Search Type Title Author/Investigator Search Advanced Search

Table of Contents | Previous | Next

Part II: Program Description and Performance Analysis

STRATEGIC GOAL I (con't)

3.     INCREASE PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY

Approach for the Strategic Objective: Establish paternity for children born out of wedlock and ensure that parents support their children.

3.1     CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT

Total Program Resources:

Request, Full Costs, & Annual Measures ($ in millions)	FY 2003	FY 2004	FY 2005
Budget Request (Program Level)	$3,856.7	$4,403.1	$4,086.2
Estimated Full Cost	$3,894.7	$4,442.4	$4,128.2
Program Goal: Increase child support. Incorporates measure: FY 2003 – FY 2005: 3.1 a-e	$3,894.7	$4,442.4	$4,128.2

*The distribution of full costs to performance measures may not equal the full cost of the performance program area.

ALLOCATION METHODOLOGY EXPLANATION: Included costs associated with establishing parentage, children in Child Support and Enforcement (IV-D) cases having financial and medical support orders, Federal Parent Locator Service, Project Save Our Children, and all children in IV-D cases receiving financial and medical support from both parents, and determined that performance measures represented 100% of full cost of program.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION AND CONTEXT

The mission of ACF’s Child Support Enforcement (CSE) program is to assure that assistance in obtaining support is available to children by locating parents, establishing paternity and support obligations, and modifying and enforcing those obligations. The Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) works in cooperation with state agencies to achieve these goals.

The CSE Program is administered by state and local governments, but funded in part by the Federal government, which reimburses states for 66 percent of administrative costs and 90 percent of paternity laboratory costs. The Federal role is to provide direction, guidance, technical assistance, oversight, and some critical services to states' CSE Programs for activities mandated under title IV-D of the Social Security Act. Funding for Tribal Child Support Enforcement Programs by OCSE has been made under the Interim Final Rule (45 CFR, Part 310). The Proposed Final Rule (45 CFR, Part 309) should be published in the latter part of FY 2003/early FY2004.

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1966 (PRWORA) is having a dramatic impact on the child support program. This law added major new responsibilities and increased workloads for both state and Federal staff. The CSE program has been greatly strengthened by the welfare reform law. PRWORA provided new tools to the CSE program to secure emotional and financial support for many of the nation's children. Some of the newer support enforcement tools are the National Directory of New Hires, the Federal Case Registry, Financial Institution Data Matches, State Disbursement Units, activities in establishing paternity, and the Passport Denial program. PRWORA included significant enhancements of state and Federal data systems. States are now required to have a State Directory of New Hires and a State Case Registry for Child Support Enforcement. These various tools provided by the welfare reform law generate direct collections and also ancillary benefits. States are using matches provided by the system to locate custodial parents and distribute child support payments. The operation of child support enforcement is improving because of the speed, efficiency, and effectiveness of this new system.

The CSE program includes an incentive funding system with a formula based in statute. PRWORA required the Secretary to develop a new revenue-neutral, performance-based incentive funding formula in consultation with the states. The old incentive funding system, which paid rewards to states based on cost-effectiveness was in effect until FY 2001, when a new system, enacted by the Child Support Performance and Incentive Act of 1998 (CSPIA), was phased in beginning in FY 2000. The formula continues to be instrumental in driving the CSE program toward achievement of its performance targets. This performance plan employs the same five performance measures enacted by CSPIA.

Working in partnership with states, ACF will use the following resources to achieve the FY 2005 performance goals:

• Data reliability audits of performance data and related technical assistance provided to states by Federal auditors;
• Incentive funding to states based on state performance in paternity establishment, order establishment, current support collections, arrears cases paying and cost effectiveness;
• Section 1115 research grants, one percent and two percent set-aside funding to provide technical assistance, supportive contracts, and research and demonstration grants;
• Child access and visitation grants;
• ACF Central Office Child Support staff of 119 and 55 out-stationed regional office employees totaling 174; and
• Central Office Child Support staff supplemented by approximately 141 contractor staff located both on- and off-site

Major tools that will be used to achieve FY 2005 performance goals include:

• Expanded Federal Parent Locator Service, including a database of new hires and child support cases to assist states to locate parents and obtain support through wage withholding;
• Federal Tax Refund/Administrative Offset program to offset income tax refunds and selected Federal payments to child support obligors; and
• Federal match of state administrative expenditures (66 percent).

