Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout20170321RESOLUTION RE: APPROVE 2017 ANNUAL PROGRAM PLAN FOR CHILD SUPPORT SERVICES (CBS) AND AUTHORIZE DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES TO SIGN WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, Colorado, pursuant to Colorado statute and the Weld County Home Rule Charter, is vested with the authority of administering the affairs of Weld County, Colorado, and WHEREAS, the Board has been presented with 2017 Annual Program Plan for Child Support Services (CSS) from the County of Weld, State of Colorado, by and through the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, on behalf of the Department of Human Services, to the Colorado Office of Economic Security, Division of Child Support Services, commencing January 1, 2017, and ending December 31, 2017, with further terms and conditions being as stated in said plan, and WHEREAS, after review, the Board deems it advisable to approve said plan, a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, Colorado, that the 2017 Annual Program Plan for Child Support Services (CSS) from the County of Weld, State of Colorado, by and through the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, on behalf of the Department of Human Services, to the Colorado Office of Economic Security, Division of Child Support Services, be and hereby is, approved. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the Board that the Director of the Department of Human Services be, and hereby is, authorized to sign said plan. The above and foregoing Resolution was, on motion duly made and seconded, adopted by the following vote on the 30th day of January, A.D., 2017, nunc pro tunc January 1, 2017. ATTEST: ditii44) G1 `;vi Weld County Clerk to the Board BY puty Clerk to the Board APPRO D AS TO ounty Attorney Date of signature: O'/0(DIC CC: NSOCCr/SB/JCo) O/or9'r(-i BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS WELD COUNTY, COLORAD Julie A C d, Chair Steve Moreno, Pro-Tem Sean P. Conway arbara Kirkmey 2017-0321 HR0088 Co nfrosJ t -as4 MEMORANDUM DATE: December 21, 2016 TO: Board of County Commissioners — Pass -Around FR: Judy A. Gricgo, Director, Human Services RE: Department of Human Services' Child Support Services 2017 Annual Program Plan and Child Support Restricted Area Access Guidelines Please review and indicate if you would like a work session prior to placing these items on the Board's agenda. Request Board Approval of the Departments' Child Support Services 2017 Annual Program Plan and authorize Director Signature and Child Support Restricted Area Access Guidelines. Utilizing the approved Department Child Support 2017 Budget of $3,445,000 and the approved 31 employee positions, the Department's Child Support Division has prepared their 2017 Annual Program Plan (Attached). The Plan will continue to mandate Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) and Child Care applicants/recipients to participate with Child Support in order to receive assistance. The Child Support Division was unable to meet certain state performance goals during 2016, therefore; steps have been developed to meet the goals and C-Stat measure in 2017 and included in the plan. This year the State has required the completion of a civil court background check in addition to current background checks when hiring Child Support staff. The County Attorney's office was consulted and is in agreement with the completing the background check because it is a State requirement. Iluman Resources has agreed to administer the background checks once an appropriate vendor has been identified to begin the process. State policy requires a Restricted Area Access for Child Support in order to comply with Internal Revenue Services (IRS) regulations and a documented process. The Plan includes guidelines (Attached) that were developed with the assistance of Toby Taylor, Buildings & Grounds Director. I do not recommend a Work Session. I recommend authorization for the Department Head to sign and submit this Plan to the State Department of Human Services, Division of Child Support Services and to adopt the Guidelines for Child Support Restricted Area Access. Approve Request BOCC Agenda Work Session Sean Conway Steve Moreno Barbara Kirkmeyer Mike Freeman Julie Cozad 2017-0321 Pass -Around Memorandum; December 21, 2016, Contract ID TBD Page 1 COLORADO Office of Economic Security [)vision of Child Support Services 2017 ANNUAL PROGRAM PLAN I certify that this Plan is an accurate assessment of the Child Support Services (CSS) program for Weld County. I further certify that: • The attached county CSS program budget represents only expenditures for performing IV -D activities. • Staff listed in Section V are actually performing IV -D functions pursuant to the percentage of time shown. • A background check, pursuant to Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) Volume 6, 6.210.6 (Access to Information) as revised, will be 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, will weigh the outcome of the background check against county -established favorability standards and determine that the individual is suitable to access the information. • The County has established written processes to ensure that Automated Child Support Enforcement System (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. • 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 State office 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. • All staff performing W -D functions, including CSS contractors and contract IV -D attorneys, are included in Section V. County Director (Print Name) �/a q/170, io Date /I 1� laq /ao i (.0 r Signature Date Nancy A. Lawson IV -D Administrator (Print Name) CSS-14 (Rev 10/28/2016) Page 1 of 9 COLORADO Office of Economic Security 2017 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. Section II —County CSS Program Information 1. Genetic Testing Pursuant to Volume 6, 6.605(c), counties are required to competitively procure, according to county procedures, services from accredited genetic testing laboratories. Identify whether your county changed its accredited genetic testing laboratory in 2016. Identify whether there were changes to the dollar amount per genetic test in 2016. No changes in 2016; charges remain at $38 per person with LabCorp. 