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Child Support Report - February 2000
An Interview with Mary Ann Wellbank
Step-parent Families and the Payment of Child Support
Census Bureau Reports Increase in Uninsured
Alaska and Pennsylvania Systems Certified
New Technologies Enhance Customer Service in Delaware
New Opportunities for Low Income Parents: The Welfare-to-Work Amendments
Maryland to Establish CSE Training Academy
Multistate FIDM Successes in Ohio
Rule Links Food Stamp Savings to Cooperation with Child Support
In Iowa, Child Support Yields Savings in Other Programs
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An Interview with Mary Ann Wellbank
On December 21, CSR spoke with Mary Ann Wellbank, President of the National Council of Child Support Directors. Mary Ann also is the Child Support Director in Montana, a position she has held since 1991.
CSR: Thanks for talking with us, Mary Ann. You've been a state child support director longer than many. It might be interesting for our readers to hear what kind of work you did before you came to child support.
MA: I was in financial work in Chicago, doing banking and commodities futures credit management. In 1985 I moved to Helena, Montana, taking a job with State Worker's Compensation and later moving over to the Governor's Budget Office. I got interested in child support as I saw what a progressive and dynamic program it is and how it can really make a difference for families. When the opportunity came to be a part of it I didn't hesitate.
CSR: Did your financial background help to prepare you for the responsibilities you've faced as a child support director?
MA: Absolutely. I believe my financial background has been a plus. As everyone knows, the '90s have been a period of tremendous growth in child support-Montana's program had about 50 employees when I joined it, now we have 200. Anytime you have that kind of growth, there's a great deal of change to manage. And that always means there will be lots of sticky issues to deal with-many of them of a financial nature.
CSR: Let's talk about the National Council of Child Support Directors. That's a new name. Is it the same organization?
MA: It is a new name and one that I think most people will find easier to remember than the old one-the National Council of State Child Support Enforcement Administrators. But it's the same organization. State and territorial child support directors are automatically members. The council serves as a forum for directors to talk with each other, trade ideas, offer support, and the like. It also is a mechanism for us to communicate with OCSE, the Federal Office, and other entities. We meet in formal session at least three times a year. We're affiliated with NCSEA, so two of the meetings are in conjunction with them: in Washington, DC at the winter policy forum and again in summer at their national conference. The annual meeting this year will be in Montana.
CSR: What's your primary goal as president, and what do you see as major issues for the program and for the council?
MA: Well, first I want to ensure that our organization maintains a proactive role in identifying, prioritizing, and evaluating issues and continues to be a key participant in national discussions about those issues. Keeping a strong partnership with OCSE is a prominent part of this. I think that over the past several years our relationship with OCSE has matured into one of a "partnership of equals" in terms of exploring issues that are important to the program. Two very crucial issues this year are data reliability and SDUs.
I want to ensure that our organization maintains a proactive role in identifying, prioritizing, and evaluating issues and continues to be a key participant in national discussions about those issues.
CSR: What about major strengths, again of the progam and the council?
MA: For both, dedicated, knowledgeable, and energetic people who really care about children.
CSR: You've done some things with privatization in Montana. Do you think we're going to see more of that in the program generally?
MA: I think so, though I prefer to call it public/private partnerships. We have new programs coming on line that demand expertise that isn't always available within an agency. In those cases I think it's great that we can turn to private sector firms for help. They have flexibility to add employees, equipment, and state-of-the-art technology, all of which can enhance government services. The SDUs, I think, are a good candidate for public private/ partnership. What you have to keep in mind is that it is a partnership. The state is still accountable to the public for the program.
CSR: In your judgment, where does the program need to put its energies over the next few years?
MA: What we need to do, and I expect the council will be an important part of this, is finish laying a solid foundation for PRWORA and the Incentive Act. States are just completing revolutionary programming, operational, and statutory changes to their child support programs and will need to devote time and resources to fine tuning these processes, as well as to evaluating results. The foundation we are laying now will provide a structure for improved interstate enforcement and medical support. And we need to continue to focus on funding issues-making sure all states are up to speed with data reliability, introducing the cost avoidance benefits of the program, and ensuring the incentive structure is sound.
CSR: Big issues.
MA: Big program.
CSR: Anything else?
MA: Just a "thank you" to those directors whose hard work has made the National Council of Child Support Directors a serious and effective child support organization. And a welcoming invitation to new directors and to those who haven't been active: please join with us. We need you. We will continue to face many challenges, and your input, expertise, and perspective can help formulate the issues and shape the future of this program.
CSR: Thank you.
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Step-parent Families and the Payment of Child Support
Does the remarriage of a noncustodial father who owes child support negatively effect support payments? Conventional wisdom has held that remarriage might mean a decrease in the number and amount of child support payments.