Program Partnerships

The United States has international reciprocity declarations on child support enforcement with the following countries and provinces: Australia, Czech Republic, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, and Slovak Republic; Canadian provinces - Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland/Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Ontario. State child support agencies must accord requests from these foreign countries the same services provided to other interstate requests. Outgoing requests for services are sent to the specific countries Central Authority.

OCSE has partnered extensively with a range of Federal agencies/programs and state and local entities. Examples include:

• The Department of Treasury’s Financial Management Service in IRS Tax Refund Offset and Administrative Payment Offset programs;
• The State Department to deny or revoke passports;
• Multi-state and in-state financial institutions to identify assets of non-custodial parents;
• Foundations, community-based organizations and state and local child support programs to launch demonstration projects;
• The Department of Justice, U.S. Attorneys, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the HHS Inspector General, and numerous state and local law enforcement agencies in the Save Our Children project;
• The Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration to enroll low-income non-custodial parents (NCPs), mostly fathers, into employment training and job search programs;
• ACF programs including Head Start, Foster Care, and Child Care to educate clients about child support services; and
• The domestic violence community to inform service providers of the importance of child support and to ensure the safety of victims seeking child support services.

PROGRAM PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS

Program Performance Table

Performance Measures	Targets	Actual Performance	Reference (Relevant strategic goal in the HHS Strategic Plan)
LONG-TERM STRATEGIC GOALS: (1) Increase annual child support distributed collections up to $30 billion by FY 2008 and up to $40 billion by FY 2013. (2) Increase the CSPIA cost-effectiveness ratio up to $4.63 by FY 2008 and up to $5.00 by FY 2013.
PROGRAM GOAL: All children have parentage established.
Objective: Increase the number of paternities established, particularly those established within one year of birth.
3.1a. Maintain the paternity establishment percentage (PEP) among children born out of wedlock. (This includes not only current paternity established cases but also completion of backlogs of older IV-D cases.) [O]	FY 05: 98% FY 04: 98% FY 03: 98% FY 02: 97% FY 01: 96.5% FY 00: 96% FY 99: 96%	FY05: FY 04: FY 03: 9/04 FY 02: 95% FY 01: 91%* FY 00: 95% FY 99: 106%	HHS 7.3
PROGRAM GOAL: All children in IV-D cases have financial and medical support orders.
Objective: Increase the percentage of IV-D cases with orders for financial support.
3.1b. Increase the percentage of IV-D cases having support orders. [O]	FY 05: 71% FY 04: 70% FY 03: 67% FY 02: 64% FY 01: 62% FY 00: 76% FY 99: 74%	FY 05: FY 04: FY 03: 9/04 FY 02: 70% FY 01: 66% FY 00: 62% FY 99: 60%	HHS 7.3
PROGRAM GOAL: All children in IV-D cases receive financial and medical support from both parents.
Objective: Increase the collection rate.
3.1c. Increase the IV-D collection rate for current support. [O]	FY 05: 61% FY 04: 60% FY 03: 58% FY 02: 55% FY 01: 54% FY 00: 71% FY 99: 70%	FY 05: FY 04: FY 03: 9/04 FY 02: 58% FY 01: 57% FY 00: 56% FY 99: 53%	HHS 7.3
Objective: Increase paying cases.
3.1d. Increase the percentage of paying cases among IV-D arrearage cases. [O]	FY 05: 63% FY 04: 62% FY 03: 61% FY 02: 55% FY 01: 54.5% FY 00: 46% FY 99: 46%	FY 05: FY 04: FY 03: 9/04 FY 02: 60% FY 01: 59% FY 00: 57% FY 99: 55%	HHS 7.3
Objective: Make the process more efficient and responsive.
3.1e. Increase the cost-effectiveness ratio (total dollars collected per $1 of expenditures). [E]	FY 05: $4.42 FY 04: $4.35 FY 03: $4.25 FY 02: $4.20 FY 01: $4.00 FY 00: $5.00 FY 99: $5.00	FY 05: FY 04: FY 03: 9/04 FY 02: $4.13 FY 01: $4.18 FY 00: $4.21 FY 99: $3.94 FY 98: $4.00	HHS 7.3 EFFICIENCY MEASURE
COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH MEASURES 3.1a-e % OF FULL COST FY 2003: 100% FY 2004: 100% FY 2005: 100%
Total Funding (dollars in millions)-Net Budget Authority ** See detailed Budget Linkage Table in Appendix A-12 for line items included in funding totals.	FY 05: $4086.2 FY 04: $4403.0 FY 03: $3856.7 FY 02: $3235.6 FY 01: $3429.8 FY 00: $3267.8 FY 99: $2965.5
*Based on additional information the actual performance has been updated. (back) **These totals represent net Budget Authority and do not include obligation levels for Child Support Enforcement Programs. (back)

