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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20240363.tiffMariah Higgins From: Sent: To: Cc: Subject: Attachments: Follow Up Flag: Flag Status: Windy Luna Thursday, February 1, 2024 4:07 PM CTB HS -Contract Management COMMUNICATION ITEM: Child Support Services 2024 Annual Plan Approval Letter (Tyler ID# 2023-3553) 2024 Child Support Services Annual Plan (e) - signed.pdf; Weld 2024 Annual Program Plan Approval Letter.pdf Follow up Flagged COMMUNICATION ITEM: Good afternoon CTB, Attached please find the Child Support Services 2024 Annual Plan and Approval Letter. This CSS 2024 Annual Plan Approval Letter is related to the CSS 2024 Annual Plan referenced as 2023-3553. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you, Windy Luna Contract Administrative Coordinator Weld County Dept. of Human Services 315 N. 11th Ave., Bldg A PO Box A Greeley, CO 80632 (970) 400-6544 wluna(clweld.gov Confidentiality Notice: This electronic transmission and any attached documents or other writings are intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, confidential or otherwise protected from disclosure. If you have received this communication in error, please immediately notify sender by return e-mail and destroy the communication. Any disclosure, copying, distribution or the taking of any action concerning the contents of this communication or any attachments by anyone other than the named recipient is strictly prohibited. CoRtAcin ; Co. 1-;0n5- 0.2/14/.24 2024-0363 HRoogb Director Jamie Ulrich Weld County Department of Human Services 315 North 11th Avenue Greeley, CO 80631 Dear Director Ulrich: APPROVAL: We have received and reviewed your Annual Program Plan (APP) as required pursuant to Volume 6.270. This letter is to notify you that your 2024 Annual Program Plan has been approved. The requirement to ensure that all staff complete the IRS Federal Tax Information (FTI) Safeguard Awareness Training remains in place for 2025. This requirement applies to all CSS employees, including attorneys (both county and contract), who either access FTI or are paid from IV -D funds. Compliance with this requirement is critical to our program's success due to the collections and locate information received from the IRS. In an effort to streamline this process, the training is now available in Cornerstone. If a manual version of the training is needed, please request from the CSS Website: We look forward to working with you and your staff in the coming year. Please let us know if we can be of any assistance to your program. Sincerely, Keri Batchelder Deputy Director Division of Child Support Services cc: Kyle Ewertz, Administrator 1575 Sherman St., Denver, CO 80203 P 303.866.4300 childsupport.state.co.us Jared Polis, Governor I Michelle Barnes, Executive Director I certify that this Plan is an accurate assessment of the Child Support Services (CSS) program for (62) Weld County. I further certify that: • The attached county CSS program budget represents only expenditures for performing IV -D activities. • Staff listed in Section VIII are performing IV -D functions pursuant to the percentage of time shown. 2024 ANNUAL PROGRAM PLAN • A background check, pursuant to Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) Volume 6, 6.210.6 (Access to Information) as revised, has been performed on all staff prior to requesting credentials for accessing electronic or manual information maintained by CDHS, Division of CSS. The county director, or their designee, has weighed the outcome of the background check against county -established favorability standards and determined the individual is suitable to access the information. • The County Director and IV -D Administrator certify that all County CSS workers meet all requirements for Automated Child Support Enforcement System (ACSES) access per CDHS Operation Memo OM-CSS-2021-0003; have been vetted through a fingerprinting background check within the last 5 years; and have passed all CDHS established suitability standards per CDHS Operation Memo OM-CSS-2022-0001. (Operations Memo's Series Website) • The County has established written processes to ensure that ACSES access provided to employees corresponds to each worker's job assignment. Access to child support information (electronic or manual) is determined by an official "need -to -know" policy. That is, a person's access is limited to only the level necessary to perform the authorized purposes of the child support services program. • The County has provided to the Division of CSS any contract, inter -agency agreement, or Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that exists with another entity to administer their child support services program. • Separation (or segregation) of duties is intended to reduce error and fraud by ensuring that at least two individuals are responsible for the