Performance Details

Department of Revenue - Child Support Services Division

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Mission

The mission of the Child Support Services Division is to collect and distribute child support.

Core Services

• Improve the environment necessary for increased collections.
• Improve the efficiency of distributing child support.
• Improve customer service.

Mission Results

Core Services

A: Collection and disbursement of child support due to the children served by the Child Support Services Division (CSSD).  Details > TARGET #1: Increase child support collections by 1.0%, to include Permanent Fund Dividend collections. TARGET #2: Increase disbursements of child support payments by 0.5%.

A1: Improve the environment necessary for increased collections.  Details > TARGET #1: Ensure paternities established are at least 95%. TARGET #2: Maintain child support cases with orders at 94%. TARGET #3: Ensure that the amount of current child support that is collected is at least 58%. TARGET #4: Increase number of cases with arrearage collections to 68%. TARGET #5: Ensure that the cost effectiveness ratio is at least $4.00. TARGET #6: Maintain cases with no collections for one year or more to 13% or less of cases eligible for collections. A2: Improve the efficiency of distributing child support.  Details > TARGET #1: Increase recipients receiving automated distribution, as measured by percentage of funds paid electronically. TARGET #2: Ensure that money on hold, less those categories that are out of the division's control, is less than 0.4% (four-tenths of a percent). A3: Improve customer service.  Details > TARGET #1: Maintain wait times for telephone calls at an average of 5.0 minutes or less.

Performance Detail

Target #1: Increase child support collections by 1.0%, to include Permanent Fund Dividend collections. Percent Change in Total Child Support Collections for a Fiscal Year Fiscal Year % Change FY 2018 0.40% FY 2017 -10.1% FY 2016 0.10% FY 2015 4.2% FY 2014 0.22% FY 2013 -2.20% Analysis of results and challenges: FY2018 collections including Permanent Fund Dividends (PFDs) increased by 0.40% over FY2017. The division did not meet last year’s target of a 1% increase in collections, but increased collections overall. Alaska’s economic situation and the decrease in the PFD check amount hindered our ability to meet this measure, but diligent collection efforts by CSSD staff resulted in a slight increase. The largest percentage of collections come from wage assignment. The goal for the next fiscal year remains a 1% increase.

Target #2: Increase disbursements of child support payments by 0.5%. Disbursements of Child Support Payments Fiscal Year % of Change FY 2018 -1.61% FY 2017 -8.45% FY 2016 -0.51% FY 2015 4.98% FY 2014 -0.04% FY 2013 -4.20% Analysis of results and challenges: This measure has a direct correlation to the amount of collections received in the fiscal year: when collections decrease, disbursements will also decrease. Overall collections increased by 0.40% while disbursements decreased by 1.61% The division continues to focus on gaining efficiencies to meet our target increase of 0.5% in child support disbursements.

Target #1: Ensure paternities established are at least 95%. Methodology: *Child Support Services Division only receives these statistics from the Bureau of Vital Statistics once a year in November. We are able to submit a revised number at that time. Percentage of Paternities Established Fiscal Year % Established FFY 2018 99.5% FFY 2017 91.9% FFY 2016 103.8% FFY 2015 99% FFY 2014 102% FFY 2013 100.5% Analysis of results and challenges: Percentage of paternities established is a mandated federal measure and is calculated by dividing the number of children statewide with paternity established or acknowledged in the current federal fiscal year (3,737 in FFY 2018) by the number of children born out of wedlock statewide for the prior federal fiscal year (3,754 in FFY 2017). The number of paternities established continues to be fairly stable. Some variation is due to factors out of the division's control; such as cases that are still working their way through the court system, increases in the number of unwed births, or cases where no attempt is made by the family to establish paternity.

Target #2: Maintain child support cases with orders at 94%. Percentage of Cases with Orders Fiscal Year Cases with Orders Change from Prior Year FY 2018 93.6% -1.0% FY 2017 94.6% -0.1% FY 2016 94.7% 1.9% FY 2015 92.8% -0.7% FY 2014 93.5% 1.4% FY 2013 92.1% 1.9% Analysis of results and challenges: A case is eligible for collection when a court or administrative order has been established. Collections begin when a proper order is in place. Establishing this quickly and appropriately is key to successful collections. Reviewing and streamlining the order establishment process has improved the timeliness of collecting and distributing child support. The agency has been working on an extensive case management system replatforming effort which has pulled many caseworkers from case work to testing duties. This has resulted in the lower percentage of cases with orders reflected in this measure.