Summary of Program Performance

In FY 2002, the latest year for which we have data, the child support program met its GPRA targets for three out of the five measures. Total child support collections reached a record high of $20 billion. The caseload decreased by more than 7 percent over the last four years. Child support professionals of the IV-D program collected $326,000 for each full-time equivalent staff member. Eighty-nine percent of collections went to families in 2002. Payments distributed to families increased nearly 8 percent. Families who formerly received public assistance comprise the largest group of clients in our caseload (46 percent).

The child support program collaborates and coordinates with other Federal agencies, including the Department of Education, the Department of Labor, the State Department, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The Department of Education matches information from the National Directory of New Hires to locate student loan defaulters. The IRS has conducted a match between the Social Security Administration and the Federal Case Registry data to verify taxpayer claims relative to the Earned Income Tax Credit. The State Department is a partner in denying and revoking passports.

ACF and its partners use several reporting systems to track the activities which support the achievement of the above measures. ACF works with the Department of State to deny passports to non-custodial parents who are not fulfilling their child support obligations. As many as 60 passports are denied every business day. Since the program’s inception in June 1998, the states have collected more than $21 million in lump sum payments. This amount does not include collections made through payment plans into which non-custodial parents enter upon denial of their passport.

Project Save Our Children (PSOC), an initiative on criminal child support enforcement, has succeeded in its pursuit of chronic delinquent parents who owe large sums of child support. Since the project’s creation in 1998, multi-agency regional task forces have received more than 6,309 referrals, resulting in 672 arrests, 590 convictions and civil adjudications, and court orders to pay more than $27 million in owed child support. The passport and PSOC activities have facilitated our ability to collect on arrearages.

ACF operates the Multi-State Financial Institution Data Match (MSFIDM) with financial institutions and works with state partners to implement the In-State Financial Institution Data Match that assists in identifying non-custodial parent assets. From October 1, 2001 through September 30, 2002, more than 1.6 million matches were returned from the multi-state financial institutions, based on matching social security numbers. As of September 2002, 4,521 financial institutions are participating in the MSFIDM. States are using arrangements including in-house, consortia, and outsourcing to implement the in-state financial institution data match with local financial institutions. These efforts have contributed to improvements in current and arrearage collections.

In an effort to fully implement the new performance-based incentive funding system, OCSE has trained states on the incentive measures, the formula for calculating payments and revised data reporting. OCSE’s auditors are closely monitoring the ability of states to report reliable data and are also assessing the validity of state-reported data. For FY 2002, states were able to earn and share the $450 million incentive pool under the performance-based incentive formula. Data reliability audits for FY 2002 have been completed. OCSE performs an analysis of the data and compiles a preliminary data report each summer and a final report later in the year. Final incentives will be calculated as soon as the data reliability audits are complete.

In summary, new collection tools and program improvements, such as new hire reporting and increasing state-wide automation, have increased collections but they have not been fully implemented in all states. Four of the performance targets for FY 2004 and 2005 will increase from FY 2003. The targets projected for the Paternity Establishment Percentage (PEP) has remained unchanged due to case clean-up of backlog cases.

