Reduce the number of "no-shows" for paternity interviews which historically averaged 50 percent and speed cases toward collection through the use of video interviewing technology. Previously it took cases a month to reach the point of a paternity interview by prosecutor's staff.

To explore two research questions:

The Division of Child Support office in Everett, Washington (Region 3) serves the northwestern part of Washington State, a 6,350 square mile area which includes five counties and a number of islands. The distance from the eight Community Service Offices, where TANF applications are accepted, to the DCS office in Everett, ranges from 5 to almost 60 miles.

Until 1997, child support staff had to rely on paper applications alone or customers had to travel long distances in order to initiate a child support case. When paternity establishment was necessary, a paternity interview with prosecutor's staff was a prerequisite. The distances between staff and client frequently posed real barriers for cooperative clients without good transportation and sometimes provided a convenient excuse for clients who were less than enthusiastic about establishing paternity. Similarly, administrative hearings required extensive travel for Administrative Law Judges, Claims Officers, and Conference Board Chairs.

The Everett DCS began using video-conferencing technology in Spring, 1997. Four processes of Child Support are discussed with respect to this technology.

Support Enforcement Interviews: TANF applicants can complete their TANF applications and walk into another room to be interviewed over video camera by DCS staff in Everett. DCS staff and applicant see each other on television screens and speak by phone. Current locate information is provided and clarifying questions can be asked on the spot. Some documents are left with CSO (TANF) staff to be forwarded to child support staff in Everett.

Paternity Interviews: After applying for TANF at the Community Service Office and completing the initial child support interview by video with DCS staff, appropriate cases are referred for video paternity interviews. The applicant moves to equipment which has the capability of sharing documents. The prosecutor's staff conducts the paternity interview remotely. PC-based systems were installed in the Everett Community Service (TANF) Office and the Snohomish County Prosecutor's office. Paternity questionnaires are prepared and signed before the applicant ever leaves the Community Service Office.

Administrative Hearings: Washington State uses an administrative process to establish child support in most IV-D cases. When the parties cannot agree on the amount, an Administrative Law Judge hears the case. Both agency attorneys and judges travel around the region to conduct/attend hearings. The more sophisticated video conferencing equipment was installed in space at two Community Service (TANF) Offices, and in the Everett DCS office to permit these administrative hearings to be held by video. These procedures were instituted to increase the time available to hold the hearings by eliminating travel time and reduce travel costs for Claims Officers and Administrative Law Judges.

Conference Hearing Board: The costlier equipment was also installed in the Division of Child Support Headquarters to permit the Conference Board Chairperson to conduct Conference Board hearings. The other participants meet in the Everett DCS office. It was hoped that the procedure would save the travel time and cost of a 160-mile round trip for the chairperson for each hearing.

Video-conferencing to conduct child support interviews was successful in 5600 cases. While the demonstration period ended November, 1999, the method was continued. The technique proved especially beneficial in cases in which there was already a support order and DCS needed to initiate an enforcement action. The video interviews facilitated DCS staff to obtain and quickly act on new employer information. Almost twice as many video interview cases as paper application cases saw enforcement action commenced within 60 days of application (31 versus 16 percent).

While there was broad agreement that video interview cases moved more quickly to service of process, the overall process took long enough that video-conferencing did not reduce TANF recipiency rates in the first 120 days for cases requiring establishment of a support obligation.

Customers like the process. 92% reported they were comfortable with the video equipment and 97% believed the DCS interviewer was helpful in answering questions.

Increased collaboration between DCS and TANF (CSO) staff also resulted. Significant CSO (TANF) staff involvement is required to explain the video interviews to applicants, show them how to use the equipment and to fax or transmit documents to DCS. Monthly meetings between DCS and CSO staff to discuss the video interview process laid the ground work for further collaboration on other issues involved in Washington's Work First (welfare reform) program.

The use of video-conferencing in Conference Board hearings has also been highly successful. The Conference Board Chair warmly embraced the reduced travel time.

Video-conferencing was introduced for administrative hearings and in paternity interviews later in the demonstration process and has not yet been used in enough cases to yield statistically significant results. Logistical and technical difficulties had to be resolved in these cases. DCS was very successful in dealing with one additional office such as a CSO or Conference Board chair. When a third office was brought into the process, it was much more difficult to coordinate. While the more sophisticated equipment is capable of doing more - e.g., transmitting documents as well as video images - it is also somewhat more complex to use. Participants were initially more concerned about using it.

