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91_SR0204
SDS/91Asjr0001/NOdo
1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The federal Personal Responsibility and Work
3 Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PL 104-109), commonly
4 known as welfare reform, mandated all states to provide
5 employers with one centralized address for the processing of
6 income withholdings for child support orders; and
7 WHEREAS, PL 104-109 requires payments for IV-D (where a
8 custodial parent has applied for or is currently receiving
9 child support enforcement through the Illinois Department of
10 Public Aid Division of Child Support Enforcement) and all
11 non-IV cases with income withholding orders entered or
12 modified after January 1, 1994, be sent to a centralized
13 location; and
14 WHEREAS, To comply with PL 104-109 the Governor signed SB
15 1063/PA 91-212 which creates the Child Support State
16 Disbursement Unit (SDU) and centralizes the collection of
17 child support payments through one agency rather than through
18 102 separate Circuit Clerk Offices Statewide; and
19 WHEREAS, The Child Support State Disbursement Unit model
20 was developed through extensive negotiations with the
21 Illinois Association of Circuit Clerks which selected the
22 DuPage County Circuit Clerk's Office as the entity to operate
23 the Unit; and
24 WHEREAS, The DuPage County Circuit Clerk's Office
25 received a State contract for $6.7 million from the Illinois
26 Department of Public Aid for equipment, software, and
27 operation expenses to process an estimated 750,000 child
28 support payments per year; and
29 WHEREAS, The Child Support State Disbursement Unit tested
30 the new child support system by running child support checks
31 from DuPage County only; and
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1 WHEREAS, There have been numerous complaints Statewide
2 concerning the untimely processing of child support payments
3 by the Child Support State Disbursement Unit; and
4 WHEREAS, The untimely handling of child support payments
5 by the Illinois Department of Public Aid's Child Support
6 State Disbursement Unit has caused severe hardships for
7 children and their families across the State of Illinois;
8 therefore be it
9 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIRST GENERAL
10 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, That the Illinois Auditor
11 General is directed to conduct a management audit for the
12 Illinois Department of Public Aid's Child Support State
13 Disbursement Unit to determine whether the Department took
14 the necessary actions to implement SB 1063/PA 91-212 in a
15 timely and professional manner; and be it further
16 RESOLVED, That this audit shall include, but not be
17 limited to, an examination of the following: Whether the
18 Department of Public Aid and those charged with implementing
19 the Child Support State Disbursement Unit conducted
20 sufficient testing to discover before hand the numerous
21 processing problems that now plague the system; Whether the
22 Circuit Clerks were given adequate training and time to
23 prepare for the switch to the Child Support State
24 Disbursement Unit; Whether the Department of Public Aid and
25 the Child Support Distribution Unit conducted sufficient
26 training of employers who are required to supply information
27 to the Unit for the proper and timely distribution of child
28 support payments; An examination of the bidding process
29 through which operation of the Child Support State
30 Disbursement Unit was awarded to the DuPage County Circuit
31 Clerk's Office as well as an examination and evaluation of
32 the contract under which the State Disbursement Unit is
33 operated by the DuPage County Circuit Clerk's Office; An
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1 examination and evaluation of expenditures made under the
2 contract for the start up and operation of the Child Support
3 State Disbursement Unit; A determination of when the Child
4 Support State Disbursement Unit can be expected to process
5 child support payments in a timely manner and what steps the
6 Unit and the Department should take to eliminate the current
7 backlog and process payments in a timely manner; and be it
8 further
9 RESOLVED, That all State agencies, including the
10 Department of Public Aid and all other entities which may
11 have information relevant to this audit, shall cooperate
12 fully and promptly with the Auditor General's Office in the
13 conduct of this audit, and be it further
14 RESOLVED, That the Auditor General commence this audit as
15 soon as possible and report his findings and recommendations
16 upon completion to the Legislative Audit Commission, the
17 General Assembly and the Governor in accordance with the
18 provisions of the Illinois State Auditing Act; and be it
19 further
20 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
21 delivered to the Auditor General and the Director of the
22 Illinois Department of Public Aid.