separate parts of any vulnerable or mission critical tasks of the program. To the extent possible, the Division of CSS recommends that the separation of duties, and accompanying ACSES security access, be considered, and implemented in the following circumstances: o Enforcement and financial management responsibilities should not be performed by the same person; and o The responsibility to negotiate obligor child support balances and ledger balance adjustments should not be performed by the same person. • If your county is unable to have separation of duties due to staffing size, please complete the Separation of Duties Waiver form attached in the email. • All staff performing IV -D functions, including CSS contractors and contract IV -D attorneys, are included in Section VIII. • All Employees identified in the "Quarterly Personnel Audit List"; that have a "last certified" date, are hereby designated to perform all Administrative Process Action (APA) duties and/or Automated Enforcement actions, and/or review APA default orders. By signing the Annual Program Plan, I attest that these employees have the adequate skills, knowledge, and training to perform these duties. L7asttie Uli-icli Jamie Ulrich (Dec 6, 202315:29 MST) Jamie Ulrich Dec 6, 2023 County Director Signature County Director Printed Name Date KO- Ewertz (Dec Dec 6, 2023 Kyle (Dec 6, 202315:30 MST) Kyle Ewertz IV -D Administrator Signature Rev. 10/2023 IV -D Administrator Printed Name Date �0��-55-53 2024 ANNUAL PROGRAM PLAN Section I — Expenditures Counties must attach a copy of their program's approved budget The attached budget must be detailed enough to identify personnel and contractual expenditures In addition, please provide the number of Child Support Services FTE and Contract positions that your county has allocated for in the 2024 budget (This information will be used on page 26 of the MMR to track collections and caseload totals per FTE) Number of Full -Time positions 30 Number of Contract positions 1 Section II — Safeguarding of Child Support Information and Funds The Colorado CSS program receives federal tax and Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS) information for use in the establishment and enforcement of child support orders, and the collection of amounts due The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires that staff with access to federal tax information (FTI) maintain their access authorization through initial and annual training certification The purpose is to ensure that staff understands the child support agency's security policy and procedures for safeguarding the data The Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement has a similar mandate that requires providing secunty and privacy awareness training to those staff having access to FPLS and other child support program information The IV -D Administrator must attest that all child support staff and contractors that have access to FTI have been provided information safeguard training offered by the Division of CSS and have been given the opportunity to review and ask questions with respect to the vanous policies and procedures issued by the Division of CSS Safeguards Security & Awareness Training The Safeguards Security & Awareness Twining is available on the CSS Websites for all ACSES and non-ACSES users Annual recertification will be available to ACSES users in the Cornerstone Learning Management System All other users will need to complete the certification via the website While counties are no longer required to maintain certificates of completion for users, it is highly recommended that certificates are electronically stored, each year, in the case of an audit Rev 10/2023 2 Section II — Safeguarding of Child Support Information and Funds (Conti As the IV -D Administrator, I certify that the following policies and procedures have been reviewed with staff and implemented in this county: (Initial next to each procedure.) KE Procedure 1.0 Access ACSES Using Personally Owned Devices KE Procedure 2.0 Data Breach Incident Reporting KE Procedure 3.0 Transmitting FTI by Facsimile Device KE Procedure 4.0 Transmitting FTI by Electronic Mail KE Procedure 5.0 Visitor Access Log KE Procedure 6.0 Personal Identifying Information and Federal Parent Locator Service Data KE Protection Procedure 7.0 Suitability Standards for CSS Employee Access to FTI KE Procedure 10.0 Messaging KE Procedure 11.0 Remote Access Alternate Work Sites KE As the IV -D Administrator, I further certify that: (Initial next to each statement.) All CSS staff accessing child support information, in either electronic or paper format, have a need -to -know and are engaged in the authorized purposes of child support enforcement (i.e., the establishment and enforcement of an order for child support, and the collection of amounts due). KE All CSS staff, including CSS contractors and contract IV -D attorneys, hired