Child Support Enforcement, FY 2004
Preliminary Report

June 2005

Department of Health and Human Services
Administration for Children and Families
Office of Child Support Enforcement
Division of Planning, Research, and Evaluation

Program Results

Summary Tables

CSE Nationwide and State Box Scores, FY 2004

Strategic Plan - Progress Associated With More Effective Strategic Planning

Appendix

Incentive Formulas
Incentive Payment Determinations

OCSE-157 Report
OCSE-34A Report
OCSE-396A Report

OCSE Data Report forms are available on the OCSE web site at: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cse/forms/

Program Results for FY 2004

The following Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) Preliminary Data Report^[1] highlights financial and statistical achievements of the Child Support Enforcement program for fiscal year 2004. The information is taken from state-submitted reports on program status sent to OCSE quarterly for financial data, and annually for statistical data. The data show:

$21.9 billion in child support payments were collected and distributed,
total caseload was 15.9 million,
1.6 million paternities were established or acknowledged, and
1.2 million new child support orders were established in fiscal year 2004.

Preliminary Data. The Child Support Performance and Incentive Act of 1998 (CSPIA)^[2] requires that states have complete and reliable data for purposes of computing incentives. Federal auditors begin their review of state data after the mandatory December 31^st deadline for data submissions. However, readers should note that no assumption has been made in this report regarding data reliability for each state for fiscal year 2004 as a result of these audits. The numbers are presented as submitted to OCSE.

Caseload. OCSE defines a child support case as a parent (mother, father, or putative father) who is now, or eventually may be, obligated under law for the support of a child or children receiving services under the title IV-D program.^[3]

In FY 2004, there was a total of 15.9 million child support cases reported. In that fiscal year, there were 2.6 million current assistance cases, 7.3 million former assistance cases, and 5.9 million never assistance cases reported (Figure 1). There has been a small decrease in the child support caseload each year over the last five years.

Paternities Established. When children are born out of wedlock, establishing paternity is a first step for obtaining a child support order. Paternity establishment involves the legal establishment of fatherhood for a child. Paternities can be established by court order or by a voluntary acknowledgement signed by both parents as part of an in-hospital or other acknowledgement program. States must have procedures that allow paternity to be established or acknowledged at least up to the child's eighteenth birthday.

There were over 692,000 paternity establishments and almost 915,000 in-hospital and other paternities acknowledged for a combined total of 1.6 million paternities established or acknowledged for FY 2004. This amounts to more than a 5 percent increase over fiscal year 2003. Over the past five years, the total number of paternities established or acknowledged each year has remained relatively stable at 1.5 to 1.6 million.

Orders Established. State administrators must use standard guidelines to determine how much a parent should pay for child support. Child Support Enforcement (CSE) staff can take child support cases to court or to an administrative hearing process to establish the order.

There were 1.2 million orders for child support established in FY 2004. This total represents almost a 2 percent increase from FY 2003. Never assistance orders made up 45 percent of the support orders established for FY 2004. Current assistance orders accounted for 20 percent and former assistance orders accounted for 35 percent of child support orders established. The number of support orders has remained stable at about 1.2 million per year over the last five years.

Collections. Total distributed child support collections were $21.9 billion for FY 2004. This was a 3.2 percent increase in collections over the previous fiscal year. Collection data are shown in Table 3 under the following reporting categories: current assistance ($1.1 billion), former assistance ($9.4 billion), never assistance ($9.5 billion), and Medicaid ($1.9 billion). More than half of all child support collections come from never assistance cases. The $21.9 billion in total distributed collections consisted of $19.6 billion non-TANF collections and $2.3 billion of TANF collections. Form OCSE-34A (Quarterly Report on Collections) was revised in FY 2004 to include two additional columns, former IV-E assistance and Medicaid never assistance collections. Prior to that reporting change, Medicaid assistance was included in TANF collections. Therefore, some of the categorical collection data are not comparable to the previous years' data.

Child support payments are collected through various methods, such as income withholding, unemployment compensation interception, and state or Federal income tax refund offsets (Figure 4). Income withholding is the most effective method, used as it accounts for 70 percent of total collections received in FY 2004. The largest share of child support payments go to families. There was almost $19.7 billion sent to families in FY 2004, an increase of about 4 percent over FY 2003.

