Lauren Johnson, Policy Coordinator
Emily Gregg, Policy Supervisor
Robert Duck, Fiscal Manager
Types of Child Support Cases
Four Different Types of Child Support Cases
Cases being established,
enforced and/or modified by
the Tennessee Child Support
Program
Cases where the custodial
parent is receiving public
assistance from the state
Both ran by DHS
“IV-D”
“IV-A”
“IV-E”
“Non IV-D”
Where child is being cared for by
someone other than a parent, like
a relative or the foster care
system
child support maintained
privately, such as following a
divorce
The Title IV-D
Child Support Program
A national program authorized and defined by federal statute
A federal, state, tribal, and local partnership to assist families
with self-sufficiency
A program administered in Tennessee by the Department of
Human Services
IV-D Child Support in Tennessee
What We Do
Establishing paternity
Collecting & distributing
child support payments
Child support locates
the non-custodial
parent for the
purposes of…
Enforcing child support
orders
Establishing child
support orders
Figures From Across our Great Nation
• 14.4 million custodial parents
–
–
–
–
–
82% Women
79% Are 30 years old or older
68% White
25% Black
21% Hispanic
• 15.8 million child support cases
• $33.6 billion collected in support according to the FY2013 Office of
Child Support Enforcement
• $32 billion collected in support
(74% [$22.2 billion] collected through Income Withholding Orders)
Did You Know..
Tennessee Child Support
Performance Measures
• Paternity Establishment Percentage (PEP)
• Percentage of Cases with Orders
• Collection Rate for Current Support
• Percentage of IV-D Cases with Collection on Arrears
• Cost-Effectiveness
Tennessee IV-D Child Support
Performance Trends
Federal Fiscal Year FFY 2008 – FFY 2013
100%
$620,000,000
1.69%
95%
$600,000,000
90%
5.90%
85%
Paternity
Establishment
Percentage
(Statewide)
$580,000,000
Percentage of Cases
with Orders
$560,000,000
IV-D Collection Rate
for Current Support
80%
3.65%
75%
0.28%
70%
65%
60%
$540,000,000
Percentage of IV-D
Cases with
Collections on
Arrears
$520,000,000
Total Collections
55%
50%
$500,000,000
FFY2008
FFY2009
FFY2010
FFY2011
FFY2012
FFY2013
P
Tennessee Child Support Payments
• The Tennessee State Distribution Unit processes over
$1.6 million in child support payments every day
• Child Support Collections Last year (SFY)
$611 million
• $590 million went directly into the hands of families
Jud
Judicial District 30 Caseload Size Comparison
Over 20% of all cases with court
orders are in Memphis
105,198
26%
296,457
74%
Memphis Caseload (as of 10/5/13)
All Other JD's Combined
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How Employers Help Our Efforts:
Employer Responsibilities
 Report new hires to the State within 20 days through
https://www.tnnewhire.com/
 Enroll children in health care coverage when ordered
(withholding limits apply)
 Income Withholding Order (IWOs)
• Know them, accept them, love them:
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/ocse/omb_0970_0154.pdf
• Only the clerk of the court & DHS child support/contractors have authority to
issue IWOs (T.C.A. 36-5-501 et seq.)
• Federal law requires the use of the IWO form in all child support cases
 Remit payment within seven (7) days of the date the employee is paid
 Notify child support services regarding lump sum payments
 Report the termination of an employee to child support services
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New Hire Reporting: Why Its Important
 State matches the new hire data to child support obligations
and issues Income Withholding Orders to employers
 Prompt reporting helps to detect and prevent public
assistance, food stamps and unemployment and workers’
compensation fraud by matches to these databases.
 Other states can also conduct matches through the National
Directory of New Hires to prevent public assistance fraud
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New Hire Reporting
New Hire Reporting: Helpful Hints
 Report new hires with the same FEIN (Federal Tax ID Number) that
you use to report each New Hire's Quarterly Wage information.
 Including a contact person & phone number is optional but
extremely helpful. This information will be used in case the new
hire's information is missing or illegible.
 Hand written report are are often difficult to read & can increase
data entry errors. Please use black ink & legible handwriting
 New Hire encourages you to type the information and use size 12
font when possible!
