Guidebook for a Common Methodology
DCL-02-19
DEAR COLLEAGUE LETTER
DCL-02-19
DATE: August 1, 2002
TO: ALL STATE IV-D DIRECTORS
RE: Guidebook for a Common Methodology
Dear Colleague:
For several years, substantial state and federal resources have been focused on completing statewide automated systems, implementing requirements of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), and adjusting business practices to take full advantage of the tools required by law. Two of the tools required by PRWORA are the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH) and Federal Case Registry (FCR), which match new hire, quarterly wage, and unemployment insurance information with child support case information at the national level. These systems are operated by the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) as part of the expanded Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS). In addition, PRWORA required that each state and territory develop a State Directory of New Hire (SDNH) and State Case Registry (SCR) to submit data to and process matches returned by the FPLS.
Given the time and resources committed to the development of these systems, it is important to assess their effectiveness by determining the child support collections attributable to their use. Such information would provide states with the opportunity to measure the successes they have achieved through their technical and programmatic efforts over the last several years and to communicate these achievements to state and federal legislators and the public.
As part of OCSE’s ongoing performance measurement, we have developed a set of methodologies for estimating the annual collections attributable to NDNH matches. These methodologies have been developed with input from state officials, and have been tested during several onsite visits to states conducted by the OCSE Division of Federal Systems’ Economic Analysis Team. During the course of developing these methodologies, many states have expressed the need for a "Common Methodology" so that measurements of individual state outcomes can be standardized and form a national picture of the results being achieved by states using the NDNH. In addition, many states already track child support collections achieved by their in-state new hire matches, and several have expressed an interest in performing their own studies of NDNH outcomes. To assist states in assessing the benefits of the NDNH, OCSE has developed A Guidebook for a Common Methodology for Determining NDNH-Attributable Collections, which provides a set of detailed, step-by-step directions for accurately estimating child support collections attributable to the NDNH.
We hope you are interested in pursuing a study of NDNH-attributable collections and find the enclosed guidebook helpful. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Linda Deimeke, Deputy Director of the Division of Federal Systems at (202) 401-5439 or via email at ldeimeke@acf.hhs.gov.
Sincerely,
Sherri Z. Heller, Ed.D.
Commissioner
Office of Child Support Enforcement
Enclosure
cc: Regional Program Managers
ACF Regional Administrators
Updated Guidebook: (November 16, 2012) - A Guidebook for a Common Methodology for Determining NDNH-Attributable Collections