Expenditures and Incentives. In FY 2004, total administrative expenditures were $5.3 billion, a 2 percent increase over FY 2003. The Federal share of expenditures was $3.5 billion and the state share was $1.8 billion.^[4] States estimated incentive payments for FY 2004 at $361 million. Individual state incentive levels will be determined after data reliability audits are completed. According to CSPIA, $454 million in incentive money will be available to states for FY 2004. (See the appendix for an example of how an incentive payment is determined.)

Current Support Collections and Arrears. The total amount of current support due for FY 2004 was over $28.0 billion (Figure 5). This amounted to more than a 3 percent increase over last fiscal year's amount of $27.1 billion. About $16.5 billion of FY 2004 amount was collected and distributed, a 5 percent increase over FY 2003 amount of $15.7 billion. The total amount of arrearages reported for all fiscal years was $102 billion, and over $6.7 billion of this amount was collected and distributed.

Arrears. There were 10.9 million cases with arrears due in FY 2004, and 6.5 million of these cases had collections. Almost 60 percent of the obligors continue to pay towards their arrears (Figure 6).

The amount of interstate collections continues to improve with $1.3 billion forwarded to other states in FY 2004 (Figure 7). Interstate collections have increased by 14 percent over the $1.2 billion reported in FY 2000.

Other Statistics. The number of cases with collections continues to increase with 8.1 million reported in FY 2004 (See Table 2). This is almost a 2 percent increase over the previous fiscal year. The largest portion of these collections continues to come from former assistance cases. Out of the 15.9 million total cases reported in FY 2004, there was a total of 11.8 million with an order established. This is nearly a 3 percent increase over the number of cases with an order reported for FY 2003. The total number of children reported remains over 17 million in FY 2004. Cost-effectiveness represents the amount of child support collected for every $1.00 expended on the program. The cost-effectiveness ratio, which was $4.38 for fiscal year 2004, is an increase from the $4.32 ratio in FY 2003.

A total of nine tribes reported some data in FY 2004. These tribes reported a total of $12.4 million in collections. There were 2,773 paternities established, 10,211 support orders established, and 26,425 cases reported. The total outlay was $6.7 million. The following table shows what each tribe reported for FY 2004.

THE CHILD SUPPORT TRIBAL PROGRAM
TRIBES	CASELOAD	PATERNITIES ESTABLISHED	SUPPORT ORDERS ESTABLISHED	TOTAL COLLECTIONS	OUTLAYS
CHICKASAW	9,643	98	8,613	$8,484,338	$1,141,584
FLAMBEAU	904	329	416	250,379	236,454
LUMMI	132	6	18	48,328	509,754
MENOMINEE	1,574	111	799	746,504	684,624
NAVAJO	13,959	2,010	146	2,454,930	2,844,777
POTAWATOMI	NA	NA	NA	272,315	129,434
PUYALLUP	500	5	23	128,536	165,266
SISSETON	NA	14	NA	NA	291,093
S'KLALLAM	213	200	196	35,024	672,184
TOTAL	26,425	2,773	10,211	$12,420,354	$6,625,170

NA = Tribes that did not have information available.

Summary Tables

Table 1 - Financial Overview, FY 2003 and FY 2004
Table 2 - Statistical Overview, FY 2003 and FY 2004
Table 3 - Total Distributed Collections, FY 2004
Table 4 - Statistical Program Status, FY 2004
Table 5 – Current & Arrears Collections Due and Distributed, FY 2004
Table 6 - Cases with Arrears Due and Cases Paying Towards Arrears, FY 2004
Table 7 - Collections and Expenditures, FY 2004
Table 8 - Paternity Establishment, FY 2004
Table 9 – Net Undistributed Collections (UDC), FY 2003 and FY 2004
Table 10 - Unaudited Performance Incentive Scores, FY 2004
Table 11 - TANF Closed Cases w/Child Support Payment and TANF Closed Cases

