DCL-03-46, Resolution of SSN Removal from Treasury Checks

DEAR COLLEAGUE LETTER

DCL-03-46

DATE: December 16, 2003

TO: ALL STATE IV-D DIRECTORS

RE: Resolution of SSN Removal from Treasury Checks

Dear Colleague:

There are some updates to provide you concerning the payroll initiatives and changes outlined in DCL-03-23, dated August 1. In that letter, we informed you about the Department of Treasury’s plan to remove Social Security numbers (SSNs) from paper checks as of January 1, 2004 and provided the Federal agency Electronic Funds Transfer/Electronic Data Interchange (EFT/EDI) conversion schedule.

Resolution of SSN Removal

My staff has worked closely with Treasury’s Financial Management Service (FMS) to find a solution that would meet the needs of the states while at the same time supporting FMS’ goal of adhering to Public Law 106-433, the Social Security Number Confidentiality Act of 2000. We posed two options to FMS regarding the SSN removal. One was to have them not suppress the SSN until Federal agencies convert to EFT/EDI. The other was to have FMS find a way to continue to print SSNs on the child support Treasury checks, given the difficulty states have in processing them and their reliance on the SSN as an identifier.

I am pleased to say that FMS has granted a one-year waiver to OCSE and the other Federal agencies and will continue to print the SSN on paper checks through 2004. However, beginning January 1, 2004, the SSN will no longer be printed in its customary location in the Payee Identification line at the top of the check. When submitting payment files, FMS will allow Federal agencies to temporarily use the Payment Identification line at the bottom of the check, below the address line, for the SSN for all garnishment payments. In addition to the SSN, Federal agencies will use that line for other information, such as name, case identification number, etc., so that the SSN is not obvious.

Conversion to EFT/EDI

The states, FMS, Federal agencies, and OCSE agree that the only true solution to mitigating the loss of the SSN from paper checks is EFT/EDI. Since the August 1 letter, we have learned that the Department of Agriculture’s National Finance Center has plans to begin the conversion process in mid-2004.

There will be an aggressive campaign launched by FMS, which is responsible for Federal agency conversion to EFT/EDI, to have as many Federal processors as possible converted during 2004. My staff will continue to work closely with FMS, serving as a liaison between the agencies, FMS, and states when necessary. We will need assistance from state staff during the EFT/EDI conversion, particularly in case reconciliation.

The publication, Working with Federal Agencies as Employers, includes two chapters that states may find useful when the SSN is moved to the new location on the Treasury checks. One is the list of contacts for the Federal payroll agencies and the other is “How to Read U.S. Treasury Checks.” These materials are available on the OCSE website at

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cse/newhire/employer/publication/publication.htm.

A new Federal Agency section will be posted within the next few weeks.

For questions about the SSN removal from child support Treasury checks, please contact Karen Anthony at kanthony@acf.hhs.gov or (202) 690-6275.

Sincerely,

Sherri Z. Heller, Ed.D.
Commissioner
Office of Child Support Enforcement

cc: Regional Program Managers
ACF Regional Administrators