Data Quality and Reliability: States currently maintain information on the necessary data elements for the five program measures. Most states use an automated system to maintain these data, while a few maintain the data manually. All states were required to have a comprehensive, statewide, automated CSE system in place by October 1, 1997. In FY 2002, fifty states and two Territories indicated compliance with the single statewide child support enforcement automation requirements of the Family Support Act of 1998. Fifty states are FSA-certified and two states have been reviewed but their certification review report has not been issued. Fifty states indicate compliance with PRWORA. Twenty-three states have been PRWORA certified as of November 19, 2003. Continuing implementation of these systems, in conjunction with cleanup of case data, will improve the accuracy and consistency of reporting.

As part of OCSE’s review of performance data, the state’s ability to produce valid data will be reviewed. Data reliability audits are conducted annually. Self-evaluation by states and OCSE audits will provide an on-going review of the validity of data input and the ability of automated systems to produce accurate data. There is a substantial time lag in data availability. The Audit Division has completed the FY 2002 data reliability audits. For FY 2000 actual data, the reliability standard was 90 percent, but for FY 2001 and succeeding years, the standard increased to 95 percent. ACF has greater confidence in the data for actual performance at this higher standard.

The following one percent and two percent table has been included to illustrate how ACF invested FY 2003 resources to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Child Support Enforcement program at the state and local community levels.

Measure by Measure Presentation of Performance

LONG-TERM STRATEGIC GOALS: (1) Increase annual child support distributed collections up to $30 billion by FY 2008 and up to $40 billion by FY 2013. This goal supports the ACF strategic goal to increase economic independence and productivity for families. (2) Increase the CSPIA cost-effectiveness ratio up to $4.63 by FY 2008 and up to $5.00 by FY 2013. (The CSPIA cost-effectiveness measure is the ratio of distributed child support collections to administrative costs. The program will distribute $5 in child support for every $1 spent to administer the program.) This goal supports ACF’s strategic goal to manage resources to improve performance.)

The achievement of performance targets will be significantly affected by a number of factors interacting with the CSE program in ways that either help or hinder performance goal achievement including: (1) State TANF program structures and policies; (2) the five-year time limit on TANF benefits which leaves child support as even more critical for family self-sufficiency; (3) the national economy; (4) wage and unemployment rates; and (5) demographic and social trends such as divorce and non-marital birth rates. These and other external factors affect state agency caseloads, paternity establishment workloads, and ability to collect support payments.

States have organized their enforcement systems and infrastructures differently. Through its considerable national and regional technical assistance initiatives, many incorporating state self-assessment and peer technology transfers, ACF is customizing its efforts to individual state needs. Additionally, the new performance-based incentive process will add impetus to those states that may need to assign a higher priority to child support programs.

The program objective statements listed below are part of the OCSE’s multi-year strategic plan aimed at increasing overall performance.

PROGRAM GOAL: All children have parentage established.

Objective: Increase the number of paternities established, particularly those established within one year of birth.

3.1a.

Maintain the paternity establishment percentage (PEP)* among children born out of wedlock. *Number of Children in State with Paternity Established or Acknowledged during the FY ÷ Number of Children in State Born Out-of-Wedlock in the Preceding FY Data Source: OCSE Form 157

This measure directly indicates achievement of the performance target by comparing paternities established during the fiscal year with the number of non-marital births during the preceding fiscal year. The statute allows states to use the IV-D PEP or a statewide PEP. The statewide PEP was selected because most states indicated they would use the statewide PEP as well. The rates above include paternities established by both the IV-D program and hospital-based programs. Maintaining the target rate in FY 2005 requires states to keep up with establishing paternities on out-of-wedlock births while continuing to handle backlogs of older IV-D cases needing paternity established.

ACF will implement early interventions through expanding hospital-based paternity establishment programs and partnering with birth record agencies, pre-natal clinics and other entities and encouraging voluntary acknowledgments, in accordance with the requirements of PRWORA.

Partners will work together with customers to help both parents understand their parental responsibilities and to promote establishing paternity in a non-adversarial manner wherever possible. In collaboration with partners and stakeholders, ACF will explore a variety of activities to help individuals better understand their parental responsibilities, including contributing to direct education programs in high schools, counseling, public awareness campaigns, public service announcements, and brochures about the CSE program.

