Query Interstate Cases for Kids (QUICK)
Interstate case activities can be one of the most time consuming and frustrating aspects of child support enforcement. System advancements and standardized documents have greatly helped the Locate and Establishment processes for interstate cases, but they have not eliminated the problems with getting access to information in another state. In 2002, the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) initiated the OCSE Interstate Workgroup made up of representatives from OCSE and 11 states to improve interstate communication of financial, order, and case activity information. From the workgroup and discussions with state partners and stakeholders, OCSE initiated the Query Interstate Cases for Kids (QUICK) pilot project (also known as the “Just in Time” project) to address this need.
The result of the pilot project is a service that allows workers to access information about a case in another state instantly. The service leverages new and inexpensive technology to provide the following:
- Improved customer service
- Consistency in data from one state to the other
- On-line access to financial and case information in other states
- Improved collections and enforcement
The success of the pilot program has moved OCSE toward an effort to establish the service in all child support enforcement agencies throughout the United States. Recently OCSE has been very active promoting the service and has spoken at most of the major child support conferences encouraging states to adopt the service. The September 2006 Action Transmittal (OCSE-AT-06-03) from OCSE indicated that the Federal Certification Guidelines can even be updated to include the functionality of QUICK. Now that the pilot has been completed and QUICK is a standard child support service used by agencies, there are additional recommendations as well as new data fields under consideration for Phase 2 of the service.
The benefits from implementing QUICK are real. Based not only on our own experience with child support agencies, but also from direct feedback from agencies to OCSE, workers are gaining access to interstate case information much more quickly when using QUICK. Online access to financial, support and case information in other states can dramatically reduce the time delays currently encountered obtaining specific interstate information. This is especially true if an agency has neighboring states that are using QUICK. The small investment in establishing the service in the agency will have a fast return on investment and an immediate impact on the agency’s child support program.
Contact Saber now to learn more about Query Interstate Cases for Kids (QUICK).
