BILL NUMBER: AB 667 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 2005
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Jones
FEBRUARY 17, 2005
An act to amend Section Sections 17600 and
17602 of the Family Code, relating to child support.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 667, as amended, Jones. Child support enforcement.
(1) Existing law establishes the Department of Child Support
Services to administer laws and regulations pertaining to the
administration of child support enforcement obligations. Existing law
requires each county to maintain a local child support agency.
Existing law also establishes a state child support incentive
funding program permitting a county that comes within specified
standards of performance to receive state child support incentive
funds. Each participating county is required to provide specified
county child support information to the department. The department is
required to develop regulations to ensure the uniform reporting of
this information in consultation with specified entities, including
the California Family Support Council.
This bill would revise these provisions, relating to the
department's collection of information from counties participating in
the state child support incentive program, to instead require the
submission of information by local child support agencies. The bill
would add specified performance measures and would eliminate an
exemption for a county unable to comply with a reporting requirement.
The bill would require the department to develop regulations in
consultation with the California Child Support Directors Association,
rather than the California Family Support Council, and to post
comparative data on its Web site, as specified. The bill would impose
a state-mandated local program by increasing the duties of local
child support agencies to provide information to the department. The
bill would make conforming changes.
(2) Existing law requires the Department of
Child Support Services to adopt the federal minimum standards as the
baseline standard of performance for the local child support agencies
and work in consultation with the local child support agencies to
develop program performance targets on an annual federal fiscal year
basis. In determining these performance measures, the department
is required to consider and analyze information on uncollected child
support arrearages, and use this analysis to establish program
priorities. The Director of Child Support Services is required to
adopt a 3- phase process to be used statewide when a local
child support agency is out of compliance with the
performance standards adopted by the department.
This bill instead would require the department to adopt
and achieve statewide performance standards to accomplish the goals
of continually improving program performance and maximizing federal
incentive funding on an annual federal fiscal year basis
state child support program to achieve specified performance
targets for the performance measures described in (1) above, and
would delete the requirement that the department consider and analyze
information on uncollected child support arrearages. The bill would
require the Director of Child Support Services to adopt a 2-phase
process, rather than a 3-phase, to be used statewide when a local
child support agency is out of compliance with a specified
performance standard relating to the percentage of caseload with
collections. If a local child support agency fails to
achieve performance targets or to comply with other requirements, the
department would be required to require the removal of the local
administrator or to assess a performance incentive charge against the
local child support agency, as specified .
(3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 17602 of the Family Code is amended to read:
SECTION 1. Section 17600 of the Family Code
is amended to read:
17600. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) The Legislative Analyst has found that county child support
enforcement programs provide a net increase in revenues to the state.
(2) The state has a fiscal interest in ensuring that county child
support enforcement programs perform efficiently.
(3) The state does not provide information to counties on child
support enforcement programs, based on common denominators that would
facilitate comparison of program performance.
(4) Providing this information would allow county officials to
monitor program performance and to make appropriate modifications to
improve program efficiency.
(5) This information is required for effective management of the
child support program.
(b) Except as provided in this subdivision , commencing
with the 1998-99 fiscal year, and for each fiscal year thereafter,
each county that is participating in the state incentive
program described in Section 17704 local child support
agency shall provide to the department, and the department
shall compile from this county child support information, monthly and
annually, all of the following performance-based data, as
established by the federal incentive funding system, provided that
the department may revise the data required by this paragraph in
order to conform to the final federal incentive system data
definitions:
(1) One of the following data relating to paternity establishment,
as required by the department, provided that the department shall
require all counties to report on the same measurement:
(A) The total number of children in the caseload governed by Part
D (commencing with Section 451) of Title IV of the federal Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 651 et seq.), as of the end of the
federal fiscal year, who were born to unmarried parents for whom
paternity was established or acknowledged, and the total number of
children in that caseload, as of the end of the preceding federal
fiscal year, who were born to unmarried parents.
