GT (Glitch Topic) >> Data Glitch Blocking Some Tax Returns

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Data glitch blocking some tax returns

By JR ROSS Associated Press Writer

State officials on Thursday defended the system they use to track child support payments, even though some Indiana counties blame it for withholding thousands of tax returns erroneously.

Close to 20 counties have fielded complaints from noncustodial parents that their tax checks were withheld even though they're not behind on their child support payments. No problems have been reported in St. Joseph County.

Lake County officials estimate some 6,000 parents there haven't received their returns because of the problems.

But Joe Mamlin, child support director for the state Division of Family and Children, said the problem isn't the system -- it's bad data.

"We don't have a glitch in the system," Mamlin said. "The program, the software, the hardware is doing basically what it was told to do. The problem we have is case records that aren't accurate."

Counties began switching to the Indiana State Enforcement Tracking System in 1994 under federal mandate to establish a statewide system to track deadbeat parents. Those who are behind in payments can have their tax refunds garnished to cover any back support.

One of the last to switch to ISETS was Marion County, which began using the system in November.

John Owens, chief deputy of the Marion County child support division, said the county reluctantly made the move after failing to win a waiver from the federal government to continue using the automated system it had been using since 1992.

He said that while there may be some problems with transferring data from one system to the other, Marion County's biggest difficulty with ISETS is that it's less sophisticated than the one it used to have.

Owens said the state agreed to make 48 enhancements to the system after Marion County switched over, but many of them haven't been completed. The new system requires more workers to complete fewer tasks than the old one did, he said.

"We're losing some efficiency by having to go on ISETS," he said.

Owens said he didn't know how many Marion County parents had their tax returns affected by the system, but 300 noncustodial parents have called his office since last Friday because their state refund was inappropriately withheld.

Lake County, which went to the system in June, started having problems a few months later when letters were mistakenly sent to some parents threatening to withhold their tax returns if they didn't pay back child support.

Officials had hoped the problems would be resolved before tax-filing season, and Mamlin said his office is working with the Internal Revenue Service to fix the problems.

He said those who have their checks improperly withheld shouldn't have the same problems next year if their records are properly updated by county child support offices.

Officials in Tippecanoe County, which was the pilot program for ISETS and instituted the system in 1994, said that after some initial difficulties with the system, they haven't had any of the problems this year reported in places like Marion and Lake counties.

"It's a learning process, and it just takes a little bit of time," said Adam Norman, a deputy prosecuting attorney for Tippecanoe County. "I'm sure this time next year there won't be these kinds of problems."

But that's little comfort to Valparaiso resident Joe Shay, who says the withholding of his $3,950 refund might force him to lose his home.

"I'm losing my house over this. And what about my wife and two kids, like are they being fed right?" said Shay, who says he is a year ahead on his child support payments to children from a previous marriage.

Those who improperly receive notification their tax return is being withheld can fill out paperwork at the local prosecutor's office to get the refund released. Most checks will arrive within 10 to 14 days.

http://www.southbendtribune.com/stories/2000/02/18/local.20000218-sbt-MWKA-D1-Data_glitch_blocking.sto



-- Dee (T1Colt556@aol.com), February 19, 2000


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