2. Foster Care — County Designation Counties are required to select one of three options for processing foster care fees in cases relating to child support obligations. Check the option that your county is currently using. The options are: El 1. The Foster Care Assessor within Child Welfare establishes and enforces the foster care fee. The case is not referred to the CSS Unit for any purpose. ❑ 2. The Foster Care Assessor within Child Welfare establishes the foster care fee. The case is referred to the CSS Unit for monitoring and enforcement. ® 3. The CSS Unit's Foster Care Fee Assessor establishes and enforces the fee. 3. Child Care Assistance Referrals Does your county mandate cooperation of child care recipients with the county CSS unit? ® Yes ❑ No If no, does your county anticipate making this mandate effective sometime during the Plan year (2017)? CSS-14 (Rev 10/28/2016) Page 2 of 9 COLORADO Office of Economic Security 2017 ANNUAL PROGRAM PLAN 4. Changes to Child Support Debt and Retroactive Support Policies Did your county change its policies on the establishment of child support debt or retroactive support in 2016? El Yes ZNo If yes, describe the changes. Section III — Safeguarding of Child Support Information 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 security 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 State office, and have been given the opportunity to review and ask questions with respect to the various policies and procedures issued by the state program. IRS Safeguard Awareness Training Program Please describe your county's training program. All new employees are provided personal training as part of their initial training prior to accessing the ACSES system. They typically receive this training within the first week of employment from their Manager. Veteran staff train utilizing the on-line training provided by the State by viewing the IRS Safeguard video and state IRS Training Slides. Managers are available to respond to any staff inquiries on the materials. 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.) Procedure 1.0 Use of Personally -Owned Devices. CSS-14 (Rev 10/28/2016) Page 3 of 9 CDHS S COLORADO Office of Economic Security 2017 ANNUAL PROGRAM PLAN Procedure 2.0 Data Breach Incident Reporting Procedure 3.0 Transmitting FTI by Facsimile Device Procedure 4.0 Transmitting FTI by Electronic Mail Procedure 5.0 Visitor Access Log - Authorized Access List Procedure 6.0 Personal Identifying Information and Federal Parent Locator Service Data Protection As the IV -D Administrator, I further certify that: (Initial next to each statement.) All CSS staff, including CSS contractors and contract IV -D attorneys, received child support information (i.e. FTI and FPLS) safeguard awareness training and have completed Certifications of Understanding during calendar year 2016. All CSS staff accessing child support information, in either electronic or paper format, has 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). All CSS staff, including CSS contractors and contract IV -D attorneys, hired during calendar year 2016 received child support information (i.e. FTI and FPLS) safeguard awareness training prior to being granted access to ACSES and child support information. 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. 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). 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. If the IV -D Administrator is unable to certify any statement in Section III, please explain below: Section IV - Compliance & Performance Improvement Plan (CPIP) CSS-14 (Rev 10/28/2016) Page 4 of 9 COLORADO Office of Economic Security .,[)i. <<,.ILu0O_U,:.oCS 2017 ANNUAL PROGRAM PLAN All counties are required to submit a Compliance & Performance Improvement Plan (CPIP) with their Annual Program Plan. The CPIP is not intended to replace established protocols for requesting state assistance. The questions below must be completed for each of the following IV -D Task Force Performance Indicators as of September 30, 2016 (MMR data for September). ▪ Paternity Establishment Percentage • Percent of Current Support Paid • Percent of Cases with Orders • Percent of Arrears Cases with a Payment (Federal measurement) • Percent of Arrears Cases with a Monthly Arrears Payment (C-Stat measurement) Please identify the efforts your county will make in 2017 to meet or exceed the performance goals. Your plan should take a S.M.A.R.T (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time -bound) goal approach including specific action items, completion dates and anticipated performance growth in the following categories as well as any additional strategies you identify. If the space provided for answers is insufficient, please feel free to add additional sheets with the question numbers clearly indicated. 