IN - Child support office to close next week

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For the second time in six weeks, the child support division of the Tippecanoe County prosecutor's office will be closed all next week to upgrade local case information in Indiana's statewide child support computer system.

But the closure will not affect the payment or processing of child support in the Tippecanoe County clerk's office.

The child support office of the prosecutor's office, which is separate from the clerk's office, will not be open for walk-in traffic or to answer telephones.

Karla Mantia, director of the Child Support Bureau of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, has ordered that all county prosecutors' child support offices statewide become compliant in the area of data reliability.

That order requires that information in the paper files of the prosecutor's office match the information on ISETS -- the statewide child support computer system, said Adam Norman, deputy prosecutor for child support enforcement in Tippecanoe County.

His office had a similar one-week closure in June. At the time that closure was announced, it was not mentioned that another closure would be required because Norman hadn't decided on a time for the closing.

"We're going to get done as much as we can. We're pretty much on schedule," Norman said. "We made a lot of headway when we closed last month."

Some data in the state system -- concerning client names, balances of child support owed, information about court child support orders and whether the cases resulted from paternity actions or divorces -- does not match the data in the files of the local offices.

Most of the inconsistencies exist in files that were opened before the county joined the statewide system in 1994. Caseworkers have been attempting to update information on a case-by-case basis while continuing with other responsibilities, but a self-imposed July 31 deadline is looming.

The project also provides an opportunity for caseworkers to identify and close some old, inactive files.

If statewide data reliability is not achieved, the state of Indiana risks losing millions of dollars in federal funding for programs such as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, and the federal and state reimbursements to each county.

Each Indiana county is being asked to focus on this data reliability requirement, which needs to be completed by Sept. 30.

All court hearings involving the child support division for the week of the closure, July 22-26, will take place as scheduled. However, all other aspects of the office, including walk-ins and telephone calls to caseworkers, will not be available during the closure.

Journal and Courier

-- Anonymous, July 20, 2002


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