CSE Nationwide and State Box Scores, FY 2004

Nationwide Box Scores

Nationwide		% change from FY 03
Collections Distributed	$21,861,258,876	3.2%
- Current Assistance	$1,104,586,871	RC
- Former Assistance	$9,359,180,662	RC
- Never Assistance	$9,504,531,503	RC
- Medicaid Assistance	$1,892,959,840	RC
Total Expenditures	$5,322,260,723	2.1%
CSPIA Cost Effectiveness	$4.38	0.1%
Paternities & Acknowledgements	1,606,303	5.4%
Orders Established	1,181,012	1.7%
Full Time Equivalent Staff	60,354	-0.7%
Total Caseload	15,854,475	-0.4%
- Current Assistance	2,628,214	-4.8%
- Former Assistance	7,281,092	-1.2%
- Never Assistance	5,945,169	2.6%

State Box Scores

Child Support Enforcement Strategic Plan Tables, FY 2000-2004

Progress Associated With More Effective Strategic Planning

The initial FY 1995-1999 National Child Support Enforcement Strategic Plan was developed as part of a pilot project under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1993 and included performance measures for each goal and objective in the plan. This plan served as the foundation for several Child Support Enforcement (CSE) program improvements including performance-based incentive and penalty systems. A new incentive system enacted by the Child Support Performance and Incentive Act of 1998 (CSPIA) became effective in FY 2000. The FY 1995-2000 OCSE Strategic Plan was eventually replaced by the FY 2000-2004 National Child Support Enforcement Strategic Plan. The most important of these performance measures are those used for incentive purposes and include: paternity establishment, support order establishment, current support collections, cases with an arrears collections, and cost-effectiveness.

The FY 2000-2004 Strategic Plan was developed as a result of refinements made to the strategic planning process through effective partnership and collaboration with state child support enforcement agencies (A copy of the FY 2000-2004 Strategic Plan can be found in the Appendix.) The plan was implemented in conjunction with stronger child support enforcement tools such as the Federal Parent Locator Service, enhancements to CSE automated systems, and reliable data reporting. The effectiveness of the strategic plan is indicated by continuous improvements to the program performance measures contained in the plan. There were a total of 17 performance indicators in the areas of parentage, financial and medical orders and support, and efficiency.

Gains in the Child Support Enforcement Program resulting from ongoing improvements in results-oriented, strategic planning have been encouraging. For instance, during the five year period covered by the initial FY 1995-1999 Strategic Plan, child support collections rose to over $15 billion and, for the first time, more children had paternity established than were born outside of marriage in a given year. Further, in FY 2003, during the five year period covered by the succeeding FY 2000-2004 Strategic Plan, $21.2 billion was collected on behalf of children. Similar gains were made in paternity establishments and the percentage of child support collections that actually went to the children on whose behalf the collections were made.

Preliminary analysis of data highlighting the achievements of the Child Support Enforcement Program for FY 2004 with respect to performance measures contained in the FY 2000-2004 Strategic Plan reveals that, in general, states made continuous progress in meeting targeted goals and objectives during the years covered under the FY 2000-2004 OCSE Strategic Plan. This progress can be observed in the accompanying Strategic Plan Tables and in the following examples:

Paternity Establishment. Strategic plan indicator results for the paternity establishment percent (PEP) shown in Table A reveal that, in FY 2000, the average percentage of children born out-of-wedlock with paternities and acknowledgments, in states selecting to use the IV-D caseload PEP, was 71.97 percent. With the exception of FY 2003, this percentage improved each successive year and, in FY 2004, reached 85 percent. In Statewide PEP states, the average percentage of paternities established was almost 98 percent in FY 2000 and, even though there was a decrease in this percentage in FY 2001, there were improvements in each successive year. In FY 2004, this average percentage reached close to 99 percent.

Support Order Establishment. Table D reveals that continuous improvement was made in Support Order Establishment in successive years covered under the FY 2000-2004 Strategic Plan. The average percentage of IV-D cases with Support Order Establishment in FY 2000 was more than 62 percent. This percentage steadily increased each year until it reached 74 percent in FY 2004.