The number of children born out of wedlock with paternity established or acknowledged in FY 2002 is approximately 947,000, providing a statewide paternity establishment percentage of 95 percent (this includes backlogs of older IV-D cases). The target for FY 2004 is 98 percent. ACF will continue to provide technical assistance, early interventions, training, and education activities to help individuals better understand their parental responsibilities. Ambitious targets were set based on FY 1999 actual performance when states performed over 100 percent for paternity establishment. However, since then backlogs of older children needing paternity established has decreased resulting in fewer children needing paternity established. Legislation requires states to establish paternity for 90 percent of children born out-of-wedlock, an ambitious goal that stretches states to perform at the highest level possible. The target is not being lowered for FY 2005, but is maintained at the 98 percent level.

PROGRAM GOAL: All children in IV-D cases have financial and medical support orders.

Objective: Increase the percentage of IV-D cases with orders for financial support.

3.1b.

Increase the percentage* of IV-D cases having support orders. *Number of IV-D Cases with Support Orders ÷ Number of IV-D Cases Data Source: OCSE Form 157

This measure indicates achievement of the performance target by comparing the number of IV-D cases with support orders, which are required to collect child support, with the total number of IV-D cases. ACF projected a slight increase in the target rate for FY 2005 based on the FY 2001 actual of 66 percent. Final performance was 70% for FY 2002, the latest year for which data exist. Maintaining performance at 70% still requires more effort as new child support cases are added to state workloads each year, increasing the overall caseload needing services.

PRWORA provides states with new tools to establish an order more quickly, such as administrative authority to require genetic testing, subpoena financial and other information, and the ability to access a wide array of records. More states are voluntarily shifting from establishing court-based orders to administrative-based orders. PRWORA requires expedited administrative procedures for establishing orders; expands paternity acknowledgment programs to birth record agencies, setting the stage for order establishment; and requires that all states enact the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act which grants states expansive long-arm jurisdiction allowing them to establish support orders against non-residents, thus avoiding the lengthy two-state process.

In FY 2002, approximately 11.2 million cases had support orders established out of 15.9 million IV-D cases (70 percent). This reflects an increase of four percent over the previous year (approximately 10.8 million support order cases out of 16.2 million IV-D cases were established). The FY 2002 target was increased based on the actual performance in FY 2000. PRWORA has provided states with administrative authority and other means of more effectively establishing orders, and more states are moving to administrative procedures as opposed to court orders. State staffing levels remain about the same while IV-D caseloads with support orders continue to increase slightly, making this target difficult to increase. Twenty states increased their caseload in FY 2002.

PROGRAM GOAL: All children in IV-D cases receive financial and medical support from both parents.

The Child Support Performance and Incentive Act of 1998 requires the Secretary of HHS to recommend a medical support indicator for inclusion in the new incentive system. The Secretary’s report to Congress in June 1999 recommended postponing the development of an indicator. OCSE is working with the states to develop the medical support indicator. The indicator workgroup submitted its recommendations and report in FY 2001.

Objective: Increase the collection rate.

3.1c.

Increase the IV-D collection rate* for current support. *Collections on Current Support in IV-D Cases ÷ Current Support Amount Owed in IV-D Cases Data Source: OCSE Form 157

This measure, a proxy for the regular and timely payment of support, directly indicates achievement of the performance target by comparing total dollars collected for current support in IV-D cases with total dollars owed for current support in IV-D cases. OCSE is projecting small increases in the performance targets for FY 2004 and 2005.

Focus will be placed on improved enforcement techniques emphasizing automated mechanisms for enforcement, collections and payments to families. ACF will emphasize improving the numerous processes that result in the support of children. These improvements include: (1) simplifying the payment process; (2) reducing barriers to non-custodial parents providing support payments; (3) increasing the number of cases handled using automated systems; (4) using alternative disposition strategies such as consensual agreements and other non-judicial agreements; (5) improving interstate case processing; (6) increasing coordination and integration of services with other agencies; and (7) increasing access to services.