Target #3: Ensure that the amount of current child support that is collected is at least 58%. Percentage of Current Collections Fiscal Year % of Collections FFY 2018 55.3% FFY 2017 56.4% FFY 2016 53.8% FFY 2015 54.6% FFY 2014 57.9% FFY 2013 59.1% Analysis of results and challenges: Collection and disbursement of current support is crucial to the financial well-being of children. The agency is committed to making improvements in meeting this goal. The economy and available work is a primary factor in meeting this goal. Improvements in technology, training and streamlined processes will help to begin achieving a target percentage of 58% in current collections in the next fiscal year.

Target #4: Increase number of cases with arrearage collections to 68%. Percentage of Cases with Arrearage Collections Fiscal Year % of Cases FFY 2018 65.3% FFY 2017 65.1% FFY 2016 65.7% FFY 2015 67.0% FFY 2014 66.3% FFY 2013 66.6% Analysis of results and challenges: Federal fiscal year 2018 showed a decrease of .2% in cases with arrearage collections. Unemployment and economic factors make the collection of arrears difficult. Our goal is to increase the percentage of cases with arrears collections in the next year.

Target #5: Ensure that the cost effectiveness ratio is at least $4.00. Cost Effectiveness Ratio Fiscal Year Ratio FFY 2018 $2.99 FFY 2017 $4.07 FFY 2016 $3.93 FFY 2015 $4.02 FFY 2014 $3.82 FFY 2013 $3.63 Analysis of results and challenges: Two components, expenses and collections, figure into this target. This measure was negatively impacted by the case management system replatforming project with increased spending by the agency. Further, many caseworkers have been involved in testing the system rather than regular case work duties. The agency is continuing to work at achieving an upward trend in cost effectiveness.

Target #6: Maintain cases with no collections for one year or more to 13% or less of cases eligible for collections. Cases with No Collections for 1 Year or More Fiscal Year Percentage of Cases Change from Prior Year FY 2018 18.10% 2.57% FY 2017 15.53% .35% FY 2016 15.18% .93% FY 2015 14.25% 1.44% FY 2014 12.81% 3.17% FY 2013 10.56% .92% Analysis of results and challenges: The percent of cases with no collections for one year increased 2.57 % to 18.10%. The current economic situation in Alaska and extensive efforts towards improving our case management system are primary factors in this higher percentage. An analysis of outstanding child support collections shows a relationship between those cases with the highest outstanding balances and those with no recent collections. The new federal regulations have loosened case closure criteria. The division will implement a case-closure project in 2019 to close cases for which we can no longer collect. We will monitor this measure throughout the year and strive to meet our target of 13.0% or less.

Target #1: Increase recipients receiving automated distribution, as measured by percentage of funds paid electronically. Automated Payment Distribution to Recipients Fiscal Year % of Funds Paid by EFT Change from Prior Year FY 2018 83.90% 0.31% FY 2017 83.59% 7.84% FY 2016 75.75% 12.54% FY 2015 63.21% -1.66% FY 2014 64.87% -0.21% FY 2013 65.08% 2.08% Analysis of results and challenges: The percent of funds disbursed electronically improved from 83.59% to 83.90%; an increase of 0.31%. The division uses the percentage of funds sent electronically compared to total paid as the measure of progress in this area. Automated distribution continues to benefit customers through improved timeliness of fund distribution. It also greatly reduces associated cost of paper processes.

Target #2: Ensure that money on hold, less those categories that are out of the division's control, is less than 0.4% (four-tenths of a percent). Percentage of Money on Hold Fiscal Year Percentage Change from Prior Year FY 2018 0.385% -0.088% FY 2017 0.473% -0.145% FY 2016 0.618% -0.243% FY 2015 0.861% -0.158% FY 2014 1.019% 0.321% FY 2013 0.698% -0.025% Analysis of results and challenges: Decreasing undistributed collections continues to be a national priority for the federal Office of Child Support. The division closely monitors money on hold categories and distributes all monies received as quickly as possible.

Target #1: Maintain wait times for telephone calls at an average of 5.0 minutes or less. Average Minutes of Telephone Call Wait Time Fiscal Year Average Minutes FY 2018 4.60 -4.76% FY 2017 4.83 -35.08% FY 2016 7.44 +42.53% FY 2015 5.22 +80% FY 2014 2.90 -15.45% FY 2013 3.43 +81.48% Analysis of results and challenges: FY2018 saw a slight decrease in call wait times for customers. This was due to increased staff training. For the current year, the division expects to continue to meet the less than 5 minute wait time goal.

Current as of January 2, 2019