ILLINOIS

EFT - INCREASE USAGE

Goal: To receive 30% of incoming child support payments by EFT.

Description: In order to achieve the established goal of 30% the Illinois State Disbursement Unit (SDU) strategically implemented the following initiatives:

A Dedicated EFT team:

• Implemented an EFT team dedicated to customer service and employer outreach. The EFT team is responsible for building relationships with decision makers in companies employing child support obligors as well as payroll specialists within those organizations. The EFT team has contacted over 7,000 employers between November 2000 and June 2003.
• Hired an Employer Liaison with sales and marketing skills. This person is skilled at scaling company "gate keepers" the first step in presenting the EFT concept to the employers. The Employer Liaison's responsibilities include: determining who in an organization can make decisions regarding EFT, communicating Illinois law regarding EFT to organizations, working with various departments within a company to assist in the set-up process, and following up frequently with organizations to ensure EFT compliance.
• Trained an EFT Testing Coordinator. The coordinator is skilled in record layout and guiding companies through EFT development.
• Prepared multiple EFT Specialists to work with employers who are using EFT. This person provides needed corrections and acts as a resource to the employers with child support issues.

Target Employers and Associations

• Employers were targeted based on their case volume and divided into three tiers or priorities based on the number of cases with child support payments they remitted to the SDU. The first priority was employers with 100 cases or more. This first target was comprised of approximately 75 companies. The second priority included employers with 30 - 99 cases. Approximately 419 companies were in that group.
• Lists of payroll providers were identified. If they were able to remit their customer's child support electronically, they were strongly encouraged to do so. If they were not able to remit via EFT, the Employer Liaison worked with them until they were successful with remitting EFT payments.
• Informed payroll and employer associations about child support issues and the benefits of EFT.

Implement an Employer Communication Plan

• An EFT information packet was created to inform employers of the process and benefits of using EFT. This packet was mailed to targeted employers, payroll associations and payroll service providers. These groups then received a follow-up phone call to verify that the packet was received and to provide answers to questions about material in the packet.
• The Illinois Department of Public Aid added a link to the EFT information packet on their web site as another means of disseminating the information.
• Links were set up between association web sites such as The American Society for Payroll Managementand IDPA's web site.
• An article regarding Illinois' EFT initiative was submitted and published by the APA's Paytechmonthly magazine and in EA Facts,a publication by the Employer's Association.
• EFT team members participated in conferences and association meetings such as the Treasury Management Association's Windy City Summitand the American Payroll Association's Illinois Statewide Payroll Conference.

Results: The Illinois SDU's EFT team reached the goal of 30% EFT payments in December 2002. The following table depicts the progress the EFT team has made since its inception in November 2000.

EFT Team Progress

Date	#of EFT Payments	# of Employers	EFT %
Dec-00	18,633	108	4%
Dec-01	83,430	2,074	19%
Dec-02	147,595	3,733	30%
May-03	186,381	4,203	36%

Location: This activity is centralized in the Illinois State Disbursement Unit. It lends itself to adaptation by other states. Though other states have engaged in EFT-EDI outreach, Illinois' approach has led to greater levels of participation by employers.

Funding: Regular IV-D funds are used.

Replication Advice: The key to success is persistence and excellent customer service.

Contact:

Christine Towles

Management Operations Analyst

AIDA50G1@mail.idpa.state.il.us

Phone: (630) 221-2334