governmental services - GORacine.org

FUND: GENERALADMINISTRATIVE SERVICESOFFICE OF CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENTJonathan F. Lehman, Corporation CounselOPERATING AUTHORITY AND PURPOSEThe Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) operates under the authority of Sec. 59.53(5), Wis. Stats.,which directs counties to contract with the State Department of Children and Families to administer a program ofchild support and medical liability support enforcement, as well as paternity establishment. The program’spurpose is to locate absent parents, establish paternity and establish, modify and enforce support obligations. TheOCSE is responsible for about 17,739 cases impacting over 78,853 county citizens. The IV-D paternity, child andmedical support services are available to each and every Racine County citizen who either applies for our serviceswithout cost or who receives certain forms of public aid. Racine County’s OCSE strives to help families becomeindependent and remain self-sufficient by ensuring that both parents support their children.EVALUATION OF PERFORMANCE MEASURESRacine County receives Performance-Based Revenue from the State Department of Children and Families basedon four measures. OCSE staff successfully achieved all of the performance goals set by the state for the lastfederal fiscal year (FFY). The performance is summarized for the following four measures:Court Order Establishment: the ratio of the number of IV-D cases with court orders to the total number ofIV-D cases at a point in time, typically the end of the previous FFY. The performance goal is set at 80%.Racine County achieved 88.76%, which is 10.95% higher than the goal.Paternity Establishment: the ratio or the number of paternity-related children present in the IV-D caseload atthe end of the FFY to the total number of paternity-related children present in the IV-D caseload anytimeduring the FFY that paternity is established. The performance goal is set at 90%. Racine County achieved104.89 %, which is 16.5% higher than the goal.Current Support Collections: the ratio of the total amount of current support and spousal support collected inthe IV-D caseload during the FFY divided by the total amount owed for current support and spousal supportduring the FFY. The performance goal is set at 65.74%. Racine County achieved 65.64%--short by only onetenthof a percentage point. Nonetheless, Racine County still received 80% of the allowable performancefunds.Collections on Arrears: the ratio for this measurement was set up differently for FFY 2011 than for previousyears. The baseline for this measurement was determined by the number of cases in FFY 2010 that had anarrears but no payment in that year. Counties other than Milwaukee County were measured on the number ofunproductive cases that needed to be reduced by obtaining a payment on arrears or appropriately closing theunproductive case. Counties that achieved at least a 7% reduction would receive the maximum possiblefunding. Racine County achieved 100% funding by reducing the arrears caseload by 11.32 % - 61/7% higherthan the goal.2013 GOALS AND BUDGET STRATEGIESEffectively deliver paternity establishment, child support, and medical support enforcement services tothe children and families of Racine County, while minimizing the impact on the county tax levy.Strive to attain the performance measures set by the state, to allow the maximum state and federalcontribution to the program.Create an organizational structure more efficiently tailored to carry out specific program objectives.Explore all creative solutions to secure the financial and medical support of children within the system.PAGE 10 - 1