“ Child Support Services and Parents Working Together for Children” Tehama County Child Support Services

Tonya Moore, Director Tehama County Child Support Services

Guiding Principles  Would this service be good enough for me?  How can we make child support reliable income for families?

History: Why Child Support? Amendment of 1975-Title 4D  Between welfare program spending increased by 400%  Leading cause for AFDC applications  83% due to absent parent (divorce/separation/ abandonment)  Government faced with balancing social responsibilities while exercising financial restraint  Remove the main responsibility for support from taxpayer to the responsible parent  Child Support Program became federally supervised and state administered

Organizational History  DA’s Office: Family Support & Child Support Enforcement  1999 CA Child Support Reform  CA DCSS developed, Family Support separated from county DA’s Office (Tehama 2002)  Local Child Support Agencies (county/ regional offices)

Region 1 Butte, Colusa, Del Norte, Glenn, Humboldt, Lassen, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra Nevada, Siskiyou/ Modoc, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo, Yuba

Tehama County DCSS 23 staff members 4150 cases In 2013/14 distributed $3.6 million in support Average of 100 cases in court each month 1005 Vista Way, Suite A in Red Bluff

Tehama County Caseload March 2015

Current Child Support Budget Child Support Allocation  Federal (66%) + State (34%) = Annual Allocation  Tehama DCSS: $1.8 million  Determination:  What were the expenses the last year the agency was part of the DA’s Office?  Step increases, raises, program needs grow=> allocation still the same.

Services  Establish Paternity  Establish Child Support Orders  Modify Orders  Enforce Orders

Establish Paternity Child’s self confidence Access to family medical history Opportunity for the father

Establish Child Support Court Order  Visitation, income, # dependents, tax filing status, required dues, work expenses, child care expenses & other child support orders.  CA Guideline Calculator  Files a Notice of Motion with Tehama County Superior Court. Goes before Commissioner.

% of Established Child Support Orders

Modify Orders  Incarceration  Change in income  Change in custody & visitation

Enforcement  Income Withholding Order  License Suspension  Bank Levee  Property Lien  Income Tax Seizure  Contempt Hearings

LE Warrant Sweeps  FTA in Court for Contempt Charges: Civil Bench Warrants Issued  May 29, 2014 (4 arrested)  October 16, 2014 (5 arrested and brought to court)  Results  Rise in court participation  Lump sum collections  Increase in communication with department

Child Support Payments  Total Current Child Support Payments due in March 2015  $? Was collected  66.3% was collected (4% higher than last year)  Statewide average in the month of March is

Current Child Support Collections  Appx. $3.6 Million Annually  Non Aided $ goes directly to custodial party  Collections on cases where the parent is on aid  First $50 to custodial party  Rest to State of CA  2.5% is returned to Tehama County $100,000/year average  Throughout other counties in CA this money either goes back to child support or to social services.  In Tehama County those funds are directed to Social Services.

CA DCSS PROGRAM GOALS 1) Increase support for California’s children 2) Deliver excellent and consistent customer service statewide 3) Enhance program performance and sustainability 4) Develop and strengthen collaborative partnerships 5) Be innovative in meeting the needs of families

TEHAMA DCSS BUSINESS PLAN

Leverage Technology  eCommunications  MoneyGram & Credit Card Payment  Collecting Customer s  Texts to customers  Redesign Website

Increase Number of Consistent Payments  COAP: Compromise of Arrears Program  Jail Payments: Property Release Form  Payments in Court: Immediately following an order  Promoting payment options  Promoting support negotiations at order setting

Develop and Strengthen Collaborative Partnerships  Employers  Family Law Facilitator  County Departments

Tonya Moore, Director Tehama County Child Support Services