during current calendar year received child support information (i.e., FTI and FPLS) Safeguards Security & Awareness Training prior to being granted access to child support information, including access to ACSES. KE All CSS staff, including CSS contractors and contract IV -D attorneys, understand the civil and criminal penalties associated with the unlawful disclosure and/or inspection of FTI as described in IRS Publication 1075 and Sections 7213, 7213A, and 7431 of the Internal Revenue Code. KE All CSS staff, including CSS contractors and contract IV -D attorneys, understand the civil and criminal penalties associated with the misuse of Federal Parent Locator Service and child support program information as described in, but not limited to, the Social Security Act, the Privacy Act of 1974, the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002, 42 USC 654(26) and 654a (d) (1)-(5). KE All CSS staff, contractors and contract IV -D attorneys are required In complete the Safeguards Security & Awareness Training once a year. The training will be assigned to ACSES users via the Cornerstone Learning Management System. All others will need to retrieve the training from the CSS website. KE With respect to initial and annual IRS safeguard awareness training certification, the documentation (of training) is maintained on file for each individual CSS staff member, including CSS contractors and contract IV -D attorneys. KE That all CSS staff with access to the Child Support Data Intelligence System (CSDIS) are aware of the user agreement terms and hereby agree to the associated roles and responsibilities. Rev. 10/2023 3 Section II — Safeguarding of Child Support Information and Funds (Cont) County Employee Liability Coverage 45 CFR § 302.19 requires the state to certify that all counties with delegated IV -D functions bond their employees against losses resulting from employee dishonesty. As the IV -D Administrator, 1 further certify that: (Initial next to the statement.) KE Every CSS person as listed in the quarterly personnel audit list, including contractors, that receives, disburses, handles, or has access to support collections is covered by a bond against loss resulting from dishonesty. CSS is covered in the amount of 10,000,000 through one of the options below: aa. Private insurance coverage through Colorado Counties Casualty and Property Poo, (insert name of insurance company). b. Self-bonding/self-insurance established by (identify statute or authority). c. Bonding/insurance established by (explain). Conflict of Interest Section 6.210.3 of Volume 6 requires counties to establish processes in which certain case files are worked only by a supervisor or in a manner that provides limited access to case information. The processes ensure that any employee with a personal interest in a case, including but not limited to the employee's own case or a case of a relative or friend, shall not engage in any Child Support Services activity related to that case and may not view any case information maintained on the automated child support system for that case. Please describe below your county's process for meeting this requirement Weld County has dedicated our Program Resource Specialist and Core Support Supervisor to work all confidential cases. In Weld County a case is considered confidential when the employee works for any Division in the Department of Human Services or is directly related to an employee within the Child Support Division. The Program Resource Specialist work all of the case aspects and the Core Support Supervisor works all the financial aspects of the cases. In addition to the IVD Administrator, they are the only individuals who have access to the electronic documents related to the case. If the IV -D Administrator is unable to certify any statement in Section II, please explain below: Rev. 10/2023 Section III - Continuity of Services Counties with five or fewer child support employees are asked to have an agreement with another county for coverage should an emergency or hardship occur rendering your employees unable to fulfill day-to-day child support service operations. Provide the coverage county and plan. This is required information to receive approval of your county's annual program plan. It is recommended that counties have a second coverage county able to provide support. Please include any COOP, MOU, or contract that may be in place for coverage. ❑� N/A (County has more than 5 child support employees) Section IV - Performance Management 1. Per CCR 6.270.3, each county's program plan "must set county goals in order to meet annual statewide goals set by the State Division of Child Support Services." For the measures fisted below, describe your county's approach to strategies for meeting/maintaining the performance goal. Timeliness of Review and Adjustment - Administrative Process Action (Goal = 95%) Weld