Workshop: Child Support Invades Cyberspace

May 20, 2009

Speakers:
Bill Stuart, Principal Software Developer, Lockheed Martin Enterprise Solutions and Services
Corrinne Flores, Manager of Agency Relations, ADP
Pam Gasper, Manager of Garnishments, KBR

OCSE Continues e-IWO Portal Outreach

Sixteen states are currently using the Electronic Child Support Income Withholding Order Portal (e-IWO), according to representatives from Lockheed Martin, ADP, and KBR, who discussed its advantages during their May 20 workshop at the American Payroll Association’s 27th annual Congress.

The portal, which has been up and running since March of last year, allows states, tribes, and territories to send an income withholding order to employers electronically, explained Bill Stuart, principal software developer, Lockheed Martin Enterprise Solutions and Services. Sending and receiving support orders electronically through the portal allows for greater efficiency when processing orders, according to Stuart, and the portal provides quicker turnaround for child support payments, which are received two to three weeks earlier with the e-IWO than if a paper support order were used. The portal also enhances communication between states and employers, Stuart noted, allowing states to be notified much sooner whether orders are accepted or rejected or if an employee has been terminated.
 
The Office of Child Support Enforcement is currently working on a “fillable spreadsheet” alternative to the e-IWO portal, Stuart explained.  The spreadsheet alternative was devised because of frequent comments from employers that lacked the technological capabilities to implement the e-IWO. The alternative will send a spreadsheet to employers and provide them with all the information necessary to process a support order, Stuart said. 
 
Employers only need to fill in two fields in the spreadsheet. They must acknowledge whether the order was accepted or rejected and, if the order was rejected, provide the reason in the second column. Using the spreadsheet can also help employers transition to full participation in the e-IWO portal, Stuart said. 

OCSE is preparing a project that will automate the National Medical Support Notice, Stuart told the audience. The automated notice will follow the processes and procedures of the e-IWO and, since Medical Support Orders can sometimes reach up to 18 pages, will greatly reduce the amount of paper employers must deal with.

Pam Gasper, manager of garnishments for KBR Inc., said her company lacked resources to receive the format of the e-IWO.  Working with OCSE, they developed a “fillable PDF” that Gasper says will improve communications regarding support orders.  The PDF file will also allow payroll to turn around orders that are sent in error much faster, she said.

Corrinne Flores, manager of agency relations, ADP, remarked that when the e-IWO idea was first proposed to her, she was skeptical.  Since ADP is not an employer but a payroll processor, there were more steps that needed to be taken before they could participate in the e-IWO process, she said, noting as an example that clients had to give authorization for the processor to receive the support orders.  Flores agreed with her co-presenters that the e-IWO allows for faster turnaround time and increased accuracy when dealing with support orders.