Audit of Division of Child Support Enforcement Transition to the Family Support Payment Center

AUDIT OF DIVISION OF CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT TRANSITION TO THE FAMILY SUPPORT PAYMENT CENTER From The Office Of State Auditor Claire McCaskill Action is needed to notify parents that the child support process changed and that some payments may be delayed or different than expected. Report No. 2001-91 September 22, 2001 www.auditor.state.mo.us PERFORMANCE AUDIT Office of September 2001Missouri State Auditor www.auditor.state.mo.us Claire McCaskill New child support distribution plan could mean delayed checks and confused recipients As of July 2001, child support checks are distributed through a centralized state payment center, rather than through circuit court clerks across the state. This audit examined the transition to the new system and found state officials did not ensure that all affected parents were properly notified of the change or that their child support payments may be late or for less amounts. Wrong addresses on one-third of notification letters More than 60,000 notices sent in May 2001 about the redirected child support payments did not reach parents due to incorrect addresses. These returned letters prompted auditors to notify the Division of Child Support Enforcement and the State Court’s Administrator to take immediate action. In response, the State Court’s Administrator received new or corrected addresses for ...