Federal Region X, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provided the video-conferencing equipment - which cost $67,046. The balance of funding was regular IV-D funding for DCS. Each agency provided it's own telephone line and staff.

Kathleen Ihnken, Support Enforcement Office 4, recommends starting slow. Be sure there is a one-to one ratio of remote/TANF locations and child support interviewers available. Set up with one other office at a time as that office will require training and technical assistance to integrate the new capability with its ongoing procedures for opening TANF cases - even when motivated to do so.

It will be necessary to have someone responsible for keeping the equipment running, showing participants how to use the equipment, and handling documents. In some cases, security could be needed. Collaboration with an agency which can provide security, handle documents and/or provide expertise in equipment use can work well. Thus, DCS has sent technical staff to administrative hearings for this purpose - decreasing the savings from reduced travel. Safety concerns in this relatively unsupervised setting have also been expressed by those involved.

Assist non-custodial parents to begin, resume and/or increase child support payments, encourage parental responsibility and strengthen families.

"Support Has A Rewarding Effect" or S.H.A.R.E., is a pilot project designed and implemented by the Tri-County Workforce Development Council (WDC), Yakima and Kittitas County Prosecuting Attorneys (PA), and the Yakima Office of Division of Child Support (DCS) to assist unemployed or under-employed non-custodial parents (NCP) in securing and retaining employment. S.H.A.R.E. targets the non-custodial parent of minor child(ren) who meets the eligibility requirements for Welfare-to-Work (WtW) as established by the federal regulations. S.H.A.R.E.’s program design is as follows:

Because the S.H.A.R.E. Project is aimed to help the "hardest to serve" non-custodial parent, it was determined the Prosecutor's help was necessary to require non-custodial parents to follow through with paying support if they were able, find employment so they could pay support, or enroll in WtW Employment/Training Services to aid them in finding employment. The majority of non-custodial parents referred to S.H.A.R.E. have been referred to the Prosecutor for the contempt diversion process. A small number of non-custodial parents have volunteered to be in the program. These volunteers did not need to go through the contempt process, but have been referred directly to the WtW Providers for employment services.

Division of Child Support/Yakima Office, Kittitas and Yakima County Prosecutors, WorkForce Development Council. WtW Service Providers are: People for People, Yakima Valley Opportunities Industrialization Center (O.I.C.), IAM Cares/Washington State Labor Council, Americorps/Washington Service Corp. The WtW Service Providers include both Formula/State-match Grantees and Competitive Grantees.

Implementation of the S.H.A.R.E. Project occurred in June 1998. Workforce Development Council was to receive WtW funds in August, 1998. NCP's were referred to the Prosecutors beginning in June so that the legal process of the contempt actions could be completed and a number of NCP's would be ready for immediate referral to WDC on August 1, 1998. The S.H.A.R.E. Project continues to operate and is expected to continue until authorization of the federal WtW program ends.

To be consistent in tracking collections which we believe resulted from this project, we continue to count dollars received 3 months before referral and 3 months following referral but not counting the month of referral. It is interesting to note, of the 122 NCP's who paid following referral only 23 of them had paid support during the 3 months before referral for a total of $4,040.00.

This early increase in collections shows the Prosecutor's interaction with the non-custodial parent is a very important component of S.H.A.R.E. Program. Not all NCP's referred to S.H.A.R.E. are in need of or enrolled in WtW Employment and Training Services. The Prosecutor gives the NCP the choice to either pay their child support, enter the WtW program or face civil contempt penalties.

As of June 2000 there were 134 NCP's enrolled in WtW Employment and Training activities. The following characteristics have been identified.

Kittitas and Yakima counties in rural Washington State

Welfare-to-Work Formula/State-match grants and Welfare-to-Work Competitive grants administered by the Department of Labor.

Communication and coordination among the partners has been the key to the success of this project. Having a clear understanding of each partners' role in the project is essential.

The CRU was established in 1987. Its goal is to provide speedy resolution to all of our customer's issues/problems.CRU receives approximately 500 calls per month. The three most common complaint calls are (1) collection action, (2) general questions, and (3) questions about cash distribution. The key partners for problem resolution include custodial parents, noncustodial parents, staff, other agencies and employers.

No matter what time the e-mail arrives today, the sender will receive not only the preliminary response but also the specific response to their question before 5 p.m.

Since November 1998, as an added convenience to our customers, CRU has had an e-mail address published on the DSHS Internet page. From December 1998 to June 1999, the CRU received and responded to 190 e-mails. Since implementation, half of all correspondence comes to our office via e-mail. CRU has received several thank you e-mails for our prompt response.

