Oregon Employer Portal Project
Oregon Department of Justice, Division of Child Support
Category 3: Digital Government: Government to Business (G to B)
Project Initiation Date: September 1, 2010 Project Completion Date: January 7, 2013
Project Sponsor
Kate Richardson, Child Support Program Director Oregon Department of Justice
1162 Court St. NE, Salem OR 97301 (503) 947-4311
Kate.Richardson@doj.state.or.us
Key Project Participants
Dale Slater, Former Project Business Lead & Product Owner Cliff Roper, Former Project Manager
Doug Hall, Current Project Business Lead & Product Owner Leif Anderson, Current Project Manager
Executive Summary
Child Support is one of the nation’s top four anti-poverty programs for children. The Child Support Program (the “Program”) in Oregon provides services for nearly 250,000 cases representing more than 400,000 parties. Part of the services provided by the Program include collecting up to $1 million dollars a day in child support from obligated parents, disbursing payments to families, and reimbursing state agencies for services they provide to those families. Agencies like the Department of Human Services,
Oregon Youth Authority, and the Oregon Health Authority benefit from these recoveries. Employers play a big part in collecting child support and providing critical and required information about medical insurance coverage for children. As such, employers are mandated to report to the Program when they hire new employees, terminate
employees, withhold child support payments from obligated parents’ wages, and report medical insurance coverage for children. However, many employers lacked the staff and/or technology resources to comply with reporting and wage withholding
requirements, and the Program lacked sophisticated technology solutions to help ease the burden on employers in complying with these mandates.
With the lack of automated technology, Program staff that support employers were forced to use manual, paper-based business processes that were labor intensive and slow. One example of this is the federally mandated National Medical Support Notice (NMSN) process. This process involved Program staff mailing a 12 page NMSN
document to the employer, the employer completing the document by hand, and mailing it back to the Program. The Program staff would then manually enter all of the data provided by the employer into the Child Support system. This manual process was executed tens of thousands of times a year and was extremely slow and laden with errors due to the complexity of the form.
To ease this burden for employers, increase their compliance with mandates, ease the burden for Program staff and ultimately increase child support collections, the Program embarked on a new project to build a one-stop, online employer portal where employers can now easily comply with mandates electronically, accurately, and quickly. This
project significantly increased efficiencies in the Program’s activities undertaken in support of employers. This was accomplished by automating labor intensive manual processes, and drastically reducing the number of manual transactions processed. This project delivered automation that resulted in significant efficiencies including:
Increased timeliness and accuracy of information reported by employers, ultimately increasing the number of employers in compliance with the rules;
Decreased staff time and costs of manual processing, printing, and mailing. The Oregon Employer Portal Project solved significant business problems, improved interactions between government and business, and continues to provide better service to businesses and the citizens of Oregon at a lower cost.
Description of the Business Problem
Currently, there are an estimated 106,820 employers that the Oregon Child Support Program works with who employ parents with child support obligations in the state of Oregon. Oregon Administrative Rules are in place requiring a certain population of these employers to electronically submit child support payments and report information such as new hires, terminations, and medical insurance coverage to the Program. Due to lack of staff and technology resources, many of these employers are out of
compliance with this rule. It is the Program’s goal to bring all employers covered by this rule into compliance with it, and to encourage employers not covered by the rule to also do business with the Program electronically.
Prior to this project the Program provided an option for employers to submit child support income withholding payments electronically via our CSPay web application. However, because the database that supported CSPay contained unreliable data and the overall security did not meet federal ACH requirements, the sustainability of the program was in question.
Also, prior to this project, the Program did not provide an online electronic means for employers to meet reporting requirements such as, identifying new hires and employee terminations, or receiving and responding to an Income Withholding Order or National Medical Support Notices (NMSN). This was all done manually with forms submitted through regular mail, or other media sources (CD, FTP). The number of forms printed and mailed by the Program to employers for their reporting requirements in 2012 (the year prior to implementing this project), was 196,174 at a cost to the Program of $172,624. Although it is impossible to estimate the labor cost to employers for completing the forms, it is estimated that the cost for employers to mail these forms back to the Program in 2012 totaled $70,946.
