WISCONSIN/ILLINOIS AND INDIANA SHARING AND CARING FOR OUR CHILDREN’S FUTURE ~WISCONSIN/ILLINOIS/INDIANA BORDER PROJECT~

WHY DO WE NEED A BORDER PROJECT? Urban border counties experience a high rate of participant movement between their states Many times participants have received duplicate services in multiple states Mobility between Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin is easy and convenient WI IL IN

Six Primary Reasons Why Interstate Cases Are The Most Difficult To Work Financial accounting differences It is difficult to find someone to “talk to” in the other state Obtaining another state’s order or payment records could take months Transmittals may contain incorrect information Many case workers are intimidated by UIFSA Some of our judiciary do not understand UIFSA therefore cases being heard in court go unresolved

TAKING THE “BULL BY THE HORNS” A HISTORY OF THE WISCONSIN/ILLINOIS/INDIANA BORDER PROJECT 2004 A series of teleconferences and meetings began between Wisconsin and Illinois to improve communications 2005 Child Support caseworkers from Wisconsin and Illinois participated in worker exchange days Wisconsin Child Support representatives attended Illinois’ Regional meeting to exchange program information The Border Project meetings expanded to include Illinois State’s Attorneys, Clerk of Courts, supervisors and administrators Border Project team members presented information at the 2005 Wisconsin Child Support Conference

CONTINUED 2006 Wisconsin caseworkers visited Illinois’ Child Support Agency Wisconsin caseworkers observed child support hearings at Family Court in Illinois Wisconsin Border Project members participated in a panel discussion at the 2006 Illinois Family Support Conference Selected Wisconsin and Illinois caseworkers were permitted query access to each other’s child support state systems

2007 LAKE COUNTY INDIANA JOINS FORCES WITH WISCONSIN AND ILLINOIS You are here

CONTINUED… Representatives from Lake County, Indiana began participating in Border Project events Lake County, Indiana, Wisconsin and Illinois share internal contact information OCSE, Region 5 attend the Border Project Conference in Kenosha Wisconsin and Illinois created a website and went on-line

Available to both the Public and Child Support professionals Features: locate links, other agency reference links, FAQ’s and forms

ACCESS TO THE ILLINOIS SYSTEM CHANGED “HOW WE DO BUSINESS” Intake of new cases~ If any of the parties are former Illinois residents we check their systems for various information Children born in Illinois - non marital cases~ We provide the customers with Illinois Acknowledgment Forms, assist in their completion and mail them to Illinois Vital Records Court hearing preparation~ If additional information is required, we query the Illinois KIDS system and/or contact someone from our list Customer service~ We query the Illinois system or contact someone from our list when a rapid response is necessary Financial~ Knowledge of and inquiry to the Illinois KIDS system allows us to update our financial balances as needed

SHARED SYSTEM BENEFITS  Cost savings through the use of automation  No need for co-location of staff  Immediate system access, saves staff time and money  Rapid response – generates increased child support collections  Automation allows for a more uniform and timely response

COMMUNCATION BETWEEN INDIANA & KENOSHA COUNTY HAS IMPROVED TREMENDOUSLY We share addresses and direct phone numbers When we need assistance with a shared case, the “help” is only a click or ring away We have a better understanding of each other’s processes

RESULTS Expedited case assessment Quicker receipt of court orders Timelines improved Improved financial record keeping Better locates Effective prosecution of cases More cases worked “long arm” More families served More court orders and paternity adjudications Increased collections

5 th Annual Border Project Conference Our 5 th annual Border Project Conference will be held in Kenosha, Wisconsin on June 24 th, 2011 There is no cost for our one day conference You are all invited to attend

National Child Support Communication Forum Members of our Forum represent child support professionals from 36 states and 2 Countries We have over 360 members We are dedicated to the improvement of interstate communication

Available to all CS Professionals This is an exciting venture By your participation, you, as a member, agree to be available to other members of this forum who may ask for your assistance after standard methods of communication fail We’ve enhanced our forum to include a web site “blog” open to all Forum members

freeforums.org Web based site for discussions, ideas and information sharing Only open to members of the Communication Forum Let’s communicate-no matter where we are!

When we are WI-IL-IN There is a Way!