But there appears to be little support for this thinking in the somewhat sparse research literature that exists on the topic, according to a report prepared for OCSE by Applewhite Research and Management Services. Applewhite reports that the few studies either find an increase in support payments when the noncustodial father remarries or no effect one way or the other.
The question is an important one because from 1980 to 1990 the number of step-families in the United States increased by 36 percent to 5.3 million, largely as a result of an increasing divorce rate. Some observers project that by the year 2007 step-families will outnumber traditional nuclear families in the U.S.
Although there is often an expectation that step-parents will assume a parental role, remarriage in the U.S. does not confer upon step-parents any legal relationship with the step-children. The question also has implications for child support. With time limited assistance in effect, child support payments have taken on a greater importance than ever before. Policy makers can benefit from knowing what effect, if any, step-parents have on the payment of support.
Focus group participants agreed that spouses who owe child support should be encouraged to pay it and to maintain a relationship with the children.
As part of its contract with OCSE, Applewhite conducted a series of focus groups with step-parent families to gain their views on child support. Mothers in particular encourage their spouses to pay child support because they know how important the money is to a family. In general, focus group participants agreed that spouses who owe child support should be encouraged to pay it and to maintain a relationship with the children.
Census Bureau Reports Increase in Uninsured
An estimated 44.3 million people in the United States, or 16.3 percent of the population, had no health insurance in 1998-an increase of about 1 million people since 1997, according to the Census Bureau. The status of children's health care coverage did not change significantly from 1997 to 1998, with 11.1 million, or 15.4 percent of all children under age 18 uninsured.
- Children 12-17 years of age were slightly more likely to be without health care coverage (16.0 percent) than those under age 12 (15.1 percent);
- About one-half (47.5 percent) of poor full-time workers did not have health insurance in 1998; and
- The Medicaid program insured 14.0 million poor people, but about one-third of all poor people (11.2 million) had no health insurance.
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Alaska and Pennsylvania Systems Certified
In December, Pennsylvania and Alaska received certification of their automated systems. This brings to 43 the number of states that have received certification of their statewide automated systems.
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New Technologies Enhance Customer Service in Delaware
By: Karryl D. Hubbard
Delaware's Division of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE) has recently implemented two new technologies designed to enhance customer service: an Automated Assistance Line and an Automated Call Distribution system. In response to a customer's account number, the Automated Assistance Line provides pre-recorded answers to routinely asked questions regarding basic services provided by DCSE, including current account information.
Automated Call Distribution enables our Customer Service Unit to monitor the frequency and length of phone calls and the average wait before a customer is served. This information makes it possible for the Division to adjust staffing to best respond to the volume of calls received.
Fueling this change is Delaware DCSE's desire to provide timely and accurate service to customers. The Automated Assistance Line is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
All incoming phone calls are now answered by a Customer Service Unit. Customers have the opportunity to select from a menu of options to receive automated information or to speak directly with a Customer Service Representative. For questions not answered by the Automated Assistance Line, Customer Service Representatives will research individual cases and answer questions during normal business hours.
The new system provides several benefits.
- It makes payment information available 24 hours a day;
- It makes Customer Service Representatives available during normal business hours to discuss cases; and
- It promotes consistency in response to customer inquiries.
Karryl Hubbard is the Director of Delaware's Division of Child Support Enforcement.
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OCSE Releases Paternity Video
By: Debra Pontisso
In an effort to increase the number of voluntary paternity acknowledgments nationwide, OCSE, with the assistance of partners and stakeholders, recently produced and distributed to state child support agencies copies of a new paternity video for unwed parents entitled, The Power of Two: Voluntarily Acknowledging Paternity. The video also will assist states in complying with a recent legislative requirement to provide unwed parents with an oral as well as written explanation of their rights, responsibilities, and consequences of signing a paternity acknowledgment.
The video is expected to be of particular value to those persons, such as hospital, vital records, and child support staff, who work directly with unwed parents in providing the opportunity to voluntarily acknowledge paternity. Another objective of the video is to inform both parents of the importance of father involvement in the lives of their children.
. . . expected to be of particular value to those . . . who work directly with unwed parents in providing the opportunity to voluntarily acknowledge paternity.
State CSE agencies have been provided an original VHS copy of the video so that they can include their own state-specific "tag-line" or information at the end of the video and also make copies for distribution to hospitals, vital records, child support, and other community-based programs that serve unwed parents. States are free to duplicate the video for their own use.
At the national level, copies of the video have been sent to a variety of organizations, including the American Hospital Association, National Governors' Association, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the Association of State Public Health Statistics and Information Systems.