No late letters is a measurement of success for our unit. Most of our letters are completed within 7 days of receipt. An exact measurement of impact on collections is not known. However, anecdotally we know that failure to resolve our customers' issues can have a devastating impact on collections.

The CRU is housed within the DCS headquarters office located in downtown Olympia, WA.

Take all incoming calls directly so that the caller gets immediate help. Check the CRU mailbox twice daily. Acknowledge receipt of e-mail and include in the reply that the customer can expect a response within 24 hours (same as the DCS telephone policy). Should you want a similar unit to handle also centralized Customer Service Unit (e.g., to handle routine questions such as “Has a payment come in?”), then the unit would need to be larger than the five Program Specialists assigned to the Washington State CRU.

Rob Huffman, Program Specialist, Department of Social and Health Services, Division of Child Support

712 Pear Street, PO Box 9162, Olympia, WA 98507-9162, Phone:1-800-457-6202; Direct: 360-664-5447

Fax: 360-586-3274; E-mail: rhuffman@dshs.wa.gov

Operating since January 1995, the Self-Help Legal Resource Center is located in the lobby of Seattle's Division of Child Support. Non-lawyer staff provide free legal resource lists, court forms, and instructions to DCS customers who want to go pro se (without an attorney) into King County Superior Court to file a child support modification or a contempt motion to enforce existing visitation rights. Packets with forms and instructions for respondents are also available. Customers must have an open collection case at DCS to be eligible, and King County Superior Court must have jurisdiction to hear the case. A support enforcement officer trained as a facilitator deals with walk-in customers. Most customers receive packets by mail after leaving a voice-mail message at the Center.

A Pro Se Committee, which includes in-house attorneys, oversees the operation of the Resource Center and the activities of in-house volunteers who are members of pro se workgroups at the King County Courthouse and the Northwest Women's Law Center.

King County includes the city of Seattle and is the most populous county in Washington State. It is also the most urban county. There are no plans to put Legal Resource Centers in other DCS offices at this time.

In 1998 (the most recent period for which data are available), the Resource Center averaged 146 customer contacts per month (62% noncustodial parents, 35% custodial parents, 3% other). Staff distributed an average of 79 modification packets and 10 visitation enforcement packets per month to eligible customers. We recently retired our own visitation enforcement packet and adopted one created by the Northwest Women's Law Center. We continue to maintain and distribute our own packets for child support modification.

The project uses regular federal matching funds.

The content and format of domestic relations forms is controlled by Washington State law; consequently, non-lawyer staff were able to create most of the materials used. It has not been necessary to have lawyers involved in the day-to-day operation of the Resource Center. However, it is very important to have lawyers willing to edit and approve the materials used, oversee the training of facilitators, and be available for questions from staff.

The anticipated demand for visitation enforcement packets never materialized. We conclude that although people complain frequently about visitation problems, they must not see court enforcement as a realistic solution, particularly if they have to do it themselves.

Chuck Treneer, Support Enforcement Officer 3

Seattle Division of Child Support (DSHS)

500 1ST Avenue South

Seattle, WA 98104-2830

ctreneer@dshs.wa.gov

Tel. (206) 341-7267

Fax: (206) 341-7400

Using a computer match of case participants, the neighboring States of Oregon and Washington have identified cases where each state is pursuing the same noncustodial parent for collection of unpaid support or establishment of paternity or an order.

Often times, both states unknowingly appear to be working the same case [i.e., attempting to enforce the same order or establishing a support obligation or paternity for the same child(ren)]. Starting in August 1999, a sample of these cases was reviewed by enforcement staff from both states, who identified situations where the cases can be combined and worked by one state so that duplication of effort can be reduced. Practices will be developed where these cases are identified and combined on an on-going basis.

Workers in both states reviewed cases side-by-side having arranged for access to automated files on shared cases from both states.

Initially, 22,231 cases have been identified where both Oregon and Washington may be duplicating efforts. This includes 8,805 two-state interstate cases, 9,609 cases where both states have cases with the same noncustodial parent but different participants, and 3,807 cases where both states have cases with the same noncustodial parent and the same participants. Anecdotally, and until the test is completed, staff believe the effort has been cost-effective.

Statewide caseload

Regular Federal Matching funds are used for this project.

