Perspectives from the Field: The Commissioner’s Voice occasionally features content written by state child support directors as Perspectives from the Field to share innovations and initiatives happening in their state.
This month, Illinois Child Support Director Pamela Lowry shares the process her state went through to implement new child support guidelines.
At different times, all programs face implementing major program changes. Illinois’ most recent challenge was replacing our Percentage of Obligor Income model for child support guidelines with an Income Shares model. We started our replacement discussions in 2006 and continued until February 2015 when House Bill 3982 — Child Support Guidelines — was introduced in the Illinois General Assembly. Legislative discussions concluded at the end of May 2016, and the bill was enacted less than 90 days later with an effective date of July 1, 2017.
Illinois became the 43rd child support program to adopt the Income Shares model for determining child support obligations. We joined 39 other states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
We believe the Income Shares model provides more equitable treatment of families where one parent has significantly more or less earnings than the other, when both parents share parenting time, and for parents who have very low incomes. We also believe that parents must begin the support process with an explicit understanding of how they each contribute to the economic health of their child. When they do, they are in a better position to negotiate other aspects of co-parenting.
Challenging timeline
We did not expect to implement in less than a year. In fact, we had requested at least three to develop and implement a support calculator, amend more than 40 forms and notices, modify many policies and practices, develop and conduct training, and create new scripts for our customer service channels. Luckily, we had some idea of what we needed because we were deeply involved in developing the legislation and had studied operations and tools used in other states.
Child Support Calculation Models
Percentage of Obligor Income
This method uses a straightforward multiplication of a pre-defined percentage of the noncustodial parent’s income — usually based on the number of children the parents have in common — to determine the obligor’s support amount. The income basis may be gross or net at the state’s discretion.
The pre-defined percentages are based on economic models of the cost of raising children, with the custodial parent’s contribution assumed but not visible in the calculation. Most states that use Percentage of Obligor Income have a complementary method they use when parenting time is shared.
Income Shares
This method uses the income of both parents for calculation of support. Illinois uses a chart to determine the basic support obligation using economic data for both parents’ incomes because they would have used both to support a child if the parents were together.
Like the Percentage of Obligor Income model, Income Shares is meant to be used for families that do not have special factors that significantly affect either the expenditures on the child or on the ability of the parents to contribute. Both models incorporate deviation factors to allow for unusual circumstances. As with Percentage of Obligor Income, the income basis may be gross or net according to the state’s preference. Income Shares models generally use a cross-multiplier of 1.5 to adjust each parent’s contribution in families with shared parenting.
More information is available in the Illinois Income Shares Overview (PDF).
Illinois’ previous guidelines and many of its case law decisions were rooted in the net income basis for calculating support. Leaders across many sectors wanted to retain net income as the income basis for the new model, so finding consensus was difficult.
In the end, we struck a compromise. We developed a standardized method using a tax methodology. Additionally, the parties can opt in to individualized net income with the court’s permission. They can also decide whether to use the net income of either parent or both.
Developing two calculators
We knew that we wanted an easy-to-use format for parents — something intuitive that asked straightforward questions and led parents from one step to the next. We approached the Iowa child support program about adopting their on-line calculator. The staff gave us the entire program at no cost. We ended up reprogramming it to align with our technology and platforms but used many of Iowa’s concepts in our design.
We also needed a calculator that our child support attorneys could use in court with the same underlying formulas but a different look. Our information technology staff developed two applications — one that is web-based and interactive, and one that is downloadable for equipment that is not connected to the internet. Both produce a calculation that can be included in the court record.
Because these applications included official child support information and logos, we developed and published a version that private attorneys could use for unofficial cases that did not include the government-specific information and graphics.
Lessons learned
Illinois made the implementation deadline and received positive feedback about the reasonably seamless transition. Several private sector attorneys told us that no one really expected us to be able to make the deadline, much less deliver a high-quality product with a minimum of fuss. The Illinois child support team’s professionalism, hard work, and presence in the process from start to finish paid off because the view on the outside didn’t reveal the stress on the inside. Our recommendation for anyone going through this is that detailed planning, constant monitoring, and committed staff are key to delivering a successful implementation.
The October 2017 Child Support Report features two more stories on organizations managing change. A supreme court justice describes an Arizona initiative to improve justice through community partnerships and Los Angeles County introduces its state-of-the-art customer contact center. Read all this and more in the October edition.
Pamela Lowry has been the Illinois Child Support Administrator since January 2006. She has worked in the state child support program since 1991, serving in a wide range of capacities.