DCL-08-18, Unreported and Underground Income (UUI) Workgroup Meeting Summary

Giving Hope and Support to America's Children

DCL-08-18

DATE: April 28, 2008

TO: ALL STATE AND TRIBAL IV-D DIRECTORS

RE: Unreported and Underground Income (UUI) Workgroup Meeting Summary

Dear Colleague:

The Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) recently hosted a workgroup meeting to discuss Unreported and Underground Income (UUI). The purpose of this meeting was to share techniques and ideas that will help Child Support staff to: 1) identify sources of income that may have previously been unreported or inaccessible, 2) identify barriers that block access to unreported and underground income, and 3) develop solutions and partnerships that will aid our efforts to find and use new sources of income.

The UUI Workgroup is comprised of Child Support professionals from California, District of Columbia, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Texas, and representatives from OCSE. Others were invited to the meeting to share their particular knowledge and expertise including Federal representatives from the Department of Labor, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Department of Justice; Judicial representatives from Massachusetts, Michigan, and Texas; and representatives from private collection and credit reporting agencies.

The Workgroup identified many exciting ideas under the areas of Education/Outreach, Legal Actions, Collaboration, and Case Management for further research. Some examples are:

Develop a unique personal identifier that considers name and SSN variations and other personal data to enable linking a person across databases and locating a person when you do not have a verified SSN.
Extrapolate income based upon expenses, such as the interest paid on a home mortgage, living expenses, credit cards, etc.
Match with the Federal Aviation Administration and Coast Guard for ownership of planes and boats.
Gain access to IRS training on how to perform internet research to identify sources of income.
Create a "Community of Practice" 'chat room' so that child support professionals can get help as they handle difficult cases. For example, a caseworker may seek help in identifying income for a noncustodial parent (NCP) who acts as a third-party seller for E-Bay.
Promote standard evidentiary requirements for dealing with NCPs with unreported and underground income. Coordinate with the Judiciary to establish standard practices when NCPs fail to pay, such as routinely setting a follow-up court date to ensure compliance.
Develop educational material about sole proprietors, 'S' corporations and other types of small businesses.

The ideas and solutions from this meeting are being researched and developed by the UUI Workgroup. This new information will be distributed to child support staff and presented at National conferences. We are looking forward to the benefit it will provide families and children.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact Linda Keely at linda.keely@acf.hhs.gov or (202) 401-5072.

Thank you for your continued support as we work together to improve the lives of our nation's children.

Sincerely,

Margot Bean
Commissioner
Office of Child Support Enforcement

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