County is currently meeting this measure and will continue to do so by initiating all modification within 14 days, following up with parties in a timely manner, and continuing to train and improve our negotiation skills. Timeliness of Review and Adjustment - Judicial Process (Goal = 90%) Weld County has struggled over the last year to meet the judicial review and adjustment goal, in large part due to the continual increase in establishment and modification technician caseloads. To help caseloads become more manageable, we are working towards requesting a new establishment position for budget year 2025. In addition, we are working closely with our courts to set hearings more quickly, and recently completed a court preparation/hearing work group to streamline processes. We continue to initiate all modification cases within 14 days and monitor overall performance using Tableau. Are there any resources and/or support from the Division of CSS that would assist you in meeting the above performance goals? One of our biggest struggles is when a modification goes judicially in a county we are unfamiliar with. Although all counties are very helpful, it's often times hard to navigate the different practices and ensure cases are set in a timely manner with an unfamiliar court/docket. It would be helpful to have more training for courts on time frames and how they could better assist counties in scheduling hearings to meet time frames. Rev. 10/2023 Section IV - Performance Management (cont) 2. In 2024, the Division of CSS will begirt to explore the development of new performance measures. Measures for consideration are included below. Please provide your feedback re: each measure option. a. Order Establishment Pros Cons - Help monitor caseload performance. - Determine if establishment time frames need adjusted. - Difficult to measure establishment time frames with complex cases, NCP locate/service, gathering documents from parties, and navigating court docket. - County structures and work processes vary greatly. Please share what metrics you currently use to track order establishment, if you do. Currently, Weld County tracks orders established using the MM -410, modification complete(including temp to perm) using Tableua and sets goals for technicians based on training/case experience. Measure is broad would need more info on is this time to establish order vs. amount of orders established based on caseload size? b. Type of Establishment (Percent Administrative Process Action (APA)) Pros Cons - Encourage counties and workers to utilize APA - If APA guideline is being followed, the county has when appropriate. limited control of how many cases are APA vs. judicial. - Help monitor technician negotiation tactics by - Pressure put on counties to ensure cases stay APA and do not go judicial. comparing APA %. Please share what metrics you currently use to track the type of establishment, if you do. Weld County currently does not track based on if order is established APA or judicial. c. Paternity Establishment Percentage (PEP) Pros Cons - Bring light to the different counties family dynamics - Technician prioritizing paternity cases. - More focus on working paternity cases. - IVD PEP vs Actual PEP. - Help determine how patemity laws effect paternity - Confusing paternity screen in ACSES causes cases (example recent statute change). tracking errors. Please share what metrics you currently use to track PEP, if you do. Currently we monitor overall PEP using the MMR. Counties need more training on how PEP is calculated and what influences PEP so they can strategies ways to improve PEP. Rev. 10/2023 6 Section IV - Performance Management (cant) d. Time to First Payment (Intake to First Payment or Order Establishment to First Payment) Pros Cons - Motivate technician to be proactive on new cases. - Strength collaboration between establishment/enforcement technician. - Cases were NCP is not located could take month/year to receive first payment. - Similar tracking through current support/arrears %. Please share how you currently track this measure, if you do. Review early intervention alert statistics, monitor category 3's, and ensure IA's are sent out as soon as orders are established by establishment technician and followed up by enforcement technician. If measure is used, it would make more sense to start from ledger initiated date on cases with current orders and have separate measure for cases established by the county. e. Default Order Rate Pros Cons - Encourage technician to build rapport and - Technician cannot always control whether NCP communicate with parties. is cooperative with establishment process. - Could help counties strategies ways to decrease - Encourage more cases to go judicial to avoid overall default orders if data was tracked defaulting individuals. Please share how you currently track this measure, if you do. Supervisor reviews