(B) The total number of minor children who were born in the state
to unmarried parents for whom paternity was established or
acknowledged during a federal fiscal year, and the total number of
children in the state born to unmarried parents during the preceding
calendar year.
(2) The number of cases governed by Part D (commencing with
Section 451) of Title IV of the federal Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. Sec. 651 et seq.) during the federal fiscal year and the total
number of those cases with support orders.
(3) The total dollars collected during the federal fiscal year for
current support in cases governed by Part D (commencing with Section
451) of Title IV of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec.
651 et seq.) and the total number of dollars owing for current
support during that federal fiscal year in cases governed by those
provisions.
(4) The total number of cases for the federal fiscal year governed
by Part D (commencing with Section 451) of Title IV of the federal
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 651 et seq.) in which payment was
being made toward child support arrearages and the total number of
cases for that fiscal year governed by these federal provisions that
had child support arrearages.
(5) The total number of dollars collected and expended during a
federal fiscal year in cases governed by Part D (commencing with
Section 451) of Title IV of the federal Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. Sec. 651 et seq.).
(6) The total amount of child support dollars collected during a
federal fiscal year, and, if and when required by federal law, the
amount of these collections broken down by collections distributed on
behalf of current recipients of federal Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families block grant funds or federal foster care funds, on
behalf of former recipients of federal Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families block grant funds or federal foster care funds, or on
behalf of persons who have never been recipients of these federal
funds.
(c) In addition to the information required by subdivision (b),
the department shall collect, on a monthly basis, from each
county that is participating in the state incentive program described
in Section 17704 local child support agency ,
information on the local child support agency for each federal fiscal
year, and shall report semiannually on all of the following
performance measurements:
(1) The percentage of cases with collections of current support.
This percentage shall be calculated by dividing the number of cases
with an order for current support by the number of those cases with
collections of current support. The number of cases with support
collected shall include only the number of cases actually receiving a
collection, not the number of payments received. Cases with a
medical support order that do not have an order for current support
may not be counted.
(2) The average amount collected per case for all cases with
collections.
(3) The percentage of cases that had a support order established
during the period. A support order shall be counted as established
only when the appropriate court has issued an order for child
support, including an order for temporary child support, or an order
for medical support.
(4) The percentage of support orders with medical support
established and provided. This percentage shall be calculated by
dividing the number of cases with medical support orders established
and provided by the number of cases with support orders less cases
with support orders for arrears only.
(5) The percentage of complaints
requested resolved pursuant to Section 17800 within the timeframes
specified in that section. This percentage shall be calculated by
dividing the number of complaints resolved timely by the total
number of complaints.
(6) The percentage of caseload with
collections. This percentage shall be calculated by dividing the
number of cases with a child support collection by the total number
of cases less cases with only medical support orders and cases with
zero support orders.
(7) The total cost of administering the
local child support agency, including the federal, state, and county
share of the costs, and the federal and state incentives received by
each county. The total cost of administering the program shall be
broken down by the following:
(A) The direct costs of the program, broken down further by total
employee salaries and benefits, a list of the number of employees
broken down into at least the following categories: attorneys,
administrators, caseworkers, investigators, and clerical support;
contractor costs; space charges; and payments to other county
agencies. Employee salaries and numbers need only be reported in the
annual report.
(B) The indirect costs, showing all overhead charges.
(5)
(8) In addition, the local child support
agency shall report monthly on measurements developed by the
department that provide data on the following:
(A) Locating obligors.
(B) Obtaining and enforcing medical support.
(C) Providing customer service.
(D) Any other measurements
that the director determines to be an appropriate determination of a
local child support agency's performance.
(6) A county may apply for an exemption from any or all of the
reporting requirements of this subdivision for a fiscal year by
submitting an application for the exemption to the department at
least three months prior to the commencement of the fiscal year or
quarter for which the exemption is sought. A county shall provide a
separate justification for each data element under this subdivision
for which the county is seeking an exemption and the cost to the
county of providing the data. The department may not grant an
exemption for more than one year. The department may grant a single
exemption only if both of the following conditions are met:
(A) The county cannot compile the data being sought through its
existing automated system or systems.
