benefit from these services before support enforcement is escalated.
Once a referral is made to one of the employment providers, the provider’s case worker and the child support case worker communicate on an ongoing basis. The child support case worker receives status updates that are provided to the court at review hearings for mandated participants. Several parents have found employment shortly after being referred or ordered by the court to participate. Providing employment and training serviceshelps parents avoid punitive measures and encourages them to pay child support.
Time Frame:
The program started in late 2002. It had a slow start but has continued to grow and is considered a valued component of the child support enforcement program.
Results:
A small county with a caseload of about 2,700, MowerCounty has referred about 60 parents to these services. Collections for all referred parents total about $120,000 since the program began. Approximately one-half of these parents are current in their obligation over the past several months although they may still have a large amount of arrears owed. About 54 percent of the referrals have resulted in the parent starting and continuing to work.
In some instances a referral to this program prompts a parent to find employment, start making support payments, and keep their cases current. Others make payments for at least a few months. Very few parents have voluntarily taken advantage of the services, so most of the success of the program is from those compelled to participate.
Costs:
MowerCounty has spent about $20,000 since the program began through a contracted rate with the local employment service providers. This amount does not include internal staff time for meetings, referrals, and communication efforts. No IV-D funds were used for this program.