EFT/EDI Child Support Payments

Teleconference

Minutes from the Federal/State Agencies EFT/EDI Child Support Payments Project Teleconference, March 15, 2006

Participants:

The Federal agencies represented were: Department of the Treasury's Financial Management Service (FMS): Washington, DC, U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Finance Center (NFC), New Orleans, LA, and Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), Cleveland, OH. The states represented were: AZ, CA, CO, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, MO, MS, MT, ND, NE, NY, OH, OR, PA, SD, VA, WA, WI, WV, and WY.

The bi-monthly Federal Agency/State EFT/EDI Child Support Payments Project teleconference meeting was held on Wednesday, March 15 at 2 p.m., ET. Lovenia Murray of FMS facilitated the meeting and reminded participants to register in advance for each teleconference at FMS's web site at http://fms.treas.gov/csp/confcall/index.html. Minutes from the teleconferences are posted at this web site.

Federal agency updates:

Ninety-five percent of the federal payroll agencies child support payments (deducted from employees' payroll checks) are processed by EFT/EDI payments. Specifically, these are the child support payments, which are administered by the state child support enforcement agencies, including those payments from private orders issued after January 1994, where services have not been given by the state child support enforcement agency.

DFAS: DFAS will provide payroll services for the following federal agencies: Environmental Protection Agency (5/28/06 - 178 garnishments); Department of Veterans Affairs (VA, employees only) - pilot with Austin, TX field office to begin 8/20/06 - approximately 22 garnishments; second pilot to begin 8/18/2007; other field offices beginning 10/21/07 and continuing through April 2008; Broadcast Board of Governors (2/18/07 - 25 garnishments). VA disability payments, including those attached for child support will continue to be sent by the VA.

SSA: The Social Security Administration (SSA) is implementing its Court Order Garnishment System (COGS) and is testing electronic payments with IL. New orders (attaching disability and Social Security benefit payments for child support) will be the first to be converted to e-payments.

RRB: The Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) is scheduled to begin sending electronic payments for child support (withheld from benefit payments) in September 2006.

DFAS restitution/reclamation issue:

The AZ SDU reported that it had received a check from DFAS to reimburse it for the child support monies received from AZ erroneously by DFAS last October. Appreciation was expressed to Loretta Longo of DFAS for helping to restore the child support monies to AZ. [In a later e-mail Loretta Longo reported that DFAS had restored to MO the child support monies it received erroneously in December 2005.] Recent seizures have also taken monies from the CO SDU and (pending) the HI SDU. HI is disputing the amount of money requested. Loretta Longo will try to assist both CO and HI. All four incidents have involved retired Air Force personnel who have died and whose child support was paid before payroll learned of the deaths. In all four cases, the child support payments were sent to the custodial families before the money was returned to DFAS by the SDU's bank. Loretta Longo reported that there is a problem with the retired Air Force's automated system, which is automatically sending out reclamation notices upon the death of any Air Force retiree with a child support order. She will work with the Air Force pay center to correct the problem. Lovenia Murray indicated that she will forward to DFAS information concerning child support payments being subject to reclamations.

PPD format issue:

Several states indicated that DFAS is still sending some voluntary allotments in that format, which does not include the DED Child Support addendum segment that states need to post the payment automatically. Loretta Longo of DFAS will be meeting with the voluntary allotment pay centers to see whether these payments could be sent in either the CCD+ or CTX format. Any SDU that would like these payments converted to paper check, please send payment information to Nancy Benner at nbenner@acf.hhs.gov.

RMR format issue:

A few states reported receiving payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in the CTX format but with the RMR (remittance) addendum segment rather than the DED addendum segment. Any SDU that would like these payments converted to paper check, please send payment information to Nancy Benner at nbenner@acf.hhs.gov. FMS is working with the VA to program to send child support payments in either the CCD+ or CTX format with the DED addendum segment.

New Mexico SDU's new banking information:

The New Mexico SDU has changed banks. Its new bank is Bank of America. For the routing transit number and account number, please contact Joseph C. Anaya of the NM SDU at (505) 476-3917, fax (505) 476-3920 or joseph.anaya@stae.nm.us.

Next federal agency/state EFT/EDI teleconference:

The next EFT/EDI teleconference is scheduled for May 17, 2006 at 2:00 p.m. ET. States are reminded to register for the teleconference at http://fms.treas.gov/csp/confcall/index.html to ensure enough lines are allocated.