(B) The county cannot compile the data being sought through manual
means or through an enhanced automated system or systems without
significantly harming the child support collection efforts of the
county.
(d) After implementation of the statewide automated system, in
addition to the information required by subdivision (b), the
Department of Child Support Services shall collect, on a monthly
basis, from each county that is participating in the state
incentive program described in Section 17704 local
child support agency , information on the county child
support enforcement program local child support
agency beginning with the 1998-99 fiscal year or a
later fiscal year, as appropriate , and for each subsequent
fiscal year, and shall report semiannually on all of the following
measurements:
(1) For each of the following support collection categories, the
number of cases with support collected shall include only the number
of cases actually receiving a collection, not the number of payments
received.
(A) (i) The number of cases with collections for current support.
(ii) The number of cases with arrears collections only.
(iii) The number of cases with both current support and arrears
collections.
(B) For cases with current support only due:
(i) The number of cases in which the full amount of current
support owed was collected.
(ii) The number of cases in which some amount of current support,
but less than the full amount of support owed, was collected.
(iii) The number of cases in which no amount of support owed was
collected.
(C) For cases in which arrears only were owed:
(i) The number of cases in which all arrears owed were collected.
(ii) The number of cases in which some amount of arrears, but less
than the full amount of arrears owed, were collected.
(iii) The number of cases in which no amount of arrears owed were
collected.
(D) For cases in which both current support and arrears are owed:
(i) The number of cases in which the full amount of current
support and arrears owed were collected.
(ii) The number of cases in which some amount of current support
and arrears, but less than the full amount of support owed, were
collected.
(iii) The number of cases in which no amount of support owed was
collected.
(E) The total number of cases in which an amount was due for
current support only.
(F) The total number of cases in which an amount was due for both
current support and arrears.
(G) The total number of cases in which an amount was due for
arrears only.
(H) For cases with current support due, the number of cases
without orders for medical support and the number of cases with an
order for medical support.
(2) The number of alleged fathers or obligors who were served with
a summons and complaint to establish paternity or a support order,
and the number of alleged fathers or obligors for whom it is required
that paternity or a support order be established. In order to be
counted under this paragraph, the alleged father or obligor shall be
successfully served with process. An alleged father shall be counted
under this paragraph only once if he is served with process
simultaneously for both a paternity and a support order proceeding
for the same child or children. For purposes of this paragraph, a
support order shall include a medical support order.
(3) The number of new asset seizures or successful initial
collections on a wage assignment for purposes of child support
collection. For purposes of this paragraph, a collection made on a
wage assignment shall be counted only once for each wage assignment
issued.
(4) The number of children requiring paternity establishment and
the number of children for whom paternity has been established during
the period. Paternity may only be established once for each child.
Any child for whom paternity is not at issue shall not be counted in
the number of children for whom paternity has been established. For
this purpose, paternity is not at issue if the parents were married
and neither parent challenges paternity or a voluntary paternity
declaration has been executed by the parents prior to the local child
support agency obtaining the case and neither parent challenges
paternity.
(5) The number of cases requiring that a support order be
established and the number of cases that had a support order
established during the period. A support order shall be counted as
established only when the appropriate court has issued an order for
child support, including an order for temporary child support, or an
order for medical support.
(6) The total cost of administering the local child support
agency, including the federal, state, and county share of the costs
and the federal and state incentives received by each county. The
total cost of administering the program shall be broken down by the
following:
(A) The direct costs of the program, broken down further by total
employee salaries and benefits, a list of the number of employees
broken down into at least the following categories: attorneys,
administrators, caseworkers, investigators, and clerical support;
contractor costs; space charges; and payments to other county
agencies. Employee salaries and numbers need only be reported in the
annual report.
(B) The indirect costs, showing all overhead charges.
(7) The total child support collections due, broken down by
current support, interest on arrears, and principal, and the total
child support collections that have been collected, broken down by
current support, interest on arrears, and principal.
