And Then There’s Us….Phase II. ■Assumes that the state will become responsible for costs associated with health care programs (including Children’s Services and IHSS). ■The counties will assume responsibility for CalWORKs, child care, food stamp administration, and child support. ■Public health programs will remain at the local level.

What does this mean for child support? Phase II discussions related to Child Support have not begun. In the meantime, to prepare for the transition, CSDA has: ■Developed a Realignment Committee with a series of subcommittees that have been tasked with identifying key issues in the areas of finance, courts, operations, etc. ■Participated in CSAC Realignment discussions ■Met regularly with Diane Cummins, the Governor’s realignment lead to communicate our concerns and receive update.

What does this mean for child support? CSDA is tracking the issues that need to be addressed in order to move forward with realignment. Issues include: ■Funding: How would the Child Support Program be funded? Would it receive a share from a single pot of money? Could it rely on a stable source of funding each year? ■Automation: Who will be responsible for the governance of the system? Or the contracts? Are there potential liabilities?

What does this mean for child support? ■Operations: How will local agencies continue their efforts to work collaboratively do deliver a consistent service? Will state controlled programs (COAP) be integrated into the local agency operations, and if so, how? ■Governance/ Program Accountability: What will the level of oversight be? Who will be responsible for monitoring statewide performance? Audits? Data reliability? Will local agencies be held to program requirements that are in excess of federal requirements? ■Relationship with Courts: Will local agencies have appropriate access to their courts?

Many Challenges Remain ■Development of a revenue allocation approach (e.g. deciding how many “pots” of money there will be) ■Maximizing program flexibility ■Building in program accountability ■Achieving general consensus (close consultation with counties is critical)