LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Accounting problems within Los Angeles County's child support program could cost the state tens of millions of dollars in federal funds.

Continuing deficiencies in the county's program have prompted the state to take the unprecedented step of hiring an outside consulting firm to recommend improvements.

Within weeks, Denver- based Policy Studies Inc. will begin a three-month examination of Los Angeles County's Bureau of Family Support Operations, said Curtis Child, director of the California Department of Child Support Services.

"L.A.'s performance continues to be a problem for the statewide program," Curtis told the Los Angeles Times Friday. "And when they have such a significant percentage of the statewide caseload, it affects the state's ability to do well on (federal) performance measures."

Last week, Child confirmed that officials are examining Los Angeles County's accounting practices after learning from child support advocates that the county had been double-counting collection numbers for past-due support.

The practice, officials said, was discovered in the quarterly reports sent to both the state and the county commission that oversees child support. And the financial consequences could be severe for California's child support program if the county's quarterly numbers are reflected in the yearly totals submitted to the federal government.

"Obviously, our concern is that we look at the (actual) quarterly numbers and there is a ... drop from what was reported," Child said. "If that held, we would have some trouble. It would put us in jeopardy of losing our federal performance money ... and that could mean tens of millions of dollars."

Wayne Doss, director of the Los Angeles County program, was unavailable for comment. A department spokeswoman, Yvonne Palmer, said the county's quarterly numbers have been corrected and will have no impact on its final year-end report.

The most recent state reports to the federal Health and Human Services Agency show that Los Angeles County remains far behind the rest of California in the child collection measurements established by the federal government.

In comparing the state's 58 counties for fiscal 2000, Los Angeles ranked 34th in cost effectiveness, 45th in establishing paternity, 48th in collecting past-due child support, and 55th in both collecting current support and percentage of cases in which the county has obtained a court order for support.

SacBee

-- Anonymous, June 03, 2001