(8) The actual case status for all cases in the county child
support enforcement program. Each case shall be reported in one case
status only. If a case falls within more than one status category, it
shall be counted in the first status category of the list set forth
below in which it qualifies. The following shall be the case status
choices:
(A) No support order, location of obligor parent required.
(B) No support order, alleged obligor parent located and paternity
required.
(C) No support order, location and paternity not at issue but
support order must be established.
(D) Support order established with current support obligation and
obligor is in compliance with support obligation.
(E) Support order established with current support obligation,
obligor is in arrears, and location of obligor is necessary.
(F) Support order established with current support obligation,
obligor is in arrears, and location of obligor's assets is necessary.
(G) Support order established with current support obligation,
obligor is in arrears, and no location of obligor or obligor's assets
is necessary.
(H) Support order established with current support obligation,
obligor is in arrears, the obligor is located, but the local child
support agency has established satisfactorily that the obligor has no
income or assets and no ability to earn.
(I) Support order established with current support obligation and
arrears, obligor is paying the current support and is paying some or
all of the interest on the arrears, but is paying no principal.
(J) Support order established for arrears only and obligor is
current in repayment obligation.
(K) Support order established for arrears only, obligor is not
current in arrears repayment schedule, and location of obligor is
required.
(L) Support order established for arrears only, obligor is not
current in arrears repayment schedule, and location of obligor's
assets is required.
(M) Support order established for arrears only, obligor is not
current in arrears repayment schedule, and no location of obligor or
obligor's assets is required.
(N) Support order established for arrears only, obligor is not
current in arrears repayment, and the obligor is located, but the
local child support agency has established satisfactorily that the
obligor has no income or assets and no ability to earn.
(O) Support order established for arrears only and obligor is
repaying some or all of the interest, but no principal.
(P) Other, if necessary, to be defined in the regulations
promulgated under subdivision (e).
(e) Upon implementation of the statewide automated system, or at
the time that the department determines that compliance with this
subdivision is possible, whichever is earlier, each county
that is participating in the state incentive program described in
Section 17704 local child support agency shall
collect and report, and the department shall compile for each
participating county local child support
agency , information on the county child support
program local child support agency in each
fiscal year, all of the following data, in a manner that facilitates
comparison of counties local child support
agencies and the entire state, except that the department may
eliminate or modify the requirement to report any data mandated to be
reported pursuant to this subdivision if the department determines
that the local child support agencies are unable to accurately
collect and report the information or that collecting and reporting
of the data by the local child support agencies will be onerous:
(1) The number of alleged obligors or fathers who receive CalWORKs
benefits, food stamp benefits, and Medi-Cal benefits.
(2) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who are in state
prison or county jail.
(3) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who do not have a
social security number.
(4) The number of obligors or alleged fathers whose address is
unknown.
(5) The number of obligors or alleged fathers whose complete name,
consisting of at least a first and last name, is not known by the
local child support agency.
(6) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who filed a tax
return with the Franchise Tax Board in the last year for which a data
match is available.
(7) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who have no income
reported to the Employment Development Department during the third
quarter of the fiscal year.
(8) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who have income
between one dollar ($1) and five hundred dollars ($500) reported to
the Employment Development Department during the third quarter of the
fiscal year.
(9) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who have income
between five hundred one dollars ($501) and one thousand five hundred
dollars ($1,500) reported to the Employment Development Department
during the third quarter of the fiscal year.
(10) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who have income
between one thousand five hundred one dollars ($1,501) and two
thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) reported to the Employment
Development Department during the third quarter of the fiscal year.
(11) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who have income
between two thousand five hundred one dollars ($2,501) and three
thousand five hundred dollars ($3,500) reported to the Employment
Development Department during the third quarter of the fiscal year.
(12) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who have income
between three thousand five hundred one dollars ($3,501) and four
thousand five hundred dollars ($4,500) reported to the Employment
Development Department during the third quarter of the fiscal year.
