(a) Commencing with the 2019–20 fiscal year, the department shall implement a revised local child support agency funding methodology that was developed in consultation with the California Child Support Directors Association. The methodology shall consist of both of the following components in the 2019–20 fiscal year:
(1) Casework operations, which consists of a statewide standard case-to-staff ratio, the respective labor costs for each local child support agency, and an operating expense and equipment complement based on a percentage of staffing costs. The department shall propose a specific ratio informed by the working sessions described in subdivision (c) and as part of the required update to the Legislature required by subdivision (d).
(2) Call center operations, which consists of a standard statewide ratio of calls to call center agents, the respective labor costs for each local child support agency, and an operating expense and equipment complement based on a percentage of staffing costs.
(b) Any increased state costs that result, either directly or indirectly, from implementation of the funding methodology described in subdivision (a) shall be implemented to the extent of an appropriation of funds in the annual Budget Act.
(c) (1) The Department of Child Support Services shall convene a series of stakeholder working sessions to develop the ongoing methodology, which shall take effect in the 2020–21 fiscal year. There shall be at least three working sessions during the summer and fall of 2019, beginning as early as possible after July 1, 2019.
(2) The working sessions shall include, but not be limited to, representatives from the Child Support Directors Association, the Legislative Analyst’s Office, the Department of Finance, consultants from the Assembly and Senate Health and Human Services budget subcommittees, any other interested Legislative consultants, antipoverty advocates, advocacy organizations representing custodial and noncustodial parents, including fathers’ rights advocates, impacted families, and any other interested advocates or stakeholders for the child support program.
(3) The working sessions shall do all of the following:
(A) Further refine or change the local child support agency funding methodology defined in subdivision (a), including accounting for performance incentives to be provided in future years.
(B) Discuss additional strategies that might improve the customer service, pragmatic collectability, and cost efficiency of the child support program and assess fiscal impact to operations and collections.
(C) Consider any policy changes that may affect the workload and associated funding needs of the local child support agencies and assess fiscal impact to operations and collections.
(D) Consider the ways that child support collection improves outcomes for children, impacts the well-being of children in relationship to their parents who are ordered to pay support, particularly their fathers, and impacts the racial wealth gap and further analyze the impact that child support has on parents ordered to pay support who do not have the capacity to pay.
(d) The department shall provide a written update describing recommended changes to the funding methodology described in subdivision (a) to the relevant policy committees and budget subcommittee of the Legislature on February 1, 2020. The written update shall include, but not be limited to, a description of the programmatic and policy changes discussed in the working sessions, the feasibility of implementing the discussed programmatic and policy changes, the impact that the discussed programmatic and policy changes would have on operations, collections, and families served, and additional required statutory changes.
(Amended by Stats. 2020, Ch. 370, Sec. 116. (SB 1371) Effective January 1, 2021.)