Military Outreach and Beyond Margaret Haynes, Esq. Neal Nelson Moderator Mary Dahlberg, Esq.
Military Families and Child Support Building Collaborations
Half Are Parents
Veterans 60% of the 23 million veterans are parents. 50% of OIF/OEF veterans are parents
Yearlong Absence
Staggering Numbers* Since the attack of September 11 875,000 moms & dads have deployed 245,000 have deployed twice 91,000 three times 48,000 four+ times * Source: National Military Family Assoc. 2011
Other Stresses Unemployment rate for young (18-24 years) veterans of OIF/OEF is 22%. 40% of combat veterans report PTSD symptoms.
Divorce Divorce rate in the Army has increased 50% since 2001. Divorce rate in the general population has decreased 15% since 2000.
Why Collaborate? Military and Child Support two of largest systems with extensive contact with fathers Share common goal of strengthening military families Personal responsibility Financial readiness
Complexities for CSE Worker Foreign culture Foreign acronyms
Organization of the Military Department of Defense (DoD) Military Departments Dep t of the Army Dep t of the Navy (includes Marine Corps) Dep t of the Air Force Dep t of Homeland Security (includes Coast Guard)
Military Authority Rank Pay Grade Source of Authority Law Regulation Policy Custom
Common Acronyms BAH, BAS DEERS DFAS ETS FRG LES PCS
Unique Child Support Issues Multiple moves Pay changes Paternity establishment/deers
Suggested Outreach Provide outreach to the National Guard State Family Program Director. Participate in Yellow Ribbon briefings as a community provider. Develop a child support checklist for active duty military members/national Guard/ Reserves.
Suggested Outreach Designate a military liaison within the state child support agency. Place links in your state agency website that are specific to military parents and veterans.
Suggested Outreach Identify cases on state system that involve a military member and proactively review for possible SCRA issues, modification, transfer of an income withholding order.
Suggested Outreach Train case workers to conduct search on the Defense Manpower Site. Develop cover letter about the SCRA to accompany summons going to known military member. Develop policy on release of child support information to a person designated by a military member.
Suggested Outreach to Veterans Develop partnerships with veterans service providers. Participate in Stand Down Events o Veterans Child Support Courts Collaborate with Veterans Justice Outreach Identify veterans resources
Suggested Training Outreach Conduct Child Support 101 trainings for JAG attorneys at any military installations in the state. Provide training on military issues to caseworkers.
Federal Initiatives ABA/VA/HHS Collaboration Homeless Veterans Child Support Fact Sheets Resources for Military Families Resources for Child Support Agencies Resources/Training for Other Federal Agencies and Military Service Providers
Resources Military Websites Defense Finance Accounting Service (DFAS) www.dfas.mil/dfas.html Air Force JAG Corps Legal Assistance Public Page https://aflegalassistance.law.af.mil/lass/lass.html Department of Veteran Affairs www.va.gov http://www.va.gov/homeless www.myhealth.va.gov Military OneSource www.militaryonesource.com/default.aspx
Resources American Bar Association websites Standing Committee for Legal Assistance for Military Personnel www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_assistance _military_personnel.html Family Law Section, Military Committee
Military Outreach and Support Enforcement Neal Nelson Director, Garnishment Operations October 2, 2012 Integrity - Service - Innovation
DFAS Customers Obligors Military members (active, reserve and retired), civilian employees of DoD, VA, HHS, EPA, Dept of Energy Custodial parents and their children Child support agencies of all 50 states State Disbursement Units (SDUs) Courts Private attorneys 9/4/2012 Integrity - Service - Innovation 25
DFAS Electronic Commerce Initiatives DFAS Kids 1 st Program Child Support Enforcement Agencies Send Orders Directly to DFAS over Secure Network First of its kind in the country! Kids 1 st file layout served as the model for the electronic Income Withholding Order (eiwo) program Developed in coordination with DFAS, Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) and the states. 9/4/2012 Integrity - Service - Innovation 26
Kids 1 st - eiwo We currently have 31 states using EC to send child support orders to DFAS Projecting Florida, Arkansas late 2012 FY 09 - eiwo Production up 40% over FY 08 FY 10 and FY 11 Production Over 100,000 electronic orders received FY 12 is on target to exceed FY 11 9/4/2012 Integrity - Service - Innovation 27
Kids 1 st eiwo (cont d) Five states use the Web Based process; Georgia - Hawaii New Mexico Utah - Wisconsin One state uses the Batch Process; Iowa Twenty-five states in Production with eiwo; Arizona - California Colorado Idaho - Illinois - Indiana Massachusetts Michigan Missouri - Nebraska New Jersey - New York - North Carolina North Dakota Ohio - Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania South Dakota - Tennessee - Texas Virginia Washington Washington D.C. - West Virginia Four states In Development/Testing Projected Implementation FY 13 Hawaii (Conversion) Florida (late 2012) Arkansas (Nov 2012) Alabama (2013) 9/4/2012 Integrity - Service - Innovation 28
Outreach Channels - Feedback to DFAS Phone calls directly to Garnishment Operations (Garn Ops) staff Phone calls to CSRs in Customer Care Center trained regarding garnishment info DFAS Public Website, AskDFAS link which allows direct e-mail to Garn Ops DFAS Facebook page DFAS Facebook Town Hall 9/4/2012 Integrity - Service - Innovation 29
Outreach (cont d) Customer service phone logs to paralegals assigned to individual case AskDFAS e-mails Facebook Twitter mypay interactive electronic pay record available to all military and civilian employees; access to a garnishment information page in development SmartPhone App creation of garnishment info page linked to mypay in development Direct contact with our state liaison system analyst to address payment and processing issues at a statewide level 9/4/2012 Integrity - Service - Innovation 30
Military Outreach and Beyond Contact Information: Margaret Haynes, Senior Associate, Center for Support of Families (240) 743-8007 mhaynes@csfmail.org Neal Nelson, Acting Director, DFAS 216-522-6336 NEAL.NELSON@DFAS.MIL