 |
Program Enhancements and Other Adjustments
Department of Child Support Services
To provide enhanced fiscal and programmatic direction and oversight of child support enforcement activities, Chapters 478 and 480, Statutes of 1999, established the Department of Child Support Services (DCSS). These measures authorized the implementation of a single, statewide child support system comprised of local child support agencies under the supervision of the new department. The DCSS assumed responsibility for child support enforcement activities in January 2000. The child support program promotes the well-being of children and the self-sufficiency of families by assisting both parents to meet the financial, medical, and emotional needs of their children through the delivery of quality child support establishment, collection, and distribution services.
The DCSS is designated as the single state agency to administer the statewide program to secure child, spousal, and medical support and determine paternity. The primary purpose of the DCSS is to collect child support payments for custodial parents and their children. The Governor's Budget includes $1.1 billion ($319.8 million General Fund), a decrease of $444.8 million ($265.1 million General Fund) below the revised 2006-07 budget and $372.4 million ($250.2 million General Fund) below the Budget Act of 2006. This decrease is primarily associated with the abeyance of federal automation penalties beginning in 2007-08 and a reduction of one-time payments and system automation costs incurred in 2006-07.
PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION
State Administration
The Governor's Budget proposes total expenditures of $45.8 million General Fund and 518.8 positions for state administration of the program. Departmental staff ensures a more effective program through expanded state-level direction and supervision of local child support agencies. Specific mandates require increased oversight of local program and fiscal operations.
County Administration
The Governor's Budget proposes $194.9 million General Fund to fund local agency administrative costs, which is approximately the same level of funding for local program expenditures provided in 2006-07. The Governor's Budget also continues to provide $20 million in federal funds to be matched by $10 million in voluntary county funding for the support of local child support agency staff and program services.
Restoring the Loss of Federal Funds
Effective October 1, 2007, the federal Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) will eliminate California's ability to claim federal matching funds for earned federal incentive payments. These incentive payments are awarded to all states based upon program performance in a number of areas, such as paternity establishment. The Governor's Budget includes increased funding of $23 million General Fund to maintain the current funding level for local child support agencies.
CHILD SUPPORT COLLECTIONS
The child support program establishes and enforces court orders for child, spousal, and medical support from absent parents on behalf of dependent children and their caretakers. For display purposes only, the Governor's Budget reflects the total collections received, including payments to families and collections made in California on behalf of other states. The General Fund share of assistance collections is included in statewide revenue projections. Child support collections for 2007-08 are projected to be $2.4 billion ($246.1 million General Fund). Collections for 2006-07 also are estimated to be $2.4 billion ($267.4 million General Fund).
CHILD SUPPORT AUTOMATION
Chapter 479, Statutes of 1999, designated the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) as the agent of DCSS for the procurement, development, implementation, maintenance, and operation of the California Child Support Automation System (CCSAS). The state is responsible for developing and implementing the CCSAS and transitioning all counties onto this new system. The state expects to have the new system completed by 2008-09. The CCSAS project consists of two components: the Child Support Enforcement (CSE) component provides the core automated functionality to manage child support cases, and the State Disbursement Unit (SDU) interfaces with the CSE and processes payments to custodial parties. The state entered into a contract with IBM Global Services in July 2003 to develop and implement the CSE component of the project, and it entered into a service contract with Bank of America in December 2004 to provide the SDU component of the project.
Elimination of the Federal Penalty
The Governor's Budget reflects California's request for federal certification of the statewide child support automated system and, for the first time since 1998, does not include a General Fund appropriation to pay federal automation penalties. During the certification process, the federal government will hold future penalties in abeyance pending final review of the child support automation system. In 2006-07, the state budgeted $220 million General Fund in penalties for failure to have a single statewide child support automation system. Once the federal government certifies the system, it will reimburse California $198 million, or 90 percent of the state's final penalty payment. Given the current project schedule, the system should be certified by 2008-09, and the Governor's Budget assumes accrual of the penalty reimbursement to 2007-08.
CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS for
Health and Human Services Back to Top
PRINTABLE BUDGET DOCUMENTS Back to Top
Budget Summary - Health and Human Services (pdf * - 261K)
-
Provides this entire Health and Human Services Chapter in pdf format.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Back to Top
Proposed Budget Detail - Health and Human Services
Displays Proposed Budget Detail information for Health and Human Services.
|
pdf* This file requires the latest Adobe Acrobat reader plugin. If you do not have it - click here to download.
