Chair of the APA Government Relations Task Force Subcommittee on Child Support Corri Flores and APA Government Relations Director Alice Jacobsohn, Esq., participated in the annual conference of the National Council of Child Support Directors (NCCSD) in Medora, N.D., in July. Their talk on payroll perspectives brought attention to the need for improved electronic communication.
Highlights From the Talk
Digital operations allow for greater exchange of information among child support managers. The federal Office of Child Support Enforcement’s (OCSE) electronic income withholding order (e-IWO) has been a valuable efficiency; however, even with a federal employer identification number established to receive e-IWOs, employers continue to receive paper orders.
OCSE enhanced its electronic systems in summer 2020 to provide match/no match information for lump-sum payments. However, communication back from the states was not part of the enhancement. OCSE is now updating its Child Support Portal to facilitate secure message and document exchange between employers and child support agencies with its new Communication Center. The center will reduce the need to set up secure email accounts with child support agencies and streamline communication.
Learn About Communication Center During Webinar
On September 16, OCSE’s Employer Services Team will present an APA webinar to discuss the agency’s new Communication Center. In the “Coming Soon: Secure Communication With Child Support Agencies” webinar, attendees will learn: about the enhancements planned for OCSE’s Child Support Portal; how to register for the new Communication Center; how to send secure messages and exchange documents with child support agencies; and which communication types correspond to attendees’ areas of responsibility.
Register here for the APA webinar (free to members) on September 16 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. EDT. Attendees can earn 1 RCH, 0.10 CEU, or 1.0 CPE credit for attending.
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Mike Linehan is the Assistant Manager of Government Relations for the APA.