(13) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who have income
between four thousand five hundred one dollars ($4,501) and five
thousand five hundred dollars ($5,500) reported to the Employment
Development Department during the third quarter of the fiscal year.
(14) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who have income
between five thousand five hundred one dollars ($5,501) and six
thousand five hundred dollars ($6,500) reported to the Employment
Development Department during the third quarter of the fiscal year.
(15) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who have income
between six thousand five hundred one dollars ($6,501) and seven
thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500) reported to the Employment
Development Department during the third quarter of the fiscal year.
(16) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who have income
between seven thousand five hundred one dollars ($7,501) and nine
thousand dollars ($9,000) reported to the Employment Development
Department during the third quarter of the fiscal year.
(17) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who have income
exceeding nine thousand dollars ($9,000) reported to the Employment
Development Department during the third quarter of the fiscal year.
(18) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who have two or
more employers reporting earned income to the Employment Development
Department during the third quarter of the fiscal year.
(19) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who receive
unemployment benefits during the third quarter of the fiscal year.
(20) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who receive state
disability benefits during the third quarter of the fiscal year.
(21) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who receive workers'
compensation benefits during the third quarter of the fiscal year.
(22) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who receive Social
Security Disability Insurance benefits during the third quarter of
the fiscal year.
(23) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who receive
Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Program for the
Aged, Blind and Disabled benefits during the third quarter of the
fiscal year.
(f) The department, in consultation with the Legislative Analyst's
Office, the Judicial Council, the California Family Support
Council Child Support Directors Association ,
and child support advocates, shall develop regulations to ensure that
all local child support agencies report the data required by this
section uniformly and consistently throughout California.
(g) For each federal fiscal year, the department shall provide the
information for all participating counties
local child support agencies to each member of a county board
of supervisors, county executive officer, local child support agency,
and the appropriate policy committees and fiscal committees of the
Legislature on or before June 30, of each fiscal year. The department
shall provide data semiannually, based on the federal fiscal year,
on or before December 31, of each year. The department shall present
the information in a manner that facilitates comparison of
county local child suppor t agency
performance and demonstrates whether the state and each local
child support agency achieved the performance targets for each
performance measure, as set forth in Section 17602, and if
performance targets were not achieved, by what percentage the targets
were not achieved. The department shall post on its Web site all
data required pursuant to this subdivision, including comparative
national data, and shall require each local child support agency to
post on its Web site all local child support agency data specific to
the local child support agency, including state and national
comparative data .
(h) For purposes of this section, "case" means a noncustodial
parent, whether mother, father, or putative father, who is, or
eventually may be, obligated under law for support of a child or
children. For purposes of this definition, a noncustodial parent
shall be counted once for each family that has a dependent child he
or she may be obligated to support.
(i) This section shall be operative only for as long as Section
17704 requires participating counties to report data to the
department.
SEC. 2. Section 17602 of the Family Code
is amended to read:
17602. (a) The department shall adopt the federal
minimum standards as the baseline standard of performance for the
local child support agencies and work in consultation with the local
child support agencies to develop program performance targets on an
annual federal fiscal year basis. The performance measures shall
include, at a minimum, the federal performance measures and the state
performance measures, as described in subdivision (c) of Section
17600. The state child support program shall achieve
the following performance targets for the performance measures set
forth in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), and (5) of subdivision (b) of
Section 17600:
(1) If the performance in a given performance measure in the
preceding federal fiscal year is equal to or above the national
average of that year for that measure, excluding California, the
performance target shall be the actual performance in the preceding
federal fiscal year plus 2 percent, until performance reaches either
of the following:
(A) Eighty percent for the performance
measures set forth in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) of
subdivision (b) of Section 17600, in which case the performance
target shall be 80 percent.
(B) Five dollars ($5) for the performance measure set forth in
paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) of Section 17600, in which case the
performance target shall be five dollars ($5).
(2) If the performance in a given performance measure in the
preceding federal fiscal year is less than the national average for
that measure, excluding California, the performance target shall be
the actual performance in the preceding year plus 5 percent.