The total amount of child support distributed as current support in FY 2002 was $15.1 billion, approximately a six percent increase over FY 2001. The total amount of current support due in FY 2002 was $26.2 billion, which is approximately a six percent increase over FY 2001. This provides a collection rate for current support of 58 percent. The FY 2002 target was increased based on the actual performance in FY 2000. OCSE is committed to achieving a higher performance level by focusing on improved enforcement techniques and ensuring more reliable data. Particular emphasis will be placed on automated mechanisms for enforcement, collections, and payments to families. These efforts have been enhanced by PRWORA, which provides states with new hire reporting, uniform procedures for interstate cases, centralized collection and disbursement, and enhanced wage-withholding procedures.

Cases Paying Toward Arrearages
Objective: Increase paying cases.

3.1d.

Increase the percentage* of paying cases among IV-D arrearage cases. *Number of IV-D Cases Paying Toward Arrears ÷ Number of IV-D Cases with Arrears Due Data Source: OCSE Form 157

This measure directly indicates achievement of the performance target by comparing the total number of IV-D cases paying any amount toward arrears with the total number of IV-D cases with arrears due. More direct measurement of a national arrearage collection rate is impossible because states have laws that count arrears in widely varying ways. Some new cases enter the caseload with arrearages already accrued before the state can take any action. This measure, developed by the state/Federal Incentive Formula effort, has been incorporated into the revised FY 2000-2004 Strategic Plan.

Obtaining payment of arrears is often difficult. States must collect both current support and any accrued arrearages. Non-custodial parents often cannot keep up with both current support and arrears, hence arrears payments suffer. Focus will be placed on improved enforcement techniques emphasizing automated mechanisms for enforcement, collections and payments to families.

As stated above, OCSE is projecting increases in performance targets for FY 2004 and 2005. Trend data indicate that arrearage in caseload is increasing which makes achieving these targets all the more challenging.

There are 10.6 million cases with arrearages due in FY 2002 which is a three percent increase from FY 2001. Total cases paying toward arrearages is 6.3 million in FY 2002, a four percent increase over FY 2001. This provides a percentage of paying cases among IV-D arrearage cases of 60 percent. The FY 2002 target was increased based on the actual performance in FY 2000. OCSE will focus on improved enforcement techniques emphasizing automated mechanisms for enforcement, collections, and payments to families.

Collections and Expenditures

Objective: Make the process more efficient and responsive.

3.1e.

FY 2004: Increase the cost-effectiveness ratio* *Total of IV-D Dollars Collected ÷ Total of IV-D Dollars Expended Data Sources: OCSE Forms 34A and 396A.

This measure directly indicates achievement of the performance target by comparing total IV-D dollars collected by states with total IV-D dollars expended by states. Increasing the target rate for FY 2005 requires greater effort because state caseloads and the total amount of child support owed increase each year. For example, in FY 2002, the IV-D caseload decreased slightly but the total amount of arrearages due for all fiscal years increased by 4.8 percent.

Under current law, cost effectiveness is being phased out as the sole determinant for incentive payments. It is important to monitor the allowable costs of the program in relation to the amount collected. Focus will be placed on increased efficiency of state programs through automated systems of case management, enforcement, collection and disbursement; staffing, administrative processes and increased collections resulting from approaches described previously under current collections; and arrears cases paying.

In FY 2002, collections reached a record high of $20.1 billion, a six percent increase from the previous fiscal year. The inter-state collections totaled $1.2 billion.

Child Support Collections (in billions)

[D]

 

Under the Child Support Performance and Incentive Act cost effectiveness ratio, the national ratio is $4.13 in FY 2002. The collections distributed ($20.1 billion), inter-state collections ($1.2 billion), and fees retained by other states (-$5 million) total $21.3 billion. The administrative expenditures ($5.2 billion), less the non-IV-D costs ($16 million), total approximately $5.2 billion in FY 2002. States have slightly decreased administrative investments in automated data processes (down 2 percent in FY 2002). These expenditures are expected to be maintained in future years to improve the efficiency of state programs through automated systems. State administrative expenditures are included in Federal audits.

 

 

Table of Contents | Previous | Next