To improve interstate case processing by providing an electronic method to quickly and efficiently access West Virginia birth indexes, make paternity determinations and request birth certificates.

One of the most difficult tasks encountered by child support workers is to determine the type of action to initiate when the paternity status of the child is unknown. This becomes more difficult when the child's birth occurred in another state and the worker must attempt to track down a copy of the child's birth certificate.

The IPACT website was developed in cooperation with the WV Vital Registration Office

(WV VRO). IPACT is a secure website that allows authorized workers throughout the country to access the WV birth indexes, determine if the birth certificate is on file and request certified copies of the birth certificate, if needed. There are plans to add paternity affidavits and WV death indexes soon. Once a request is made, the worker receives a confirmation and the request is immediately received in the WV VRO.

IPACT offers a simplified method for determining the parentage of a child:

The website is administered and maintained by the WV Bureau for Child Support Enforcement, WV Vital Registration Office, WV Department of Health and Human Resources Management Information Systems and WV Information Systems and

Communications.

Child support workers in other states, through cooperative agreements with those States, can access this information. They are assigned secure User ID's and passwords to enable access to the site. Each state must designate a database administrator who is responsible for obtaining and maintaining User ID's for workers in their respective States.

The IPACT website is currently being piloted in three counties. By February 2002, expansion to the rest of the State is expected.

By April 2002, WV plans to begin the rollout to other states that are interested in entering into a cooperative agreement to access the website.

The pilot project has shown other benefits we can expect to receive once fully implemented.

The key element to the success of this project is the cooperation we received from the WV VRO. We presented the concept showing the benefits to the child support workers as well as the benefits that support the mission of WV VRO. The State Registrar was involved as a valuable member of the project staff from the beginning.

The very confidential information involved is recognized. A high level of system security is of the essence. User ID and secure passwords are a must. Restrictions on the data that can be accessed must be in place. These were all issues discussed in detail during the design phase and decisions were made with the advice and approval of the WV VRO.

IPACT was funded through a Federal OCSE Special Improvement Project grant awarded to the WV BCSE for the design of the project. The project will be continued with regular IV-D funding.

If your state or county (if CSE program is funded through a local county) staff would like to be authorized to access IPACT, please contact Jim Dingeldine at 304-558-3582 or jimdingeldine@wvdhhr.org. Your state or county will be required to enter into a cooperative agreement with the WV BCSE.

To better serve our customers, the Bureau for Child Support Enforcement implemented a 24/7 Automated Telephone Information System.

The 24/7 automated telephone information system, also known as an interactive voice response system (IVR), was introduced in mid-September 1997. The IVR allows customers to access information about the services provided by the Bureau. These services include locate, paternity establishment, support establishment, enforcement, and collection and distribution of support payments. Callers can also obtain the telephone number of local Child Support Enforcement offices. Customers who have a case(s) with the Bureau can find specific payment information related to their case by providing their Social Security number and Personal Identification Number (PIN). Customer Service Representatives are available between 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, to assist callers who would rather speak to a "live individual" or for customers who have a case-specific question. The Customer Service Representatives are also available to the callers who do not have a touch-tone telephone. Another option of the IVR provides callers with the opportunity to be connected to the Bureau's Employer Relations Unit, as well as the ability to receive automated information about income-withholdings and New Hire. Payment information on the IVR is updated daily.

The IVR enjoys great popularity! The system enables the Bureau to provide better and more efficient service to its customers. During calendar year 2001, over one million calls were received through the IVR. Prior to implementation of the IVR, the Bureau's Customer Service Unit received about 25,000 to 30,000 calls a month. A large number (approximately 80%) of the callers are interested in information about payments the Bureau has received on their behalf. Noncustodial as well as custodial parents utilize this service.

The IVR is accessible and toll-free from anywhere in the United States.

Regular federal matching funds were used for this project.

This project required a great deal of effort on the part of Bureau staff. The script and call flow were completely designed and tested by Bureau staff. Since staff was not experienced in this area, the project took much longer than planned. We now need to update the general information in the IVR because of changes in law and policy. The system was not designed for state staff to update so we must work through the vendor once again. In the future, we will require the system to allow state staff to make changes necessitated by changes in law and policy. We will also automate the transfer of updated payment information data to the IVR rather than utilize the manual process currently in effect.