all default orders before filing with courts, and county monitors MM -446. Weld County currently averages no more then 3 default orders per month. f. Expired/Expiring Arrears (Delinquency and Judgements) Pros Cons - Cleaner and more accurate ledgers. - Eliminate having to reverse payments due to collecting expired debt. - Stay in compliance with current statutes. - Time it takes to review cases to remove arrears. - ACSES financial capabilities. - Ability to locate cases. - Determining frequency cases should be reviewed monthly, quarterly, and yearly. Please share what metrics you currently use to track Expired/Expiring Arrears, if you do. Monitor the judgments expiring reports and ensure technician are either satisfying or removing balances when judgments expire. However, this only tracks balances that were put in ACSES as a judgment, not balances put up as current delinquency or balances accrued through postings. Rev. 10/2023 7 Section IV - Performance Management (cont) g. Customer Engagement Pros Cons - Identify areas of training to help improve overall customer experience. - Potential feedback to help improve processes. - Determining how to effectively gather feedback. - Skewed results due to nature of work and factors outside of county control (example: court decisions, MSO, arrears, etc.). - The differences between county structures/operation methods. - Non -constructive negative feedback from clients could discourage counties. Please share what metrics you currently use to track Customer Engagement, if you do. We have a dedicated customer service team who tracks and shares customer feedback with leadership team. Leadership team monitors and addresses customer complaints within a timely manner. Quality checks are done by leadership to ensure clients received timely services that are clearly documented in ACSES. Technician actively engages with clients to gain feedback and ensure understanding of processes through the life of the case. Weld County best practice is to always contact clients via telephone first and email second. We rely heavily on building good relationship with both our CP's and NCP's. Please Rank order the Measures Above (1= most important to pursue, 7= least important to pursue) 1 Order Establishment 5 Type of Establishment (APA) 6 Patemity Establishment Percentage 4 Time to First Payment 3 Default Order Rate 2 Expired/Expiring Arrears 7 Customer Engagement If you have additional suggestions for new performance measures, please list those below. And/or, if you have identified program priorities for 2024, please list those below. Weld County's priorities for 2024 are to focus on training and updating outdated procedures to ensure consistency. In addition, we have been fully staffed for several months now and would like to start training more in depth on best practices for case management. Section V - County Liaisons This information is now captured in the Quarterly Personnel Audit List. Please make sure your county's liaison information in the document is current. Please be sure to include each liaison's direct email and phone number. Counties are required to follow the process linked below to designate ACSES Liaisons, which includes corresponding training. A link to the ACSES Liaison Process can be found here ACSES Liaison Process, along with the Liaison Change Request Form. Rev. 10/2023 8 Section VI - Communications As the IV -D Administrator, I certify that: (Initial next to the statement.) KE KE Program information sent to the IV -D Administrator by the Division of CSS is forwarded to the appropriate county CSS professionals in a timely manner. The county's child support website contains current information regarding the child support application and services provided. *We encourage you to utilize the language below for your county's child support website. Apply online for child support services! The Colorado Child Support Services (CSS) Program offers a streamlined application that's available 24/7 - apply online anywhere, any time. Get started today. About the Child Support Services Program: CSS oversees the state's child support system. Individual child support orders are managed by Colorado's county child support offices. You can find many helpful services on the CSS website including: • Applying for child support services • How to create an online account to view specific information on your child support case • How and when to request changes to a child support order • Different ways to make and receive child support payments • Frequently asked questions about child support in Colorado Visit the CSS website Visit the CSS website If your county's website does not include current information or the language suggested above, please provide a date as to when the updates will be made. Section VII - Organizational Chart All counties are asked to submit an organizational chart. Please include as an attachment