Paying up

Wadena County is exceeding state averages in four areas of child support collections, according to a 2007 Minnesota Child Support Performance report.

"I'm excited about this," said Collections and Accounting Supervisor Amie Spartz. "I like to know that we're realizing our thresholds and expectations."

Five areas of child support statistics are evaluated according to federal performance measures, she said. Each county does its best to raise the state numbers. The amount of federal incentive money Minnesota receives depends on its performance in measures of paternity establishment, order establishment, current support collections, arrears and cost effectiveness. One hundred percent of that federal money is then divided up among the counties, Spartz said.

Wadena County scored 100 percent in paternity establishment compared to the state's score of 96 percent, according to the report. The federal benchmark is 80 percent. Paternity establishment refers to the process of determining the legal father of a child.

Order establishment is another area the county is doing well in, she said. There are federal time lines for establishing a court order for child support. A typical goal is within six months from when a case opens.

Wadena County has a 91 percent score. Minnesota has an 82 percent score. The federal benchmark is 80 percent.

"The state is doing good in this area," Spartz said.

Current Support Collections is the amount of total current support owed that is collected. Wadena County scored 69 percent compared to the state score of 68 percent in this area. Both scores failed to meet the federal benchmark of 80 percent. However, no state met this benchmark.

Wadena County scored $5.21 for cost effectiveness and the state score is $4.04. This measure rates how much money the county expends on child support cases versus what it collects, Spartz said. The county wants a high number.

The federal benchmark for cost effectiveness is $5. Because the state did not meet this mark, it will only receive 80 percent of federal incentive funding, Spartz said. That decreases the amount of money available for distribution to counties.

The only area where the county scored below the state was in the arrears measurement. Arrears refers to the collection of back support. Wadena County scored 65 percent compared to the state score of 66 percent. Both scores were well below the federal benchmark of 80 percent. Spartz said the area of arrears is a nationwide problem and no state is meeting the federal benchmark.

Minnesota has developed a policy on arrears management and Wadena County is working on drafting one as well, Spartz said. The county has also reassigned case loads. The senior child support officer is focusing on arrears, she said.

The numbers for the federal performance measures are taken during the federal fiscal year 2006.

Included in the report were numbers from the state fiscal year 2007. Minnesota collected and distributed a record $615 million in total collections in this time period. The number of cases decreased from a 2006 total of 251,018 to a 2007 total of 250,399.

Wadena County had 899 open cases in 2007 compared to 922 open cases in 2006. The county collected and distributed $2,159,754 in 2007 compared to $2,107,514 in 2006. Expenditures were $395,938 in 2006 and $419,458 in 2007.