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New Hire Reporting: Where to Report
 Internet: www.tnnewhire.com; register your company and report
on-line or via a file upload
 Mail: (for diskettes, magnetic tapes and cartridges, W-4's, lists and
State Reporting form)
– Tennessee New Hire Reporting
PO Box 17367
Nashville, TN 37217
 Fax: (for W-4's, lists, and State Reporting form) 1-877-505-4761
Questions/Problems: Contact MAXIMUS New Hire at
(615) 726-5200 or online
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Income Withholding Is Challenging!
• Knowing which state laws, rules, regulations to apply is
difficult for employers
• Employers know that they can be liable if garnishment is
processed incorrectly
• Some states require separate payments and methods of
payment for fees and/or non-IV-D payments, causing
additional administrative expenses for employers.
• In some states not all payments are directed to the SDU.
Income Withholding Order
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Income Withholding Order
Continued..
 Page 2 of IWO
• Signature Required
 Who can issue IWOs in Tennessee?
 Who cannot?
 Use ‘Return to Sender’ box if form is incorrect in any way
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Changes to IWO
• Increased font size for improved readability
• State may change the font size if they wish
• Result of the changes is a 4-page document instead of 3 pages
• Added language in REMITTANCE INFORMATION section about
finding withholding limits for non-employees in Supplemental
Information
• Next steps
– IWO form and instructions will be approved by OMB
– OCSE will send an Action Transmittal to states
– OCSE will inform employers and the state courts
Where we are going
 Making IWO compliance easier—
 New Tennessee Child Support Employer Line
• (800) 446-0814 or by email at Childsupport.Empdmaint.DHS@tn.gov
• Can assist with questions about proration, IWO issues, etc.
• http://www.tn.gov/humanserv/cs/cs_main.html
 Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Payments
 Employer Outreach efforts
•
•
•
•
Tennessee employers
Payroll companies
Groups/Associations
Online employer support
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Making Your Life Easier: e-IWO
• States, tribes, territories send income withholding orders (IWOs)
electronically & employers accept & process them electronically
• Paperless!
• Most states are already using e-IWO
• 400+ companies/organizations on e-IWO
• Three (3) different options for e-IWO
depending on your company needs
Companies on
e-IWO…
•
•
•
•
ADP Payroll
Solutions
Walmart
JC Penny
FedEx
And MANY, MANY
MORE!
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E-IWO States Map
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1.) OCSE pulls eE-IWO States IWOs from the states
2.) OCSE separates the
e-IWOs and groups them by
employers
6.) Acknowledged
e-IWOs are then sent
back to each state
e-IWO Process
5.) OCSE then groups
the acknowledged
e-IWOs by state
3.) OCSE sends e-IWOs
(or Acknowledgment
PDFs or XLS) to
employer securely via
the internet
4.) Employer (accepts or
rejects) e-IWOs then
sends acknowledgements
to OCSE
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Want more information? Sign-up to attend a free webinar on e-IWO!
Bonus and Lump Sum Payments
Bonus and lump sum payments made to employees are
considered income and may be garnished to collect past-due
child support.
Examples include:
Severance
Vacation payouts
Insurance settlements
Retirement incentives
Commissions
Stock Options
Lottery Winnings
Awards
Payments as a result of
verdicts
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Debt Inquiry Service (DIS)
 Provides employers ability to report bonus, lump sum or other type of
payout online using web application
 Allows employers to upload a file or enter information on DIS application
about employees who are eligible for lump sum type of payment
 OCSE compares info to its debtor file (non-custodial parents who owe
past-due support) then returns matched to appropriate state child support
agency
 Through our partnership with employers, the Debt Inquiry Service makes a
significant difference in the lives of millions of children.
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States Participating in DIS
*As of July 16, 2013
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How Employers Can Participate in DIS
• Complete registration form
o Can be found at:
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/ocse/debt_inquiry_profile_
form.pdf
o Or we can email you the form
• Send to:
Cindy Holdren
Employer Services Team
Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement
cynthia.holdren@acf.hhs.gov
Phone: (240) 676-2808
Fax: (757) 257-4439
• Ms. Holdren can also answer any questions you may have
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Tennessee State Disbursement Unit
 Located in Nashville, Tennessee
 Operated by our private contractor, Systems and Methods Inc.