an organizational chart that describes the reporting structure in your program and where your program sits within the county's structure. Section VIII - Personnel All personnel information for this section is tracked in the Quarterly Personnel Audit List. The information in this list must be updated and certified at the end of each quarter. You will receive an email from the ACSES Security Team each quarter when this needs to be completed. KE I understand it is the responsibility of the county to ensure this is updated each quarter for all employees. I confirm we have updated this information each quarter as required and will continue to do so. Rev. 10/2023 BUDGET UNIT REQUEST SUMMARY AGENCY/DEPARTMENT NAME: SOCIAL SERVICES BUDGET UNIT TITLE AND NUMBER: Child Support Administration - - 2100-42200 DEPARTMENT DESCRIPTION: The Child Support Administration program is designed to obtain and enforce child support and medical support for dependent children to offset part of the TANF and foster care costs. In addition, child support and medical support are enforced for non-TANF clients based on court orders. RESOURCES ACTUAL LAST FY BUDGETED CURRENT FY REQUESTED NEXT FY RECOMMEND NEXT FY Personnel Services $ 3,054,782 $ 3,000,000 $ 3,200,000 $ Supplies 63,867 29,000 60,000 Purchased Services 553,240 506,500 550,000 Fixed Charges 42,632 39,000 50,000 Contra Expense - 100 - 42,100 0 Capital 0 0 0 Gross County Cost $ 3,714,421 $ 3,532,400 $ 3,860,000 $ Revenue 2,780,285 2,800,000 3,000,000 Net County Cost $ 934,136 $ 732,400 $ 860,000 $ Budget Positions 31 30 30 SUMMARY OF CHANGES: Current economic conditions will continue to increase workload for the Child Support Services division of the Department. This increase will be somewhat offset by decisions of the State Legislature to end required cooperation with the program in order to qualify for other benefits and services. FINANCE/ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDATION: BOARD ACTION: CHILD SUPPORT ADMINISTRATION (CONTINUED) 2100-42200 PERFORMANCE MEASURES ACTUAL ESTIMATED PROJECTED Work Outputs Case Load 7,834 8,200 8,500 Money distributed to families $22,500,919 $23,500,000 $24,000,000 Orders Established/Modified 245/208 300/290 320/310 Applications Received 1,759 1,800 1,850 Efficiency Measures FTE's per 10,000/capita 0.898 0.848 0.830 Per capita cost (county support) $ 2.706 $ 2.071 $ 2.378 GOALS/DESIRED OUTCOMES/KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS: See Human Services goals following the Social Services Fund Summary. Department of Human Services Child Support m.�b� " Gritln 50 Loudon: Greeley, Building A, 2nd Floor LyMT[cMkbn M�nipr October 2023 Director: Jamie Ulrich Deputy Director. Tami Grant Area Agency on Aging Division Head Kelly Morrison Area Agency In Aging Deputy Director till Colavolpe Employment Services Workforce Director Kai ina Amaya-Ragland Department of Human Services Leadership Deputy Director Tami Grant Director Jamie Ulrich Fiscal Office Division Head Tammy Maurer Employment Services Deputy Workforce Director Cecilia Maichrowski Organizational Integrity Division Head Kimberly Rino Organizational Integrity Deputy Director Jennifer Lehmkuhl Administration Support Unvt Manager Susan B1orland i _ Director: Jane Ulrich Deputy Director: Tami Grant Senior Fiscal Advisor Lennie Bottorff Deputy Fiscal Advisor Denise Suniga Assistance Payments Division Head Andie Garnand Assistance Payments Deputy Division Head Jesica Antonucci October 2023 Child Support Division Head Kyle Ewertt Child Welfare Director Heather Walker Child Welfare Deputy Director Room Overmyer Family Resource Division Head Julie Witkowski i SIGNATURE REQUESTED: 2024 Child Support Services Annual Plan (Temp Item) Final Audit Report 2023-12-06 Created: 2023-12-06 By: Windy Luna (wluna@co.weld.co.us) Status: Signed Transaction ID: CBJCHBCAABAA1OgjuPCbfH6kSIbuXHZYdZYoG0i-aEMZ "SIGNATURE REQUESTED: 2024 Child Support Services Annu al Plan (Temp Item)" History Document created by Windy Luna (wluna@co.weld.co.us) 2023-12-06 - 9:49:49 PM GMT Document emailed to ulrichjj@weldgov.com for signature 2023-12-06 - 9:51:18 PM GMT t Email viewed by ulrichjj@weldgov.com 2023-12-06 - 9:57:28 PM GMT ao Signer ulrichjj@weldgov.com entered name at signing as Jamie Ulrich 2023-12-06 - 10:29:04 PM GMT 6Q Document e -signed by Jamie Ulrich (ulrichjj@weldgov.com) Signature Date: 2023-12-06 - 10:29:06 PM GMT - Time Source: serve - a Document emailed to ewertzkp@weldgov.com for signature 2023-12-06 - 10:29:08 PM GMT iLi Email viewed by ewertzkp@weldgov.com 2023-12-06 - 10:29:36 PM GMT 6a Signer ewertzkp@weldgov.com entered name at signing as Kyle Ewertz 2023-12-06 - 10:30:02 PM GMT dp Document e -signed by Kyle Ewertz (ewertzkp@weldgov.com) Signature Date: 2023-12-06 - 10:30:04 PM GMT - Time Source: server 0 Agreement completed. 2023-12-06 - 10:30:04 PM GMT Powered by Adobe Acrobat Sign Hello