Child Support Computer System

Re “And Kids Pay the Price,” editorial, Dec. 4, about California’s failure to develop and implement an automated computer system for the tracking and collection of child support:

California needs to own up to its failure. The state’s ability to develop an automated computer system was severely hampered by each of the 57 counties that were allowed to customize the Statewide Automated Child Support System. There were 57 ways of opening a case and 57 ways of closing a case, until the system had exploded to 375 screens. Other large states such as Texas and New York use the same intake process, the same forms and same cases procedures.

Congress mandated that states create the computer systems in 1984, not in 1988. It was in the 1988 Family Support Act that states were given the deadline of Oct. 1, 1995. Wasn’t seven years and $99 million enough time and money for California, home of Silicon Valley, to create a computer system that would help kids?

It was also not ironic that California received a waiver from the federal government allowing L.A. County to have a computer system separate from the rest of the state. The waiver was given due to heavy political pressure applied at the federal level, but not because L.A. County has special needs. In New York state, which has 2 million cases, Manhattan uses the same computer system that is used throughout the whole state.

California is whining because it did not meet the deadline and now will lose federal funds. The failure of SACSS was due to too many cooks’ involvement, not because one statewide system could not be developed. Before we develop the next system, we need to change our way of thinking about meeting the needs of California’s children.

NORA O’BRIEN

State Dir., Assn. for Children

for Enforcement of Support

Sacramento

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Your editorial missed one essential point. Child support payments do not go to children, they are made to an ex-spouse (mother or father). In fact, legally, there is no restriction on how child support money is spent. Why is there no accountability? I’m sure that the “millions of poor California children” would only benefit from a system that requires child support money received by an ex-spouse be spent on the children.

MICHAEL STEINBAUM

Ventura