1. Did your county meet or exceed the 2016 state performance goal that 90% of all cases have paternity established? ® Yes ['No If yes, proceed to question #2. If no, detail the measures that your county will take to ensure that 90% of all cases have paternity established in 2017 including incremental percentage goals. (Ex. Hospital outreach, accurate coding) 2. Did your county meet or exceed the 2016 state performance goal that 80% of all open cases have an order? Z Yes ❑No If yes, proceed to question #3. If no, detail the steps that your county will take to ensure that 80% of all open cases will have an order in 2017 including incremental percentage goals. (Ex.: Expediting DOC cases, timely order entry) CSS-14 (Rev 10/28/2016) Page 5 of 9 COLORADO Office of Economic Security 2017 ANNUAL PROGRAM PLAN 3. Did your county meet or exceed the 2016 state performance goal that 66% of current support due was paid? ❑ Yes ZNo If yes, proceed to question #4. If no, detail the steps that your county will take to improve your overall percent of current support paid in 2017, including your incremental percentage goals. (Ex.: Working Flash Card timely, addressing NCP barriers with resources, committing resources to ensure modifications occur timely) Our goal is to meet or exceed the state projected rate on a monthly basis. In order to accomplish this, we will: a) Set individual monthly performance goals which are reflective of both the county and the state goal. b) Conduct monthly reviews with staff manning enforcement caseloads on progress towards meeting goals and provide coaching opportunities where improvement is needed. c) Ensure early intervention attempts, including securing MAD agreements on cases owing arrears, on all new enforcement cases entering caseload within 10 days of case assignment. d) Assign all contempt actions to one experienced staff member to act as a focal point in developing best practices with our court and assisting obligors in removing barriers. e) Implement an ongoing case review process on all non-paying enforcement cases where enforcement technicians will review 20 cases per month. f) Ensure all Category 2 cases are reviewed and worked on a monthly basis. g) Ensure that all new orders established have a ledger initiated within 7 calendar days of the order date and have an order to withhold sent to any confirmed employer within 2 days of ledger initiation. 4. Did your county meet or exceed the 2016 state performance goal that 71.4% of cases with arrears due had at least one arrears payment (Federal Measurement)? CSS-14 (Res 10/28/2016) Page 6 of 9 COLORADO Office of Economic Security 2017 ANNUAL PROGRAM PLAN Yes ZNo If yes, proceed to question #5. If no, detail the steps that your county will take to improve your performance on the federal arrears measurement, including incremental percentage goals. (Ex.: Working dashboard for arrears cases, addressing NCP barriers with resources) Our goal is to meet or exceed the state projected rate on a monthly basis. In order to accomplish this, we will: a) Set individual monthly performance goals which are reflective of both the county and the state goal. b) Conduct monthly reviews with staff manning enforcement caseloads on progress towards meeting goals and provide coaching opportunities where improvement is needed. c) Ensure early intervention attempts, including securing MAD agreements on cases owing arrears, on all new enforcement cases entering caseload within 10 days of case assignment. d) Assign all contempt actions to one experienced staff member to act as a focal point in developing best practices with our court and assisting obligors in removing barriers. e) Implement an ongoing case review process on all non-paying enforcement cases where enforcement technicians will review 20 cases per month. f) Ensure all Category 2 cases are reviewed and worked on a monthly basis. g) Ensure that all new orders established have a ledger initiated within 7 calendar days of the order date and have an order to withhold sent to any confirmed employer within 2 days of ledger initiation. 5. Did your county meet or exceed the C-Stat 2016 goal that 44.8% of cases with arrears have a monthly payment toward arrears? ❑ Yes No If yes, proceed to question #6. If no, detail the steps that your county will take to improve performance on the C-Stat Arrears Measure in 2017, including incremental percentage goals. (Ex. Working MAD management report, EI alerts, and utilizing CSe-Tools to catch cases that have not paid on arrears in the month) CSS-14 (Rev 10/28/2016) Page 7 of 9 COLORADO Office of Economic Security rz, 2017 ANNUAL PROGRAM PLAN Our goal is to meet or exceed the state projected rate on a monthly basis. In order to accomplish this, we will: a) Set individual monthly performance goals which are reflective of both the county and the state goal. b) Conduct monthly reviews with staff manning enforcement caseloads on progress towards meeting goals and provide coaching opportunities where improvement is needed. c) Ensure early intervention attempts, including securing MAD agreements on cases owing arrears, on all new enforcement cases entering caseload within 10 days of case assignment. d) Assign all contempt actions to one experienced staff member to act as a focal point in developing best practices with our court and assisting obligors in removing barriers. e) Implement an ongoing case review process on all non-paying enforcement cases where enforcement technicians will review 20 cases per month. f) Ensure all Category 2 cases are reviewed and worked on a monthly basis. g) Ensure that all new orders established have a ledger initiated within 7 calendar days of the order date and have an order to withhold sent to any confirmed employer within 2 days of ledger initiation. 