It's been a decade of progress in Florida child support enforcement. On June 8, 2004, the DOR Child Support Enforcement Program (CSE) passed a milestone – by that day, CSE had collected more than $1 billion in a single fiscal year. Collections for the entire fiscal year totaled nearly $1.1 billion, almost triple the $388.6 million per year that Florida collected when DOR was assigned child support enforcement in 1994.
Child support in Florida is getting steadily better. Based on five federal child support performance measures, the Sunshine State has risen from ranking near the bottom of the 54 states and territories to 26th today. *
*Ranking is based upon Florida's FFY 2004 performance relative to other states and territories' FFY 2003 performance.
Ahead – an ambitious vision
Steady Upward Climb
Child support collections were up 11.1 percent in FY 2003-04, DOR's tenth consecutive record year in collections. Over time, caseloads have dropped significantly.
Average isn't good enough. Excellence is our aim. DOR has promised Governor Bush and the Florida Legislature that we will give Florida's families a child support enforcement program that ranks among the top five states and territories nationally. We have pledged to achieve this vision no later than 2010.
Succeeding at this ambitious challenge is possible only because DOR has the support of the state's highest leaders. Governor Bush supports DOR's plans to recommend important enhancements to child support enforcement laws in 2005:
Targeting collection activities so child support can be a reliable source of income for families; improving partnerships with jobs programs so unemployed or underemployed parents can earn more and support their children; working with employers so child support wage-garnishment orders are shifted promptly when parents shift jobs.
Eliminating application fees for parents seeking help in establishing or collecting support for children; requiring DOR to help parents collect support in all cases where support is delinquent; and offering to forgive portions of retroactive child support that would have otherwise gone to the state to repay public-assistance costs incurred by families, as an incentive for noncustodial parents to agree to establish and later fulfill support obligations.
Streamlining the establishment of child support orders by allowing electronic signatures and e-documents rather than hardcopy; and encouraging use of genetic testing at birth to establish paternity.
Launching a statewide partnership with hospital leaders, community organizations, and parents to establish legal fatherhood for newborn infants – and to help establish paternity for an estimated 800,000 children who have never had paternity established. Establishing paternity is a critical step in the child support process. Also, children with paternity established at birth are more likely to have strong relationships with fathers, grow up healthy, and avoid poverty.
Coming: A computer system that helps DOR do its work
Also in 2005, the Department will implement the first of several planned phases of a new computer system, the Child Support Enforcement Automated Management System (CAMS). This advanced system will be a huge leap forward for DOR and Florida's families.
The new CAMS system will speed up the handling of cases; improve the consistency and accuracy with which cases are administered; and yield valuable management information on best practices in establishing, enforcing and distributing child support.
Putting the strategy in strategic planning
Moving Cases to Order
Before children can get support, a support order must be established. Through hard work, DOR has dramatically reduced the number of cases where an order is not yet in effect.
Like all good goals, ours can be stated in a few words – to give Florida families a child support enforcement program that ranks among the nation's best. But to be the best, you must understand precisely how your results compare to others – where you're strong, where you're weak, and exactly how far you must go to reach the top.
Under our new planning system, DOR will recommend to the Governor, Cabinet and Legislature a set of aggressive three- to five-year goals that require DOR to dramatically improve performance. For example, CSE's goal to rank among the top five child support programs nationally in three to five years means that DOR must help parents establish paternity for about 91,000 children per year by FY 2006-07, up from about 76,000 new paternities in FY 2003-04.
Using the three- to five-year goals, DOR managers then will draw up annual operating plans that indicate exactly how far DOR must progress in the coming fiscal year to meet its longer-term goals on schedule – in this case, an increase of 4,348 paternities in FY 2004-05. This annual goal will be broken down into specific performance targets for regions, service centers, and work units. Eventually, this measurement system will be translated into performance targets for individual employees – much as in the private sector.
The new CAMS system will speed up the handling of cases; improve the consistency and accuracy with which cases are administered; and yield valuable management information on best practices in establishing, enforcing and distributing child support.
Finding fathers for children
Establishing paternity for children born out of wedlock is of vital importance. In 2005, DOR will expand its partnership with the state Health Department, Florida hospitals, courts, and families to increase the percentage of children born out of wedlock who have paternity established.
Measuring results, taking action
Here's where DOR's new technology will play a critical role, providing accurate, up-to-date performance measurements to track how well we're doing. Using these data, progress will be measured monthly or weekly and reported to senior DOR managers.
If performance rises above the target level, DOR managers will celebrate the great work – then study that team or unit to discover best practices that can be adapted to improve performance statewide. If performance falls below targets, DOR managers will provide help, using structured problem-solving methodologies to find and implement solutions.
If this management system seems like something you'd expect to find in a world-class, industry-leading corporation, you are right on target. DOR leaders are modeling our planning systems on those used by the best organizations, public or private.
Sophisticated computer systems, advanced strategic planning systems and business process management tools all work together to create a better, more effective child support enforcement system.
This is work that matters. Hundreds of thousands of Florida children have seen an improvement in their lives because of the work of the employees of the Child Support Enforcement Program since 1994. With three to five years left to rise to a position of national excellence, we're rolling up our sleeves for a challenging job ahead. It won't be easy, but we have the best of incentives driving us – the welfare of Florida's children.