Current Support Collections. Table H reveals steady progress with respect to collections for current support. In FY 2000, on average, almost 54 percent of current collections due were paid. This rate continued to improve in succeeding years and, in FY 2004, reached a level of about 59 percent.

Arrears Collections. The percentage of arrears cases with a collection on arrears has remained around 60 percent from fiscal year 2000 to fiscal year 2004, as shown in Table J.

Cost Effectiveness. Even though progress in the area of cost effectiveness (defined as total dollars collected per $1 of expenditures, as reported in Table M) has been slower, indications are that continuous progress in this area has begun. In FY 2000, the cost effectiveness ratio was $4.23 and, in FY 2004, it increased to $4.38.

Examples of progress in child support enforcement made by the individual states can be observed from a further examination of data contained in the accompanying tables.

Appendix

CSPIA INCENTIVE MEASURE FORMULAS
INCENTIVE MEASURE	FORM AND LINE NUMBERS
PATERNITY ESTABLISHMENT PERCENTAGE (PEP): IV-D
Number of Children in the Caseload in the FY or as of the End of the FY Who Were Born Out-of-Wedlock with Paternity Established or Acknowledged divided by Number of Children in the Caseload as of the End of the Preceding FY	OCSE-157, Line 6 divided by OCSE-157, Line 5 (of the preceding FY) Who Were Born Out-of-Wedlock
PATERNITY ESTABLISHMENT PERCENTAGE (PEP): STATEWIDE
Number of Minor Children in the State Born Out-of-Wedlock with Paternity Established or Acknowledged During the FY divided by Number of Children in the State Born Out-of-Wedlock During the Preceding FY	OCSE-157, Line 9 divided by OCSE-157, Line 8 (of the preceding FY)
SUPPORT ORDER ESTABLISHMENT
Number of IV-D Cases with Support Orders divided by Number of IV-D Cases	OCSE-157, Line 2 divided by OCSE-157, Line 1
CURRENT COLLECTIONS
Amount Collected for Current Support in IV-D Cases divided by Amount Owed for Current Support in IV-D Cases	OCSE-157, Line 25 divided by OCSE-157, Line 24
ARREARAGE COLLECTIONS
Number of IV-D Cases Paying Toward Arrears divided by Number of IV-D Cases with Arrears Due	OCSE-157, Line 29 divided by OCSE-157, Line 28
COST-EFFECTIVENESS
Total IV-D Dollars Collected divided by Total IV-D Dollars Expended	OCSE-34A, Lines 8 + 5 + 13 of column (G) divided by OCSE-396A, Line 9 columns (A) + (C) less Line 1(b) columns (A) + (C)
STATE COLLECTION BASE
2 times (Current Assistance + Former Assistance Collections + Medicaid Assistance) + Never Assistance Collections + Fees Retained by Other States	OCSE-34A: 2 times ((Line 5, columns A+B+C+D+E) + (Line 8, columns A+B+C+D+E)) + Line 5, column F + Line 8, column F + Line 13, column G

How an Incentive Payment is Determined

Because of the complexity of the incentives formula set forth in section 458 of the Social Security Act, we have included an example of how the system would work in a particular year for State A. Let's make the following assumptions regarding State A (See table A):

State A's paternity performance level is 93 percent, making its applicable percent 100 percent (see table C)
State A's order establishment performance level is 74 percent, making its applicable percent 88 percent (see table C)
State A's current support collections performance level is 59 percent, making its applicable percent 69 percent (see table D)
State A's arrearage support collections performance level is 60 percent, making its applicable percent 70 percent (see table D)
State A's cost-effectiveness ratio is $4.40, making its applicable percent 80 percent (see table E)
State A's collections base is $50 million (determined by 2 times the collections for Current Assistance, Former Assistance, and Medicaid Never Assistance plus Never Assistance collections and fees retained by other states)
The maximum incentive for State A is:
- $50 million collections base for paternity ($50 mil. times 1.00), plus
- $44 million collections base for orders ($50 mil. times 0.88), plus
- $34.5 million collections base for current collections ($50 mil. times 0.69), plus
- $26.25 million collections base for arrearage collections ($50 mil. times 0.75^[5] times 0.70) plus
- $30.0 million collections base for cost-effectiveness ($50 million times 0.75^[6] times 0.80) equals
- Resulting in a maximum incentive base amount of $184.75 million for State A.

