Child Support Committee Minutes - August 11, 2004

CHILD SUPPORT COMMITTEE

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

 

 

Meeting of August 11, 2004

 

The following items were discussed at the 8/11/04 Child Support Committee:

 

• Barry Burger provided update on Service Member Civil Relief Act (SCRA). It has replaced the Soldier's and Sailor's Relief Act. This act strengthens the rights of active duty service members by easing economic and legal burdens.
• Barry Burger provided update on the Job Designs being conducted by a Workgroup of local and state child support employees. The Job Designs break out specific steps and duties of identified procedures/outcomes in Child Support. Tasks for which job designs have been created include: Intake, Locate, Paternity, Establishment of Support, Enforcement Remedies, Interstate, Reviews/Adjustments, and Medical Support. The designs will be part of an interactive training course on the internet and should be a useful training tool for management, as well as an interactive tool for workers.
• Barry Miller reported that the State has officially received the Outstanding Program of the Year award. It was presented in California . Congratulations to all people involved in Child Support and its success.
• The National Child Support Enforcement Strategic Plan was shared. This plan is a federal plan for addressing goals in Child Support. It is also available on the federal website.
• The first Annual Child Support Report has been drafted and should be ready for distribution in the near future
• David Daughtry gave an update on the “Journey to Excellence, The State Child Support 5 year Plan.” The plan is in the final stages of being formulated and workgroups continue to meet and work to implement recommendations from the Plan. The goal remains to be a top 10 state by 2009 in all Child Support Enforcement benchmarks. This committee will do all possible to advocate, encourage, and support the goals set forth in the Journey to Excellence. Thank you to all that have worked in this effort.
• Bill Upchurch shared a report on Performance Review Trends for the past 2 years. Manpower Utilization has shown a steady improvement, while collection rate, %under court order, and paternity est. has remained consistent. The Arrears category has declined but is again slowly rising over the past few months. Collections per agent have gone from $575,000 in July01-June02 to $639,000 in July 03-June04.
• The Child Support Committee Work plan was review and accepted by the Committee. Discussions regarding enhancing and reviewing court procedures were entertained. A possible workgroup to address best practices for court and related court issues may be established in the fall.