The Oregon Child Support Program employs twenty-nine staff members whose primary duties prior to this project included receiving and processing information reported
manually by employers. Their work involved repetitive and time-consuming telephone and email follow-up with employers to resolve incomplete responses and extremely high error rates, due to the manual nature of the process. There was also an increased risk of confidential information breaches due to lost or improperly addressed mail containing confidential information such as social security numbers. The cost to the Program for manually processing forms in 2012 was $674,319.
Description of the Solution
Our solution to the error laden, manual and untimely processes, is the Oregon Employer Portal Project. This project was developed in-house using the agile methodology of SCRUM to deliver an online portal where employers can easily and securely comply with electronic withholding and reporting requirements, and do business with the Program online, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Although Oregon was one of the early states to accept online child support withholding payments from employers via our CSPay web application years ago, the CSPay
application was not a fully functioning portal, and was limited to online payments only. In comparison, the new portal solution provides this capability and has automated manual processes, drastically reduced errors, increased timeliness in employer reporting, and ultimately increased timeliness of child support payments made to families.
Research indicates that states with online employer reporting capabilities show consistent improvements in the amount of support collected over a period of time, efficiencies gained for employers, and cost savings for Child Support Programs. This research along with employer’s expectations that business be conducted online, for the efficiencies and effectiveness gained by doing so, were some of the reasons we chose a portal solution. In a step toward innovation, Oregon became the first state in the nation to provide through its portal, the functionality for employers to electronically respond to NMSNs where the data is transmitted and populated into the child support database without human intervention. Through this innovation…the largest and most complex undertaking of the project…the portal’s NMSN solution has delivered:
An intuitive design that guides employers through the NMSN process logically, efficiently, and effectively, preventing mistakes from being made.
A level of accuracy in NMSN responses that is unprecedented compared to manual NMSN responses.
A significantly shortened time line for determining support amounts and processing payments to families.
Other improvements that were delivered include:
1) A secure, online portal where employers can do business with the Program 24 hours a day, 7 days a week;
2) An improved employer database containing more accurate information about employers and employer compliance tracking information, allowing the Program to work more effectively with employers regarding compliance requirements; 3) Automated processes that send information from, and receive information into
the child support case management system, all online without manual document handling, thereby reducing or eliminating manual data entry and error
corrections.
Although we implemented an online portal with automated functionality for employers to do business with the Program, we knew that not all employers would embrace it,
especially if they do not fall under the same electronic withholding and reporting requirements as outlined in OAR 137-055-5035. To increase the portal’s use and ultimately the success of this project, a communication plan was developed and
included an employer outreach effort to educate employers about how the portal makes complying with the rule easier, and doing business with the Program simpler and faster.
The communication plan included an initial transition of all employers who were
currently using the CSPay application, over to the new portal by communicating one-on-one with these employers and payroll service provider companies, and then walking them through the portal registration process. From February 2013 to December 2013, Program staff personally assisted over 6400 employers with their transition to the new employer portal. Program staff also monitored each employer transition group and utilized a personal approach to guide them through the change. This approach helped Program staff manage initial frustrations and address concerns brought forward by employers efficiently and effectively.
In our continued efforts to bring more employers to the portal, Program staff are
engaged in outreach efforts in Oregon ranging from employer seminars to participation in events hosted by the American Payroll Association and Bureau of Labor and
Industries. Their most recent presentation was very well received by the American Payroll Association, and they have been asked to present at other chapters to discuss the new employer portal. They are currently preparing for additional presentation opportunities throughout the state and looking at a wide range of presentation formats such as webinars and YouTube videos. Considering a wide range of presentation options will allow Program staff to maximize the education and outreach to all employers throughout Oregon.
Significance of the Project
The impact of this project on the Child Support Program and its staff is very significant, and the impact to employers is even more noteworthy. However, the most significant impact has been felt by the families who are served through the Program. This has been realized through the ease of use and timeliness that the portal brings to employers in fulfilling their requirements as employers of obligated parents, ultimately resulting in more timely and accurate payments to families. In addition, this project also addresses the NASCIO 2014 State CIO Priorities of budget and cost control, consolidation and optimization, and health care/insurance information.
