SDU Attachment 1~1.docx

Illinois State Disbursement Unit Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services Child Support Services Attachment 1

Section VI - Business Rationale

2. Provide a list and describe in detail the specifications required to satisfy the need:

Federal CFR, 42 U.S.C. 654(27) requires States to establish and operate a SDU for the collection and disbursement of payments under child support orders and State Statute 305 ILCS 5/10-26 requires States to establish and operate a SDU for the collection and disbursement of payments under court orders and administrative support orders.

The SDU Vendor must minimally, meet the following:

Technical Requirements:

The vendor must operate a payment processing center capable of receiving child support payments through both physical (e.g., cash, check, and money order) and electronic means (e.g., wire transfers, Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)/Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), credit card, debit card, and e-check). All payments must be distributed in accordance with Section 454B(c)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 USCA 654b(c)(1)), which requires that payments be distributed within two business days after receipt from the employer or other source of periodic income, provided sufficient information identifying the payee is available.

The Vendor must also meet all remittance processing requirements; special enforcement payment processing requirements; exception processing requirements; process all incoming correspondence, conduct disbursement and printing processes, process returned/undeliverable/unpinned disbursements, meet imaging requirements, conduct document retention/destruction as directed, meet all financial/banking requirements, process unclaimed property, comply with NSF/charge back requirements, and perform training for HFS and Vendor staff members.

The vendor must operate a customer service/call center that handles website, mail, fax, and phone inquiries, while maintaining HFS confidentiality policies. The center must provide customer service to various groups, including Custodial Parents (CPs), Non-Custodial Parents (NCPs), CP and NCP Legal Counsel, Employers and Payors, other child support IV-D agencies, HFS, the 102 Illinois Circuit Court Clerks, members and staff of the Illinois General Assembly, the Governor’s Office, the Attorney General’s Office, and State’s Attorneys’ Offices throughout Illinois.

Additionally, the vendor will be responsible for implementing Public Act 102-1115, which requires developing functionality to accommodate changes within the Illinois Office of the Comptroller (IOC), including a new print, mail, and mailroom program effective July 1, 2024.

Automated Capabilities:

The SDU vendor must provide several automated capabilities, including Intelligent Automation, a Targeted Quality Assurance Process, a Misapplied Enter and Balance Module, OCR Sentinel, Auto Transaction Split, Visual Cut Verify, and a comprehensive web interface to access payment data. Additionally, the SDU vendor must use existing SDU data and maintain networking and interfaces between the SDU, the 102 Circuit Court Clerks, and KIDS (current system)/EPIC (future system).

Technical Assistance:

The SDU Vendor shall continue to provide general technical assistance to HFS as necessary. The technical assistance/expertise has been instrumental in the development of interfaces/connections between the SDU, KIDS and EPIC. It is imperative that HFS retain the business continuity and knowledge of the SDU in order to ensure the Agency meets all Federal deadlines for the child support system transition in order to retain and maximize HFS' Federal Financial Participation (FFP) of 66%.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

Key performance indicators include but are not limited to: timely distribution of payments, high levels of customer service efficiency, adherence to confidentiality policies, special enforcement payment processing and successful implementation of technical functionalities.

Timeline and Milestones/Deliverables:

A significant milestone involves the implementation of the new IOC print, mail, and mailroom program required by July 1, 2024.

Reporting Requirements:

The Vendor shall provide the Agency with timely, accurate and complete reports on a varied basis (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annually), which shall include but not be limited to the following: check counts, pending payments, returned/ undeliverable checks, altered check amounts, receipts, pending address lists, CCC fees received/remitted, check remittances, check printing activities, bank reconciliation, payment processing detail, mis-posted amounts/number of occurrences, non IV-D cases, locally held funds, all monies receipted, monies incorrectly disbursed, earned interest, outstanding liabilities, accuracy report, CSR calls, staffing reports, unclaimed property and ad hoc reporting upon request of the Agency.

Contract Transition:

The overall project timeline includes a six-month transition period to transfer services from the current SDU vendor to a new one, with the completion of the Request for Proposal (RFP) construction and the projected release in early 2026. Major milestones during this period include finalizing all technical interfaces, transferring necessary documentation and resources, and auditing all SDU activities. Contract transition shall consist of, but not be limited to the following: Termination/transfer of real property lease/local facility, transfer of all bank accounts to HFS/new Vendor, transfer of all electronic files/data to HFS/new Vendor, provision of a complete inventory list of all equipment used for the SDU, identification of all open customer service requests, inventory of items which could not be resolved within the close-out period, inventory of items being returned and all supporting documentation, audit of all SDU activities for closeout approval (HFS), completion of all work in progress, bear financial responsibility for outstanding un-negotiated payments, provision of cash balance(s), provision of final report(s)on unreconciled items, ensure accountability and security over all financial assets, ensure all software and hardware licenses are kept current during close-out and transferred as necessary to HFS/new Vendor, return the SDU Extranet application to include cumulative modifications and cumulative documentation of modifications, preparation and submission of phone/fax/email/correspondence re-route plan, transfer of all toll-free numbers to HFS/new Vendor, propose/implement a continuity plan to ensure services are provided to employers, payors and obligors and provision of a final audit review.

Once the EPIC system is stable and all connections between the two systems are identified and established, HFS will resume the construction of the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the SDU, the goal is to have a release date in early 2026.