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Program Enhancements and Other Budget 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 in meeting 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 to 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 billion ($300.8 million General Fund), a decrease of $204.9 million ($50.9 million General Fund) below the revised 2007-08 budget. This decrease is primarily associated with a reduction of one-time payments and system automation costs incurred in 2007-08, and proposed budget balancing reductions.
STATE ADMINISTRATION
The Governor's Budget proposes total expenditures of $41.5 million General Fund and 503 positions for state administration of the program. Departmental staff ensures an 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 $196.9 million General Fund to fund local agency administrative costs, which includes the same level of funding for local program expenditures provided in 2007-08. 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.
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 estimated to be $2.2 billion ($225.9 million General Fund). Collections for 2008-09 are projected to be $2.2 billion ($201.7 million General Fund).
CHILD SUPPORT AUTOMATION
The Franchise Tax Board (FTB) is the agent of DCSS for the procurement, development, implementation, maintenance, and operation of the California Child Support Automation System (CCSAS). 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 is responsible for developing and implementing the CCSAS and transitioning all counties onto this new system. Implementation began in May 2007 and eighteen counties have successfully implemented the system. The state expects to complete statewide implementation in 2008-09.
As full implementation of the CCSAS project nears, the state is planning to consolidate responsibility for the project within the DCSS. A forthcoming transition plan will detail the transfer of all resources and responsibilities for the continued maintenance of the CCSAS system from the FTB to the DCSS with the transition to begin in 2008-09.
INCREASE CHILD SUPPORT PASS-THROUGH
Effective October 1, 2008, the federal Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) provides for federal participation at the 50 percent level in child support that is passed through to CalWORKs families. When child support is collected for families receiving CalWORKs benefits, a portion of child support payments collected are remitted to state, federal and county governments to help offset the costs of providing public assistance benefits to these families. Of the state portion of recoveries, California currently passes through $50 per month to CalWORKs families. These funds are disregarded for CalWORKs benefit calculation purposes. The Governor's Budget proposes to establish federal participation at the 50 percent level in the current $50 disregard which will result in increased General Fund revenues of $3.9 million for the period between October 1, 2008 and January 1, 2009. Additionally, the Governor's Budget proposes to increase the amount of child support passed through to CalWORKs families from $50 to $100 per month effective January 1, 2009. Due to federal participation, the increase from $50 per month to $100 per month will be revenue neutral to the General Fund.
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CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS for
Health and Human Services Back to Top
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Back to Top
Proposed Budget Detail - Health and Human Services
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