WISCONSIN/ILLINOIS AND INDIANA

SHARING AND CARING FOR OUR CHILDREN’S FUTURE

~WISCONSIN/ILLINOIS/INDIANA BORDER PROJECT~

WHY DO WE NEED A BORDER PROJECT?

Urban border counties experience a high rate of participant movement between their states

Many times participants have received duplicate services in multiple states

Mobility between Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin is easy and convenient

WI

IL IN

Six Primary Reasons Why Interstate Cases Are The Most Difficult To Work

Financial accounting differences

It is difficult to find someone to “talk to” in the other state

Obtaining another state’s order or payment records could take months

Transmittals may contain incorrect information

Many case workers are intimidated by UIFSA

Some of our judiciary do not understand UIFSA therefore cases being heard in court go unresolved

TAKING THE “BULL BY THE HORNS” A HISTORY OF THE

WISCONSIN/ILLINOIS/INDIANA BORDER PROJECT

2004 A series of teleconferences and meetings began between Wisconsin and

Illinois to improve communications

2005 Child Support caseworkers from Wisconsin and Illinois participated in worker

exchange days

Wisconsin Child Support representatives attended Illinois’ Regional meeting to exchange program information

The Border Project meetings expanded to include Illinois State’s Attorneys, Clerk of Courts, supervisors and administrators

Border Project team members presented information at the 2005 Wisconsin Child Support Conference

CONTINUED

2006

Wisconsin caseworkers visited Illinois’ Child Support Agency

Wisconsin caseworkers observed child support hearings at Family Court in Illinois

Wisconsin Border Project members participated in a panel discussion at the 2006 Illinois Family Support Conference

Selected Wisconsin and Illinois caseworkers were permitted query access to each other’s child support state systems

2007LAKE COUNTY INDIANA

JOINS FORCES WITH WISCONSIN AND ILLINOIS

You are

here

CONTINUED…..

2007

Representatives from Lake County, Indiana began participating in Border Project events

Lake County, Indiana , Wisconsin and Illinois share internal contact information

OCSE, Region 5 attend the Border Project Conference in Kenosha

Wisconsin and Illinois created a website and went on-line

http://www.childsupportborderproject.com/

2008

Available to both the Public and Child Support professionals

Features: locate links, other agency reference links, FAQ’s and forms

ACCESS TO THE ILLINOIS SYSTEM CHANGED “HOW WE DO BUSINESS”

Intake of new cases~ If any of the parties are former Illinois residents we check their systems for various information

Children born in Illinois - non marital cases~We provide the customers with Illinois Acknowledgment Forms, assist in their completion and mail them to Illinois Vital Records

Court hearing preparation~If additional information is required, we query the Illinois KIDS system and/or contact someone from our list

Customer service~We query the Illinois system or contact someone from our list when a rapid response is necessary

Financial~Knowledge of and inquiry to the Illinois KIDS system allows us to update our financial balances as needed

SHARED SYSTEM BENEFITS

Cost savings through the use of automation No need for co-location of staff Immediate system access, saves staff time and

money Rapid response – generates increased child

support collections Automation allows for a more uniform and timely

response

COMMUNCATION BETWEEN INDIANA & KENOSHA COUNTY

HAS IMPROVED TREMENDOUSLY

We share e-mail addresses and direct phone numbers

When we need assistance with a shared case, the “help” is only a click or ring away

We have a better understanding of each other’s processes

RESULTS

Expedited case assessment

Quicker receipt of court orders

Timelines improved

Improved financial record keeping

Better locates

Effective prosecution of cases

More cases worked “long arm”

More families served

More court orders and paternity adjudications

Increased collections

5th Annual Border Project Conference

Our 5th annual Border Project Conference will be held in Kenosha, Wisconsin on June 24th, 2011

There is no cost for our one day conference

You are all invited to attend

National Child Support Communication Forum

Members of our Forum represent child support professionals from 36 states and 2 Countries

We have over 360 members We are dedicated to the improvement of

interstate communication

Available to all CS Professionals

This is an exciting venture

By your participation, you, as a member, agree to be available to other members of this forum who may ask for your assistance after standard methods of communication fail

We’ve enhanced our forum to include a web site “blog” open to all Forum members

http://borderproject.freeforums.org

Web based site for discussions, ideas and information sharing

Only open to members of the Communication Forum

Let’s communicate-no matter where we are!

When we are

WI-IL-IN

There is a Way!