(b) For the performance measure set forth in paragraph (4) of
subdivision (c) of Section 17600, the state child support program
shall achieve a performance target of the actual performance for the
prior federal fiscal year plus 5 percent until the state has achieved
a performance target of 50 percent, at which time the performance
target shall be the
actual performance from the prior federal fiscal year plus 2 percent
or 80 percent, whichever is less.
(c) For the performance measure set forth in paragraph (5) of
subdivision (c) of Section 17600, the state child support program
shall achieve a performance target of the actual performance the
prior federal fiscal year plus 5 percent until the state has achieved
a performance target of 90 percent, at which time the performance
target shall be the actual performance from the prior federal fiscal
year plus 2 percent or 98 percent, whichever is less.
(d) For the performance measure set forth in paragraph (6) of
subdivision (c) of Section 17600, the state child support program
shall achieve a performance target of the actual performance for the
prior federal fiscal year plus 5 percent until the state has achieved
a performance target of 60 percent, at which time the performance
target shall be the actual performance from the prior federal fiscal
year plus 2 percent or 80 percent, whichever is less.
(e) In order to achieve the state
performance targets set forth in subdivisions (a), (b), (c), and (d),
the department shall, in consultation with the local child support
agencies, develop annual performance targets for each
local child support agency that will cumulatively total the state
performance target. The program performance targets shall
represent ongoing improvement in the performance measures for each
local child support agency, as well as the department's statewide
performance level.
(b) In determining the performance measures in subdivision (a),
the department shall consider the total amount of uncollected child
support arrearages that are realistically collectible. The director
shall analyze, in consultation with local child support agencies and
child support advocates, the current amount of uncollected child
support arrearages statewide and in each county to determine the
amount of child support that may realistically be collected. The
director shall consider, in conducting the analysis, factors that may
influence collections, including demographic factors such as welfare
caseload, levels of poverty and unemployment, rates of incarceration
of obligors, and age of delinquencies. The director shall use this
analysis to establish program priorities as provided in paragraph (7)
of subdivision (b) of Section 17306.
(c)
(f) The department shall use the performance-based
data, and the criteria for that data, as set forth in Section 17600
to determine a local child support agency's performance measures for
the quarter federal fiscal year .
(d)
(g) The director shall adopt a three
two phase process to be used statewide when a local child
support agency is out of compliance with the performance standards
adopted pursuant to subdivision (a) (d)
, or the director determines that the local child support agency is
failing in a substantial manner to comply with any provision of the
state plan, the provisions of this code, the requirements of federal
law, the regulations of the department, or the cooperative agreement.
The director shall adopt policies as to the implementation of each
phase, including requirements for measurement of progress and
improvement which shall be met as part of the performance improvement
plan specified in paragraphs (1) and (2)
paragraph (1) , in order to avoid implementation of the
next second phase of compliance.
The director shall not implement any of these phases until
July 1, 2001, or until six months after a local child support agency
has completed its transition from the office of the district attorney
to the new county department of child support services, whichever is
later. The phases shall include the following:
(1) Phase I: Development and implementation of a
performance improvement plan that is prepared jointly by the local
child support agency and the department, subject to the department's
final approval , and assessment of performance penalty .
The
(A) Development of the plan shall include onsite investigation and
evaluation. In preparing and implementing the performance
improvement plan, the director may appoint program monitoring teams
to make site visits, conduct educational and training sessions, and
help the local child support agency in identifying and correcting
performance deficits.
(B) After the local child support agency has been in Phase I for a
year, and annually thereafter as long as the local child support
agency remains in Phase I, the department shall assess whether the
local child support agency is failing in a substantial manner to
achieve performance targets or is failing to comply with the state
plan, this code, federal law, the regulations of the department, or
the plan of cooperation. If the department determines that the local
child support agency is failing to achieve performance targets or
failing to comply with any of the requirements specified in this
section, then, notwithstanding subdivision (f) of Section 17304 or
Section 25300 of the Government Code, the department shall do either
of the following:
(i) Require the removal of the local administrator and require the
board of supervisors, or in the case of a city and county, the
mayor, in consultation with the department, to select a replacement
administrator.