Table A
Measure	State A's Performance Level	Applicable Percent based on Performance	Weight	State A's Collection Base (assumed to be $50,000,000)
Paternity Establishment	93%	100%	1.00	$50,000,000
Order Establishment	74%	88%	1.00	$44,000,000
Current Collections	59%	69%	1.00	$34,500,000
Arrearage Collections	60%	70%	0.75	$26,250,000
Cost-Effectiveness	$4.40	80%	0.75	$30,000,000
State A's Maximum Incentive Base Amount				$184,750,000

We must now make some assumptions regarding the other States. Let's assume that there are only two other States in our country--and the maximum incentive base amount is $84 million for State B and $50 million for State C, making the total maximum incentive base amount $318.75 million for all three States (See table B).
We must now determine what State A's share of the $318.75 million is. It is 58 percent ($184.75 divided by $318.75).

Table B
State	Maximum Incentive Base Amounts	State's Share of $318,750,000	Incentive Payment Pool $461,000,000
A	$184,750,000	0.58	$267,199,216
B	$84,000,000	0.26	$121,487,059
C	$50,000,000	0.16	$72,313,725
Totals	$318,750,000	1.00	$461,000,000

Let us assume it is FY 2003, so the incentive payment pool for the FY is $461 million (see table F).
Since State A's share is 0.58, this state has earned 58 percent of the $461 million incentive payment pool that Congress is allowing, or $267.2 ($461 mil. times 0.58) million incentive payment for this particular fiscal year.

Table C^[7]
If the Paternity Establishment or Support Order Performance Level Is:
At Least:	But Less Than:	The Applicable Percentage Is:	At Least:	But Less Than:	The Applicable Percentage Is:
80%		100%	64%	65%	74%
79%	80%	98%	63%	64%	73%
78%	79%	96%	62%	63%	72%
77%	78%	94%	61%	62%	71%
76%	77%	92%	60%	61%	70%
75%	76%	90%	59%	60%	69%
74%	75%	88%	58%	59%	68%
73%	74%	86%	57%	58%	67%
72%	73%	84%	56%	57%	66%
71%	72%	82%	55%	56%	65%
70%	71%	80%	54%	55%	64%
69%	70%	79%	53%	54%	63%
68%	69%	78%	52%	53%	62%
67%	68%	77%	51%	52%	61%
66%	67%	76%	50%	51%	60%
65%	66%	75%	0%	50%	0%

Table D^[8]
If the Current Collections or Arrearage Collections Performance Level Is:
At Least:	But Less Than:	The Applicable Percentage Is:	At Least:	But Less Than:	The Applicable Percentage Is:
80%		100%	59%	60%	69%
79%	80%	98%	58%	59%	68%
78%	79%	96%	57%	58%	67%
77%	78%	94%	56%	57%	66%
76%	77%	92%	55%	56%	65%
75%	76%	90%	54%	55%	64%
74%	75%	88%	53%	54%	63%
73%	74%	86%	52%	53%	62%
72%	73%	84%	51%	52%	61%
71%	72%	82%	50%	51%	60%
70%	71%	80%	49%	50%	59%
69%	70%	79%	48%	49%	58%
68%	69%	78%	47%	48%	57%
67%	68%	77%	46%	47%	56%
66%	67%	76%	45%	46%	55%
65%	66%	75%	44%	45%	54%
64%	65%	74%	43%	55%	53%
63%	64%	73%	42%	43%	52%
62%	63%	72%	41%	42%	51%
61%	62%	71%	40%	41%	50%
60%	61%	70%	0%	40%	0%

Table E^[9]
If the Cost-Effectiveness Performance Level Is:
At Least:	But Less Than:	The Applicable Percentage Is:
5.00		100%
4.50	4.99	90%
4.00	4.50	80%
3.50	4.00	70%
3.00	3.50	60%
2.50	3.00	50%
2.00	2.50	40%
0.00	2.00	0%

Table F
The incentive payment pool is:
$422,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 $429,000,000 for fiscal year 2001 $450,000,000 for fiscal year 2002 $461,000,000 for fiscal year 2003 $454,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 $446,000,000 for fiscal year 2005 $458,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 $471,000,000 for fiscal year 2007 $483,000,000 for fiscal year 2008

For each fiscal year following fiscal year 2008, the incentive payment pool will be multiplied by the percentage increase in the CPI between the two preceding years. For example, for fiscal year 2009, if the CPI increases by one percent between fiscal years 2007 and 2008, then the incentive pool for fiscal year 2009 would be a one percent increase over the $483,000,000 incentive payment pool for fiscal year 2008, or $487,830,000.

CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT STRATEGIC PLAN WITH OUTCOME MEASURES

FOR FY 2000-2004

INTRODUCTION

Under the first Child Support Enforcement Program strategic plan for the period FY 1995 to 1999, there were enormous strides made in improving program outcomes for children and families in need of support from both parents. Collections have risen to over $15.8 billion and, for the first time, more children had paternity established than were born outside of marriage in a given year. These are noteworthy outcomes. And yet, with a caseload still in excess of 19 million cases, more needs to be done by the nation's child support system.

This revised strategic plan, for the period FY 2000-2004 is our vision at the start of a new century. It is our commitment to do more. It is our commitment to lead the child support program into the new century as a key component to assist families to become self-sufficient or to remain self-sufficient. It is our vision that child support is an important line of defense against children living in poverty. It is our vision that medical child support is an important line of defense against children living without health insurance. It is our commitment to provide world class service to children and families in need. It is our commitment to go beyond what we have done in the past by using all the new tools provided to us in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Welfare Reform). It is our commitment to continually find new and creative ways to enhance program success. It is our commitment to crack down on those parents who can pay but refuse to support their children, while providing necessary and appropriate assistance to those who want to pay but are unable to pay their fair share due to their current life circumstances.

Over the past five years, there has been enormous change in the environment that surrounds the nation's child support program. We will respond to these changes by dynamically leading the program. We acknowledge that the child support program is much more than cost recovery, though that remains an important focus. The program must also be much more than just a partnership between Federal, State, local and tribal governments if we are to be truly successful. We must enlist our stakeholders and the general public to join with us to promote the economic and social well-being of families, children, individuals and communities, which is at the heart of the child support program's mission. Through our joint vision we continue to see:

Families and individuals empowered to increase their own economic independence and productivity;
Strong, healthy, supportive communities having a positive impact on the quality of life and the development of children;
Partnerships with individuals, front-line service providers and communities, States and Congress, Federal agencies, Indian tribes and tribal organizations that enable solutions which transcend traditional boundaries;
Improved access to services which are planned, reformed and integrated.

Trust, communications, planning, creativity, risk-taking and respect among program partners and stakeholders are the values to which we in the nation's child support community pledge ourselves.

MISSION

The Child Support Enforcement Program is authorized and defined by statute, title IV-D of the Social Security Act. The purpose and the mission of the Program are derived from the Act:

To assure that assistance in obtaining support, including financial and medical, is available to children through locating parents, establishing paternity and support obligations, and monitoring and enforcing those obligations.

VISION FOR THE FUTURE

The Child Support Program will put children first by helping both parents assume responsibility for the economic and social well-being, health and stability of their children. We recognize the value of improved relationships with both parents.

The Child Support Enforcement Program will promote stability, health, safety and economic security for all children in need of support. This will be accomplished by assuring that a parent who lives outside the primary residence of the child(ren) has a legal relationship with the child(ren), pays an appropriate level of child support on a regular and timely basis, and is encouraged, except in cases where this is proven to be inappropriate, to have an ongoing relationship with the child(ren). Child support includes providing for medical support.

We acknowledge that fathers and mothers (and other caretakers) each play a critical emotional role in a child's upbringing. Thus, within the context of first serving the best interests of the child, we must see that all parents are treated fairly and equitably by the CSE system and that the concerns of both parents are recognized.

The Program is committed to expanding its knowledge base through research and demonstration projects that are intended to improve the operations of the program and advance the well-being of children.

