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 disburse child support.

Core Services

• Improve the environment necessary for increased collections.
• Improve the efficiency of disbursing 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 the amount of current child support 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 disbursing 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 2021 -8.02% FY 2020 15.6% FY 2019 0.60% FY 2018 0.40% FY 2017 -10.1% Analysis of results and challenges: FY2021 collections including Permanent Fund Dividends (PFDs) decreased by 8.02% over FY2020. The division did not exceed the target of a 1% increase over FY2021. This is due to the ending of the CARES stimulus payments as well as the increased Unemployment Insurance Benefit payments. This is still an increase from where the division was prior to the CARES stimulus funds and the collections will normalize over the next reporting period. The goal for the next fiscal year remains a 1% increase.

Target #2: Increase disbursements of child support payments by 0.5%. Methodology: % change from the prior year Disbursements of Child Support Payments Fiscal Year % Change FY 2021 -4.54% FY 2020 11.79% FY 2019 1.21% FY 2018 -1.61% FY 2017 -8.45% Analysis of results and challenges: This measure has a direct correlation to the amount of collections received in the fiscal year: when collections increase, disbursements also increase. Due to the CARES Act and enhanced unemployment payments ending, overall collections decreased by 8.02% while disbursements decreased 4.54%. This is still a substantial increase from where we were before the CARES Act funding was put in place. The collections are normalizing and will continue to do so. The division continues to focus on improving processes and implementing technology 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 final statistics from the Bureau of Vital Statistics once a year in December. We are able to submit a revised number at that time. Percentage of Paternities Established Fiscal Year % Established FFY 2021 102% FFY 2020 95% FFY 2019 105% FFY 2018 99.5% FFY 2017 91.9% 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 (3,482 in FFY2021) by the number of children born out of wedlock statewide for the prior federal fiscal year (3,413 in FFY2020). The number of paternities established continues to remain stable, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic the final numbers will likely drop this year. Variations result from 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. *These numbers are preliminary as we don't receive the final numbers until December.

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 2021 96.2% 1.5% FY 2020 94.7% 0% FY 2019 94.7% 1.1% FY 2018 93.6% -1.0% FY 2017 94.6% -0.1% 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 maintained the timeliness of collecting and disbursing child support. The agency has exceeded this standard for FY2021.

Target #3: Ensure the amount of current child support collected is at least 58%. Percentage of Current Collections Fiscal Year % of Collections FFY 2021 52.1% FFY 2020 49.8% FFY 2019 54.3% FFY 2018 55.3% FFY 2017 56.4% Analysis of results and challenges: Collection and disbursement of current support is crucial to the financial and emotional well-being of children. The economy, the PFD and available work are primary factors in meeting this goal. Improvements in technology, training and streamlined processes will help to meet the 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 2021 77.6% FFY 2020 77.6% FFY 2019 65.7% 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 2021 showed no increase nor decrease in cases with arrearage collections. This is primarily due to extra collections from the CARES Act stimulus funds in the previous year and distribution of two PFD payments within FFY2020. Our goal is to maintain 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 2021 $5.00 FFY 2020 $4.10 FFY 2019 $3.73 FFY 2018 $2.99 FFY 2017 $4.07 Analysis of results and challenges: Two components, expenses and collections, figure into this target. The agency improved in this area. Costs involved in implementation or modernization of the Child Support System can result in lowering this ratio due to the increased spend. While the system is being improved, it is anticipated that this ratio will decrease over the next few years.

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 2021 14.57% 1.01% FY 2020 13.56% -4.19% FY 2019 17.75% -0.35% FY 2018 18.10% 2.57% FY 2017 15.53% 0.35% Analysis of results and challenges: The percent of cases with no collections for one year increased by 1.01% to 14.57%. The discontinuation of the CARES stimulus money and Unemployment Benefit Insurance payments had a large impact on this measure. 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 division continues to close cases on which we can no longer collect. We monitor this measure throughout the year and anticipate meeting 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 2021 78.08% -1.48% FY 2020 79.56% -4.52% FY 2019 84.08% 0.18% FY 2018 83.90% 0.31% FY 2017 83.59% 7.84% Analysis of results and challenges: The percent of funds disbursed electronically decreased from 79.56% to 78.08%, a decrease of 1.48%. The division uses the percentage of funds sent electronically compared to total paid as the measure of progress in this area. A large volume of refunds resulting from the expanded unemployment insurance benefits resulted in many refund checks being processed. The recipients are not enrolled in the electronic fund transfer program so any refunds must be mailed. Automated distribution benefits customers through improved timeliness of child support disbursements and reduces associated costs of mail and 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 2021 0.623% 0.207% FY 2020 0.416% -0.110% FY 2019 0.526% 0.141% FY 2018 0.385% -0.088% FY 2017 0.473% -0.145% Analysis of results and challenges: Disbursing collections is a priority for the agency. Money on hold is monitored and worked to ensure collections received are disbursed as quickly as possible. This measure may increase over the next months due to holding federal offset funds received as a result of CARES Act funds pending injured spouse claims.

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 2021 6.15 -31.28% FY 2020 8.95 -26.46% FY 2019 12.17 +164.57% FY 2018 4.60 -4.76% FY 2017 4.83 -35.08% Analysis of results and challenges: FY2021 saw an overall decrease in call wait times for customers. We did not meet this measure due to high staff turnover. For the current year, the division hopes to reduce wait times to meet the less than 5-minute goal.

Current as of November 1, 2021