(SMI)
 Currently average 375,500 payments processed per month
 Total collections for the Tennessee Child Support were
$611,865,498 for Federal Fiscal Year 2013
Customer service line for child support custodial and non-custodial
parents: (800) 838-6911 or (615) 253-4394
Email contacts: tnccu@smimail.net or Childsupport.Fiscalservices.DHS@tn.gov
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Payment Options
1. Check or money order mailed to the following address:
Tennessee State Disbursement Unit
PO Box 305200
Nashville, Tennessee 37229
2. Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) via Automated Clearing House (ACH)
3. Web pay through the child support website
4. Credit card payments for registered users
We encourage all our partners to make the switch to EFT or Web pay!
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Benefits of EFT and Web Pay
• Increased accuracy – fewer misapplied or misidentified payments,
fewer complaints and phone calls
• Faster – families receive payments sooner
• Increased reliability – scheduled payments are not lost or delayed
• Reduced costs – no postage, flat fee or no fee
• Reduced paperwork – no paper checks, envelopes, or turnaround
documents needed
• Reduced opportunity for theft and fraud
• Saves the State and taxpayers money
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Web Pay VS EFT
Web Pay
EFT
 Web Pay (or ACH Debit) is where
an employer authorizes the State
Disbursement Unit to draft their
bank account for IWO payments
 EFT/EDI (ACH Credit) is the
process of sending child support
payments electronically through
the ACH network.
 We will then draft your bank
account on the date you
scheduled the payment
 Offers alternative to preparing
checks & remittance documents
 Similar to bill pay through your
bank
 Your bank will draft your account
for the appropriate amount and
transmit the payment to the
Centralized Collections Unit
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How to Use Web Pay
• Can be accessed from our website:
https://tn.smartchildsupport.com/
• Select the ACH/Debit option and follow instructions
Select payment method
EFT/EDI
ACH Debit / Credit Card
Download Remittance Document
This Web Site Does Not Accept Payments Drawn On A Foreign Bank Account
• Good option for smaller employers
• Capable of both one time payments and recurring payments
• Similar to paying bills online with your bank
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Overview: How to Enroll in EFT
• Tennessee Child Support can accept EFT payments through the
Automated Clearing House banking network using NACHA CCD+ or
CTX format
• Visit our website at https://tn.smartchildsupport.com
• Four easy steps to implementing EFT/EDI for child support
withholdings:
Register for
an account if
you are a new
user or login
on if existing
user
Reconcile
Employee data
through site
Have EFT/EDI
file created by
another entity
or have your
EFT/EDI file
created by our
website
Transmit
payment
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1. Register for an Account
• Key at least the first three letters of the employer and click
Search
• Choose the appropriate employer name
• If the appropriate employer is not listed, click Previous and
key different information in for search criteria
• If the employer is not on our child support system
(TCSES),click on Create Employer Record
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2. Reconciliation

If uploading employee information for EFT/ EDI (ACH credit), select Upload
Reconciliation Spreadsheet
 If uploading employee information for ACH debit, click Schedule New
Payment from the Select an Option page
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3. Coordinate with Your Financial Institution
If reconciling information for ACH debit, click Continue to provide bank
account information.
If reconciling information for EFT/ EDI, the Reconcile Employee
Information page is displayed with the client’s bank account information .
 The employer needs to work with their payroll company or data processing
department and their bank to generate and transmit a file that includes the
withholdings from their employees’ pay along with posting information.
*Note: If the employer does not have access to Microsoft Excel, they can
manually enter employee information.
4. Transmit Payment!
 Financial Institution makes payment
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Live Chat Available Online
CONTACT US
Contact Information
Child Support Customer Service
Voice: 615-253-4394 (local) or 800-838-6911
E-mail (for web payment inquiries only): tnccu@smimail.net
Home | Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Security | FAQs
Please read our Terms and Conditions and our Web Accessibility
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EFT & Web Pay: User Friendly
• Once the account is created & banking information put in, you
can:
 Schedule a New Payment
 Cancel a Scheduled Payment
 Edit Bank Account Info
 View Online Payment History
 Choose payment frequency and start date
 Update Contact Info
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Best Practices
 When sending paper checks, only submit identifying information in
one place
 We must process payments within two (2) business days per
Federal law, therefore, we cannot hold payments
 Always try to send payments according to the IWO
 Please do not reverse EFT payments or stop payment on checks
without first contacting us
 Problems: Call us as soon as possible
We will work with you to find a solution
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