(ii) Assess a performance incentive charge against the local child
support agency that is equivalent to the federal incentive funding
lost as a result of the local child support agency's failure to meet
its performance targets and the matching federal funding lost as a
result of the lost federal incentive funding, which shall be withheld
by the department from the local child support agency's annual local
allocation.
(C) Any performance incentive charge assessed pursuant to clause
(ii) of subparagraph (B) shall be held in abeyance provided that an
amount equal to the performance incentive charge is reinvested in the
local child support program in the areas where the local child
support agency failed to achieve performance targets or program
compliance and the local child support agency is making sufficient
progress in achieving its performance targets. If the department
determines that the local child support agency has failed to reinvest
the performance incentive charge, the performance incentive charge
shall be paid by withholding the amount of the performance incentive
charge from the next scheduled payment to the local child support
agency. If, after one year of reinvestment, the department determines
that the local child support agency has failed to make sufficient
progress in achieving its performance targets, the performance
incentive charge for the prior year shall be waived, but the
performance incentive charge for all subsequent years shall be
withheld from payments to the local child support agency until the
local child support agency achieves its performance targets. Any
performance incentive charge payments withheld from a local child
support agency shall be allocated as part of the local allocation to
other local child support agencies in a way that maximizes state
performance on measures pursuant to this section, as determined by
the department.
(D) The plan shall last, at
the discretion of the department, for at least two years,
but no more than four years, and shall provide performance
expectations and goals for achieving compliance with the
performance targets, the state plan , and other
state and federal laws and regulations that must be reviewed and
assessed within specific timeframes in order to avoid execution of
Phase II.
(2) Phase II: Onsite investigation, evaluation and
oversight of the local child support agency by the department. The
director shall appoint program monitoring teams to make site visits,
conduct educational and training sessions, and help the local child
support agency identify and attack problem areas. The program
monitoring teams shall evaluate all aspects of the functions and
performance of the local child support agency, including compliance
with state and federal laws and regulations. Based on these
investigations and evaluations, the program monitoring team shall
develop a final performance improvement plan and shall oversee
implementation of all recommendations made in the plan. The local
child support agency shall adhere to all recommendations made by the
program monitoring team. The plan shall provide performance
expectations and compliance goals that must be reviewed and assessed
within specific timeframes in order to avoid execution of Phase III.
(3) Phase III:
The director shall assume, either directly or through
agreement with another entity, responsibility for the management of
the child and spousal support enforcement program in the county until
the local child support agency provides reasonable assurances to the
director of its intention and ability to comply. During the period
of state management responsibility, the director or his or her
authorized representative shall have all of the powers and
responsibilities of the local child support agency concerning the
administration of the program. The local child support agency shall
be responsible for providing any funds as may be necessary for the
continued operation of the program. If the local child support agency
fails or refuses to provide these funds, including a sufficient
amount to reimburse any and all costs incurred by the department in
managing the program, the Controller may deduct an amount certified
by the director as necessary for the continued operation of the
program by the department from any state or federal funds payable to
the county for any purpose.
(e)
(h) The department shall modify the performance improvement plan
to comply with subdivision (g) for any local child support agency
that has been notified before January 1, 2006, that it must submit a
performance improvement plan.
(i) The director shall report in writing to the
Legislature semiannually, beginning July 1, 2001, on the status of
the state child support enforcement program. The director shall
submit data semiannually to the Legislature, the Governor, and the
public, on the progress of all local child support agencies in each
performance measure, including identification of the local child
support agencies that are out of compliance, the performance
measures that they have failed to satisfy failed to
achieve their performance targets, the percent by which they failed
to achieve those measures , and the performance improvement
plan that is being taken for each.
SEC. 3. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2
of the Government Code.