Dave Stillman, Administrative Operations Chief, State of Washington, Division of Child Support 360-664-5050 (dstillman@dshs.wa.gov)

Often times, a paternity acknowledgement may have been signed in a state other than the one working the case. Periodic matches of children needing paternity established with border-state birth records can be used to identify these acknowledgments. The states of Oregon and Washington are experimenting with doing computer matches of their paternity caseloads with the other state's birth records to uncover paternity acknowledgements filed in the other state. The project started with the first match being done in June 1999.

A match of Oregon's paternity caseload with Washington's Department of Health records resulted in the discovery of over 200 acknowledgements filed in the state of Washington.

Statewide

Regular Federal matching funds are used.

Dave Stillman, Administrative Operations Chief, State of Washington, Division of Child Support, 360-664-5050, dstillman@dshs.wa.gov

A simple postcard which employers can use to notify the Child Support Division that an employee has left the company had such good results in Wenatchee, Washington that it has been adopted statewide. Use of the card saves child support staff time, improves employer relations, and speeds up withholding by the new employer. (A facsimile of the card is found on page WA 7.)

The postcard was the brainchild of Debbie Thompson of American Silicon Technologies, a Wenatchee employer. At an employer workshop Thompson suggested that a simple, self-addressed postcard to send back to the child support agency when employees left would make employers' lives easier. In addition, she told Lyn Rindy of the Wenatchee Division of Child Support Staff, “Many times I actually know where they have gone. Nobody is asking me if I know where they went, only whether they have left here.”

On-the ball Child Support Division staff recognized a good idea when they heard it. They quickly realized the potential usefulness of the card - including a space for information about the new employer.

The card idea was a great outgrowth of lots of work on employer relations in Wenatchee. Employers are regularly invited to employer workshops with the Child Support Division there - creating an ongoing dialogue in which such suggestions can be made. Ongoing discussions were held with the employer community about the postcard. Would it be just one more form to fill out, or would it make life easier? The employers they talked with unanimously thought it would help.

With that encouragement, the card was developed and sent to state headquarters for approval. It was tested in a pilot project in Wenatchee from August of 1997 through February 1998. The card was sent out with all withholding orders generated in the Wenatchee office during that time.

The pilot was a success. Employers quickly adapted to using the card. Interestingly, they used the cards not only to notify the Division of Child Support when an employee left the company, but also to notify the Division if the obligor on a withholding order did not work there when an order was served initially. Apparently the card is easier for employers to use than the standard Answer to Notice form provided with the withholding order. The state office approved this use of the card, also.

“Most employers say, `Please send me a supply of these.' When anyone leaves they send the card in - even for people who were already there and having wages withheld before the cards first came out,” says Lyn Rindy, a supervisor in the Wenatchee office.

During the pilot project (August 1997 - February 1998) 625 postcards were sent back by employers. About a third reported the departure of an employee who was subject to withholding. One in three of these provided either information on a new employer or a new address. The rest were sent back in lieu of the Answer to Notice to an original wage withholding order. The employer community was enthusiastic. The postcard has been adopted for statewide use.

Wenatchee staff identified three key positive results of the Employment Termination Notice postcards:

The Employment Termination Notice postcard was developed in Wenatchee, WA, a rural area. It has since been adopted statewide in Washington.

The cost of postcard use is minimal - printing and return postage (with a bulk rate permit) - and is overwhelmingly offset by savings on staff time. Costs are paid as part of regular IV-D administrative costs.

The postcard has gone through a few changes over time. Early versions included a space for the employee's social security number. Employers rightly objected to sending this identifying information about their former employees through the mail on a postcard. Now the case number serves as an identifier.

The original version of the card included a blank for the employer name and address as a return address on the front of the postcard. Many employers did not notice they needed to fill this in and the card would come back with no employer identified. The result: uncertainty about which job had been left when a parent had multiple employers. Now there is space for this information on the back of the card.

A copy of the card is available with this Good Idea summary.

Lyn Rindy, Supervisor, Wenatchee Division of Child Support, P.O. Box 2929, Wenatchee, WA 98807, phone: 509-886-6852, e-mail: lrindy@dshs.wa.gov.

STATE OF WASHINGTON

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES

DIVISION OF CHILD SUPPORT (DCS)

EMPLOYMENT TERMINATION NOTICE

Use this form to report termination of employees for whom you had a requirement to withhold

child support or enroll the employee's children in a health insurance plan. Be sure to print

your return address on the reverse side.

POSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY ADDRESSEE

DEPT OF SOCIAL & HEALTH SVCS

DIVISION OF CHILD SUPPORT

PO BOX 2929

WENATCHEE WA 98807-9953