Before implementing the employer portal, the Program handled a significant amount of employer reporting requirements manually, by printing and mailing notices (forms), receiving information back from employers, spending a significant amount of time working with employers to correct incomplete or incorrect information, and then manually entering all of the data into our child support case management system. As one can imagine this process was costly, time consuming, prone to errors, and often meant delayed payments to families.
After implementing the portal, notices are now automatically delivered to employers electronically via the portal, and employers respond through the portal by entering information into data fields, making selections from drop down menus, etc. The data is then submitted to the Program electronically and the child support case management
system is automatically updated, without staff intervention. The employer portal also offers employers the ability to submit withholding payments and maintain employee information required by the Program all in one place. As a result of the new functionality that the portal delivers, costs have gone down, timeliness has gone up, and errors are greatly reduced, all of which are significant improvements to government operations. As with any change, its success is gauged by the reaction of those affected by it. Below are some examples of the feedback received from employers.
“After receiving communications about the transition from CSPay to the portal, I was frustrated about that process and what was being asked of me, but my feelings quickly changed once I started registration and worked through the OESP
processes. I am a stern business man and the fact that you could make me happy and comfortable with this transition is a big deal. I wanted to make sure the feedback was shared with the team so you all know I think you’re doing a great job!”
“I am SO glad that we can now move away from the horrid 25+ pages that we receive each time there is a change or a new notice.”
“I appreciate the ease of setting up the new portal, while still ensuring security of information.”
“This was very easy to get set up and your team members were very helpful with some questions that I had.”
In April 2013 during an on-site review, the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) had the opportunity to see the new employer portal in action. The OCSE
expressed their excitement by listing Oregon’s employer portal as a best practice for the state in their final report. They are also reaching out to Oregon for assistance with
updating their own portal with some of our functionality.
Automating what was once an almost entirely manual process is significant, but goes beyond these boundaries. The portal is one of the first steps the Program has taken to modernize its systems and business processes. Modernizing antiquated systems and automating manual time consuming processes has had a significantly positive impact on the staff who carry out the responsibilities of the Program. Recruitment and training is one example of this positive impact as it takes far less time to train new staff on a modern Windows web based system than it does to train them to use an old mainframe “green screen” system that’s driven by hundreds of screens and codes.
Benefits of the Project
The Oregon Employer Portal Project has delivered many significant financial and non-financial benefits to employers and the state. Benefits to employers provided through this project include a significantly easier way of complying with mandated electronic
reporting and wage withholding requirements; significant savings in postage costs by eliminating the need to mail paper documents back to the Program; and a modern, electronic means to work with Program staff in carrying out their obligations as employers. Benefits to the Program provided through this project include increased efficiencies in the Program’s activities undertaken in support of employers, automation of labor intensive manual processes, and a drastic reduction in the number of manual transactions processed.
The table below illustrates a few of the cost savings and quantifiable benefits the state has achieved as a result of this project.
2012
Before Oregon Employer Portal
2013
After Oregon Employer Portal
Benefits
Number of notices mailed 196,174
Number of notices mailed 117,364
40.17% reduction in notices mailed
Cost: printing & mailing notices $172,624
Cost: printing & mailing notices $103,280
40.17% cost savings of $69,344
Staff Costs
manually processing notices $674,319
Staff Costs
manually processing notices $327,807
51.39% cost savings of $346,512
Number of new hire reports
received manually
189,232
Number of new hire reports received manually
186,550
1.42% reduction in notices received
manually
Staff Costs: manually processing new hire reports
$83,262
Staff Costs: manually processing new hire reports
$82,082
1.42% cost savings of $1,180
Conclusion
The Oregon Employer Portal Project addressed and resolved many significant business problems for the Oregon Child Support Program (the “Program”), while improving the interactions between government and business, and continues today to provide better service to businesses and the citizens of Oregon at a lower cost.