17602. (a) The department shall adopt and achieve statewide
performance standards to accomplish the goals of continually
improving program performance and maximizing federal incentive
funding on an annual federal fiscal year basis. The performance
measures shall include, at a minimum, the federal performance
measures and the state performance measures, as described in
subdivision (c) of Section 17600. The program performance targets
shall represent ongoing improvement in the performance measures for
each local child support agency, as well as the department's
statewide performance level.
(b) In determining the performance measures in subdivision (a),
the department shall consider the total amount of uncollected child
support arrearages that are realistically collectible. The director
shall analyze, in consultation with local child support agencies and
child support advocates, the current amount of uncollected child
support arrearages statewide and in each county to determine the
amount of child support that may realistically be collected. The
director shall consider, in conducting the analysis, factors that may
influence collections, including demographic factors such as welfare
caseload, levels of poverty and unemployment, rates of incarceration
of obligors, and age of delinquencies. The director shall use this
analysis to establish program priorities as provided in paragraph (7)
of subdivision (b) of Section 17306.
(c) The department shall use the performance-based data, and the
criteria for that data, as set forth in Section 17600 to determine a
local child support agency's performance measures for the quarter.
(d) The director shall adopt a three phase process to be used
statewide when a local child support agency is out of compliance with
the performance standards adopted pursuant to subdivision (a), or
the director determines that the local child support agency is
failing in a substantial manner to comply with any provision of the
state plan, the provisions of this code, the requirements of federal
law, the regulations of the department, or the cooperative agreement.
The director shall adopt policies as to the implementation of each
phase, including requirements for measurement of progress and
improvement which shall be met as part of the performance improvement
plan specified in paragraphs (1) and (2), in order to avoid
implementation of the next phase of compliance. The director shall
not implement any of these phases until July 1, 2001, or until six
months after a local child support agency has completed its
transition from the office of the district attorney to the new county
department of child support services, whichever is later. The phases
shall include the following:
(1) Phase I: Development of a performance improvement plan that is
prepared jointly by the local child support agency and the
department, subject to the department's final approval. The plan
shall provide performance expectations and goals for achieving
compliance with the state plan and other state and federal laws and
regulations that must be reviewed and assessed within specific
timeframes in order to avoid execution of Phase II.
(2) Phase II: Onsite investigation, evaluation and oversight of
the local child support agency by the department. The director shall
appoint program monitoring teams to make site visits, conduct
educational and training sessions, and help the local child support
agency identify and attack problem areas. The program monitoring
teams shall evaluate all aspects of the functions and performance of
the local child support agency, including compliance with state and
federal laws and regulations. Based on these investigations and
evaluations, the program monitoring team shall develop a final
performance improvement plan and shall oversee implementation of all
recommendations made in the plan. The local child support agency
shall adhere to all recommendations made by the program monitoring
team. The plan shall provide performance expectations and compliance
goals that must be reviewed and assessed within specific timeframes
in order to avoid execution of Phase III.
(3) Phase III: The director shall assume, either directly or
through agreement with another entity, responsibility for the
management of the child and spousal support enforcement program in
the county until the local child support agency provides reasonable
assurances to the director of its intention and ability to comply.
During the period of state management responsibility, the director or
his or her authorized representative shall have all of the powers
and responsibilities of the local child support agency concerning the
administration of the program. The local child support agency shall
be responsible for providing any funds as may be necessary for the
continued operation of the program. If the local child support agency
fails or refuses to provide these funds, including a sufficient
amount to reimburse any and all costs incurred by the department in
managing the program, the Controller may deduct an amount certified
by the director as necessary for the continued operation of the
program by the department from any state or federal funds payable to
the county for any purpose.
(e) The director shall report in writing to the Legislature
semiannually, beginning July 1, 2001, on the status of the state
child support enforcement program. The director shall submit data
semiannually to the Legislature, the Governor, and the public, on the
progress of all local child support agencies in each performance
measure, including identification of the local child support agencies
that are out of compliance, the performance measures that they have
failed to satisfy, and the performance improvement plan that is being
taken for each.