News from New York State Office of Temporary & Disability Assistance

For more information contact: Michael Hayes, 518-474-9516

New York State Receives Federal Recognition for Child Support Enhancements

New E-File Pilot Draws Praise

ALBANY, NY (08/28/2008; 1416)(readMedia)-- New York State was recognized this week by the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) for implementing a new electronic court filing process in New York City - a pilot project designed to improve the experience of children and families involved in the child support system.

The collaborative effort between the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) and Office of Court Administration (OCA), received the Commissioner's Award for Innovative Technology during the 18th National Child Support Enforcement Training Conference in Washington, D.C., Tuesday.

OTDA Commissioner David Hansell said the pilot is the latest state effort to make the child support process more efficient for all involved. "This is another example of how we can use technology and increased interagency collaboration to improve the service we provide. It is an honor to receive national recognition for these efforts."

Margot Bean, Commissioner of the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement said: "New York State's e-filing project is an example of the innovative efforts that state child support programs and courts are undertaking to improve operations and service delivery for child support clients across the country. Such efforts deserve our recognition."

The e-filing project, which began in Brooklyn and has now been expanded to include all of New York City, has served to greatly streamline the process for custodial parents seeking a first-time child support order. The parents are interviewed by a single child support caseworker, who is then able to submit the data electronically to the Family Court. Once the data is accepted, an electronic petition is created. The petition can be signed and filed electronically, and a hearing date in Family Court is assigned, also electronically. The entire process occurs in real time during the single interview.

Previously, someone seeking a support petition in New York City would need to see several workers over the course of a day and the entire process was completed with paper.

Peter Passidomo, Chief Family Court Magistrate, said: "Through a collaborative process, various government agencies, including the Unified Court System, recognized and addressed the need to technologically improve the filing process for those parents seeking support for their children. The ultimate goal of this project is to enable parties to file petitions on the Internet and eliminate the need to travel to courthouse except for a hearing."

Deputy Commissioner Scott Cade, who oversees New York State's child support program, accepted the award from OCSE Commissioner Margot Bean on behalf of the project team, said: "Based on the results we have seen so far we plan to expand this project beyond New York City in the near future. The efficiencies gained through e-filing mean custodial parents spend less time filing paperwork and more time with their children and attending to their other responsibilities."

###