6. What additional collaborations with outside agencies will you build to assist your customers in 2017? We will meet quarterly with our Magistrate and court staff to assist in expediting workflow, discuss efficiencies, and develop new practices which benefit our customers. We will again participate in the Community Project Connect to be held in October, 2017 where multiple community agencies join in providing services to the needy. We will collaborate with the Workforce Center on referrals and share job opening and hiring events with our customers. We will increase our collaboration with our local child welfare area in order to better serve children in foster care and kinship placement as well as our partners in probation and parole. We plan on participating in the annual Weld County Legal Fair. We will continue to refer parties to the district Court Information Center, ask -an -attorney clinic, Colorado Legal Services and Weld County Legal Services for legal and other assistance. We will continue to refer parties for mediation of parenting plans with the Office of Dispute Resolution. 7. What referral resources will be utilized for obligors that face employment barriers to paying their child support? We will promote hiring event activities and job openings on data shared from our local Employment Services. We will routinely refer obligors with other barriers to local community resources, including United Way, and to the Department Outreach staff as identified by their needs. CSS-I4 (Rev I0/28/2016) Page 8 of 9 COLORADO Office of Economic Security 2017 ANNUAL PROGRAM PLAN 8. If your county has five or fewer child support employees, do you 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? If so, provide the coverage county and plan. If not, please explore your options and provide a county coverage plan. Weld County has more than five child support employees. 9. What specific assistance can the State office provide to assist your county in attaining its goals in 2017? Weld County is requesting classroom training at the county or regional level in the following areas: a) Bookkeeper Financial Training. b) Technician Financial Training. c) Supervisor/Manager Training on how to achieve Program Performance Goals and utilize reports, CSe-tools, and other aids. d) Paternity training regarding multiple presumed and alleged fathers. Section V — Personnel — Please see attachment CSS-14 (Rev 10/28/2016) Page 9 of 9 Child Support Guidelines Guidelines for Restricted Area Access Precaution must be taken to prevent unauthorized access to restricted areas that contain federal tax information (FTI), child support personally identifiable information (CS PII), and Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS) information. Authorized Access Lists • To ease the entry to the child support restricted area by Department of Human Services non -child support employees, County building and maintenance staff, Area Agency on Aging Division board and committee members, Department Security Guards, and the like who have a frequent and continuing need for visiting, but who are not assigned to the area, Authorized Access Lists will be maintained. • Caution must still be taken to ensure that inadvertent or incidental viewing of confidential information is prevented from occurring by those not authorized to view it. • The Authorized Access List (AAL) for human services department employees wilt be taken from the DHS Communication Tool, Employee Details located on the intranet. • The Authorized Access List (AAL) for county building and maintenance employees will be secured from the Director of Weld County Department of Building & Grounds on an annual basis. • The Authorized Access List (AAL) for Area Agency on Agency Division board and committee members will be secured from the Department Area on Aging Division Head on an annual basis. • The Authorized Access List (AAL) for Department Security Guards will be secured from the Organizational Integrity Division Head on an annual basis. Visitor Log A visitor is defined as a person not employed by Child Support Services or on an Authorized Access List (AAL) entering the Child Support designated work area where FTI, CS PII, or FPLS information exists. I. A restricted area visitor log will be maintained at the entrance point to the restricted child support area. 2. All visitors entering the restricted area will be accompanied by a Department employee who will ensure appropriate log in of a visitor. 1 3. The log will capture the following information with respect to the visitor: a. Name of the visitor b. The organization the visitor represents c. The signature of the visitor d. The form of identification presented by the visitor (e.g. driver's license, government ID) in instances where they do not have personal knowledge of the visitor. A staff member must validate the visitor's identity by examining the form of ID and recording on the log the type or ID validated. e. Date of visit f. Time of visit and departure time g. Purpose of the visit h. Name and organization/department of person visited (e.g. John Jones, establishment technician) 4. The log will be closed out at month's end and reviewed by child support management to ensure completeness and compliance to this policy. The visitor access log will be maintained for a minimum of five (5) years. It may be retained in an electronic format. 2 Hello