For further information, contact your state child support office, or OCSE's Debra Pontisso at (202) 401-4548, Internet dpontisso@acf.dhhs.gov.
Debra Pontisso is OCSE Advocacy Relations Specialist-Fatherhood Initiative. Florida
New Opportunities for Low Income Parents: The Welfare-to-Work Amendments
By: Dail Moore
The President recently signed Public Law 106-113, which includes the "Welfare-to-Work and Child Support Amendments of 1999." These Amendments make several significant changes to the Welfare-to-Work (WtW) grant programs administered by the Department of Labor, as well as changes to Child Support Enforcement. The WtW-related changes are designed to provide better service to parents of low-income children. Included in the changes are expanded participant eligibility and increased local options for program design.
The child support changes include authority for IV-D agencies to disclose specified information on noncustodial parents to private industry councils. The purpose is to enable the councils to identify and contact the noncustodial parents about participation in WtW. Provisions for safeguarding such information also are included.
WtW enrollment is a unique opportunity for low-income fathers to develop the skills to find and retain jobs that can lead to increased support of and involvement with their children. Research tells us that fathers who regularly pay support are more likely to spend time with their children.
Welfare-to-Work, created in 1997 as a complement to Welfare Reform, has the goal of moving welfare recipients and certain noncustodial parents into unsubsidized, lasting jobs which may lead to self-sufficiency. The focus is on those persons who face difficult barriers to employment-those, for example, who have been on welfare a long time.
WtW programs can offer a broad array of services to help enrollees prepare for, find, and retain unsubsidized jobs and become better able to support themselves and their children.
To fund the program, a total of $3 billion in formula and competitive grants was made available to states, local Private Industry Councils (now Workforce Investment Boards), and other organizations. Congress's authorization of the WtW Program clearly reflected an intent to capitalize on the private sector connection of the workforce investment system.
According to an Urban Institute study, "A number of start-up issues contributed to the delay in implementation of the program . . . [but] the most significant factor that has slowed implementation [was] the very tight eligibility criteria included in the law."
The 1999 Amendments greatly ease those formerly tight criteria, particularly with respect to noncustodial parents, who now have increased opportunities for referral to and enrollment in WtW. Under the Amendments, noncustodial parents are eligible if:
- They are unemployed or underemployed, or are having difficulty making child support payments;
- Their minor children are eligible for or receive TANF benefits (with priority for parents with children who are long-term recipients); received TANF benefits during the preceding year; or are eligible for or receive assistance from Food Stamps, Supplemental Security Income, Medicaid, or the Children's Health Insurance Program; and
- They enter into a personal responsibility contract under which they commit to establishing paternity, paying child support, and participating in services to increase their employment and earnings.
The Amendments also require grantees to consult with domestic violence organizations in developing these projects and allow noncustodial parents to be enrolled under the larger of the two funding pools.
In a subsequent article, we expect to discuss the data release issue and provide examples of IV-D involvement in WtW. Also, OCSE will be issuing guidance on the Amendments. If you have questions or want more information, please see the WtW website: http://wtw.doleta.gov or contact Dail Moore at dmoore@acf.dhhs.gov or by phone at (202) 401-3438.
Dail Moore is the Team Leader of OCSE's Special Initiative's Branch and WtW Liaison Officer.
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Maryland to Establish CSE Training Academy
By: John Clark
Under a grant from OCSE, the State of Maryland will establish a child support training academy for certification of its child support workers. The training academy will provide a core set of competencies based on the OCSE and Maryland strategic plans.
These competencies will be in compliance with all federal and State regulations. The training is expected to focus on the performance areas of paternity establishment, establishment of support orders, payment on current support, collections on arrears, and establishment of medical support orders.
The training is expected to focus on . . . paternity establishment, establishment of support orders, payment on current support, collections on arrears, and establishment of medical support orders.
"We work hard for children and families," said Teresa Kaiser, the Executive Director of the Maryland Child Support Enforcement Administration. "It's time our staff was recognized for their outstanding work."
Certification by the academy can be a major step in achieving that recognition. Academy certification will:
- Prepare workers to deliver consistently outstanding service to customers;
- Increase public trust and confidence in the child support program; and
- Bolster worker confidence and self-esteem.
"We work hard for children and families. It's time our staff was recognized for their outstanding work." .....................................................Teresa Kaiser
The process for establishing Maryland's Training Academy includes research, focus groups, curriculum analysis, training design, and evaluation. Evaluation will focus on how the training program meets established goals for each competency area and how the competency of staff trained at the academy compares with those who received their training on the job.