The Program is sensitive to the fact that we now have access to a vast array of personal information about those people receiving our services as well as others outside the child support program. We recognize the responsibility that comes with access to this data and we are committed to respecting and ensuring the privacy and security of this information.

OUR CUSTOMERS, PARTNERS AND STAKEHOLDERS

For the purpose of this document, the primary customers and beneficiaries of the Child Support Enforcement Program are children in need of support. Secondary customers are the parents or custodians of these children. It is important to recognize the different values and perspectives of those involved in children's lives and to acknowledge that, while interests may conflict, the physical and emotional needs of the child are paramount.

The Child Support Program is operated by a number of entities that must work together in partnership to achieve results for Program customers. The partners who operate the program include:

State, local and tribal child support enforcement agencies;
Courts, law enforcement agencies, and other entities operating under cooperative agreements with child support enforcement agencies; and
The Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), including ACF Regional Offices.

Many other groups have an important role in helping us serve our customers. Without the active cooperation of these additional partners, we would be unable to operate our Program effectively. These additional partners include, but are not limited to:

Employers, financial institutions, hospitals, the medical insurance community, contractors;
Other components of Federal, State, and local government such as Temporary Assistance for Needy families (title IV-A), Medicaid (title ), Child Welfare (including title IV-E) agencies; and
Related government agencies that work on particular aspects of the program such as the Department of Labor, Department of Treasury, and Social Security Administration.

Many other groups have a legitimate interest in how our customers are served. These stakeholders make a contribution toward, and benefit from, a well-run Program. They include national interest groups and community-based organizations that help serve the interests of Program customers or partners; Congress; State legislatures; taxpayers; and the public in general.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Program goals are the broad-based outcomes or impacts sought for program customers. Objectives are the results to be accomplished in order for the goals to become a reality. Accomplishing the objectives will move the program forward in achieving its strategic goals.

The goals and objectives described below represent the most important outcomes the Program seeks to achieve. They were developed in collaboration with Federal, State, local and tribal child support partners. Specific strategies for meeting these objectives rest with Federal, State, local and tribal child support agencies depending on their individual roles. Many of the objectives were part of the first Strategic Plan and have since gained additional importance as they evolved into the performance measures included in the “Child Support Performance and Incentive Act of 1998.” We agreed that the establishment of paternity and support obligations, the collection and enforcement of support, the establishment and enforcement of medical support, and the operation of a customer-focused and cost-effective program continue to be the desired outcomes of the child support program.

GOAL 1: ALL CHILDREN HAVE PARENTAGE ESTABLISHED

Objective A:

To Increase Establishment of Paternities, Particularly Those Established within One Year of Birth

Objective A Indicators:

1. The Ratio that the Total Number of Children in the IV-D Caseload in the FY or, at the option of the State, as of the end of the FY, who have been Born-Out-of- Wedlock, the Paternity of Whom has been Established or Acknowledged, Bears to the Total Number of Children in the IV-D Caseload as of the end of the preceding FY who were Born Out-of-Wedlock

(Statutory Caseload Paternity Establishment Percentage)

2. The Ratio that the Total Number of Minor Children who have been Born Out-of-Wedlock and for whom Paternity has been Established or Acknowledged during the FY, bears to the Total Number of Children Born Out-of-Wedlock during the preceding FY

(Statutory Statewide Paternity Establishment Percentage)

3. The Percentage of Children Born-Out-of-Wedlock with Voluntary Paternity Acknowledgments

4. The Percentage of Children in the IV-D Caseload with Paternity Resolved

GOAL 2: ALL CHILDREN IN IV-D CASES HAVE FINANCIAL AND MEDICAL SUPPORT ORDERS

Objective A:

To Increase the Percentage of IV-D Cases with Orders for Financial Support

Objective A Indicator:

1. The Percentage of IV-D Cases with Support Orders

(Statutory Support Order Performance Level)

Objective B:

To Increase the Percentage of IV-D Cases with Orders for Medical Support

Objective B Indicator:

1. The Percentage of IV-D Cases with Medical Support Orders

Objective C:

To Increase the Percentage of Interstate IV-D Cases with Orders for Support

Objective C Indicator:

1. The Percentage of Interstate Responding IV-D Cases with Orders for Support

GOAL 3: ALL CHILDREN IN IV-D CASES RECEIVE FINANCIAL AND MEDICAL SUPPORT FROM PARENTS AS ORDERED

Objective A:

To Increase the IV-D Collection Rate

Objective A Indicators:

1. Total Dollar Amount Distributed in IV-D Cases

2. IV-D Collection Rate for Current Support

(Statutory Current Payment Performance Level)

3. Percentage of IV-D Cases with Orders Where Some Child Support is Paid

4. Percentage of Arrears Cases with a Collection on the Arrears. (Statutory Arrearage Payment Performance Level)

Objective B:

To Increase the Percentage of IV-D Cases Where Medical Support Is Obtained After Being Ordered

Objective B Indicator:

1. Percentage of IV-D Cases Where Health Insurance is Provided as Ordered

Objective C:

To Increase the Collections on Interstate IV-D Cases

Objective C Indicator:

1. The Percentage of Interstate Responding IV-D Cases with Collections

GOAL 4: THE IV-D PROGRAM WILL BE EFFICIENT AND RESPONSIVE IN ITS OPERATIONS

Objective A:

To operate an efficient program

Objective A Indicators:

1. Total Dollars Collected per $1 of Expenditures

(Statutory Cost-Effectiveness Performance Level)

2. Placeholder for Future Cost Avoidance Indicator

Objective B:

To operate a responsive program

Objective B Indicators:

1. Children First Customer Satisfaction Survey of Custodial and Noncustodial Parents' Satisfaction with Child Support Services

2. Survey of State Child Support Enforcement Programs' Satisfaction with Federal Performance

[1]This report was prepared by Renée Jackson-Hebron, Adrienna Johnson, Delores Johnson, Nina Campbell and Kenneth Dittmar under the leadership of Nehemiah Rucker and direction of Joyce Mathews Pitts. Please direct comments to jpitts@acf.hhs.gov.

[2]The Child Support Performance and Incentive Act of 1998 (CSPIA) provided for an alternative penalty procedure for states that fail to meet federal child support data processing requirements. In addition, CSPIA reformed federal incentive payments for an effective child support program by requiring a performance-based incentive system.

[3] A current assistance case is one in which the children are: (1) recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) under title IV-A of the Social Security Act or (2) entitled to Foster Care maintenance payments under title IV-E of the Social Security Act. In addition, the children's support rights have been assigned by a caretaker to the state and a referral to the state IV-D agency has been made. A former assistance case is a case in which the children were formerly receiving title IV-A (AFDC or TANF) or title IV-E, Foster Care services. A never assistance case is a case in which the children are receiving services under the title IV-D program, but are not currently eligible for, and have not previously, received assistance under the titles IV-A or IV-E of the Social Security Act. This includes cases in which the family is receiving IV-D services as a result of a written application (including cases in which children are receiving state, not title IV-E, foster care services) or a case in which they are Medicaid recipients not receiving additional assistance.

[4]OCSE charges an assortment of fees to states in return for services provided to state agencies administering the child support program. These fees reduce the total amount of expenditures that are eligible for FFP. Total expenditures (including state and federal shares) reported are net of these fees. The Federal government reimburses states for 66 percent of the majority of allowable expenditures and 90 percent for laboratory paternity costs.

[5]Because the measure has less weight.

[6]Because the measure has less weight.

[7]Use this table to determine the maximum incentive levels for the paternity establishment and support order performance measures.

[8]Use this table to determine the maximum incentive levels for the current and arrearage support collections performance measures.

[9]Use this table to determine the maximum incentive level for the cost-effectiveness performance measure.

Child Support Enforcement, FY 2004 Preliminary Report

Table of Contents

Program Results for FY 2004

Summary Tables

CSE Nationwide and State Box Scores, FY 2004

Child Support Enforcement Strategic Plan Tables, FY 2000-2004

Progress Associated With More Effective Strategic Planning

Appendix

CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT STRATEGIC PLAN WITH OUTCOME MEASURES

INTRODUCTION

MISSION

Child Support Enforcement, FY 2004
Preliminary Report