According to OCSE Commissioner David Gray Ross, there is national interest in CSE worker certification, and "we need to do all we can to encourage the professional development of our staff." In support of that, OCSE also has awarded a grant to the National Child Support Enforcement Association (NCSEA). The NCSEA grant will examine the feasibility of a national certification program for child support workers. NCSEA has established a national advisory committee that includes workers, child support directors, OCSE staff, and other child support experts. The project will include a review of all available literature and a survey of all 54 state programs.
"The survey is vital to the success of the project," said Joel Bankes, Executive Director of NCSEA. "We appreciate the states' support in gathering the information, and we will, of course, share the results with them."
If you would like more information about Maryland's Training Academy, contact Dr. Elizabeth Debaugh-Stone at (410) 767-7724. For more information about the NCSEA study, contact Joel Bankes at (202) 624-8180.
John Clark is a Program Specialist in OCSE's Region 3, Philadelphia, Office.
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SIP Grants Available
OCSE invites eligible applicants to submit competitive grant applications for special improvement projects (SIP) that further the national child support mission, vision, and goals. Priority areas for award include (1) improving the management of undistributed collections; and (2) fostering improved interstate case processing.
OCSE also is interested in projects that focus on effective enforcement tools, foster cooperative relationships with law enforcement, and demonstrate other effective methods to increase collections, as well as demonstration projects that test and evaluate model review and adjustment procedures.
Approximately $2 million is available for FY 2000. The closing date for applications is March 6, 2000. For more information, phone OCSE's Jean Robinson at (202) 401-5330 or send an e-mail to jrobinson@acf.dhhs.gov.
Return to top of newsletter Multistate FIDM Successes in Ohio
As states gear up to act on the matches supplied by Multi-State Financial Institution Data Match (MSFIDM), OCSE will share some of the successful collection results contributed by state FIDM coordinators.
Delaware County: First Ohio MSFIDM collection. A lien on a Certificate of Deposit resulted in $7,244.61. The agency distributed the funds to the custodial parent who will use the money to pay for the first year of college for his 16-year-old daughter.
Pickaway County: Froze $1,600 credit union savings account based on a MSFIDM match. Rather than forfeiting the savings, obligor, who lived in Virginia, obtained loan for entire $2,400 arrears balance. Lorain County: Advance Notice of intent to seize account resulted in arrears payment of $3,542.92, bringing account current.
Lorain County: Advance Notice issued on a joint account resulted in arrears payment of $1,738.15, bringing account current.
Darke County: MSFIDM located three accounts totaling over $30,000 for one noncustodial parent. After necessary due process, the office received $2,375.85 in back child support.
Licking County: Obtained monies from investment accounts in two separate cases. Arrears balances obtained in amounts of $3,829.02 and $892.93.
Clermont County: MSFIDM match for $13,000 was reported on a noncustodial parent who owed $2000. The child support office sent an Access Withdrawal Restriction Notice on the account, prompting the obligor to pay $900 to bring the account out of default.
In Ohio, MSFIDM is working and we are seeing results. MSFIDM enables support to be secured in cases where traditional methods have not worked.
For more information, contact Sarah Cooper at (614) 752-9733 or by email at coopes@odhs.state.oh.us.
Sarah Cooper is Ohio's FIDM Coordinator.
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Rule Links Food Stamp Savings to Cooperation with Child Support
A proposed Food Stamp Program rule allows states to require food stamp recipients to cooperate with child support as a condition of food stamp eligibility and to disqualify individuals who are in arrears in court-ordered child support payments. (See Jan. 2000 CSR.)
The Food Stamp Program estimates that in FY 1999 a total of 8,000 custodial and noncustodial parents will be disqualified due to sanctions for noncompliance; that an estimated 3,000 persons will be disqualified as a result of being in arrears in court-ordered child support payments; and that 68,000 custodial parents will have their benefits reduced due to compliance and increased child support income.
Savings to the Food Stamp Program over a period of five years (FY 1999-20003) as a result of noncompliance disqualifications are estimated to be $90 million, while savings over the same five-year period as a result of arrears disqualifications are estimated to be $25 million.
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In Iowa, Child Support Yields Savings in Other Programs
A recent report, Child Support Enforcement Cost Avoidance: Evidence from Iowa, finds that Iowa's child support enforcement efforts result in lower federal and State spending on TANF, Medicaid, and Food Stamps. Child support collections make custodial parents eligible for lower benefits in these programs.
In 1995, every dollar spent on the IV-D program in Iowa yielded $1.32 savings to TANF, $0.14 savings to Food Stamps, and $0.51 savings to Medicaid, for total savings of $1.97.
These results reflect federal and State savings and account for the fact that child support payments would still be made even in the absence of the IV-D program.
The Medicaid estimates could be even greater because the report estimate does not reflect savings resulting from third-party health insurance from medical support orders.
For more information, contact Brian Laatsch at blaatsc@dhs.state.ia.us.
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