Title
Child Support Services (CSS) recommending the Board authorize the Director of Child Support Services to negotiate an agreement between the County of El Dorado CSS and the County of Tehama CSS, where the County of Tehama will compensate the County of El Dorado for the provision of legal attorney services to the County of Tehama CSS and return to the Board for approval of the agreement.
FUNDING: State and Federal Child Support Funding.
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DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
Family Code Section 17304(a) mandates that the Director of the Department negotiate and enter into cooperative agreements with county and state agencies to fulfill the requirements of the state plan for administering the Title IV-D child support program. Family Code 17304(a) also states, “The director, in consultation with the impacted counties, may consolidate the local child support agencies, or any function of the agencies, in more than one county into a single local child support agency, if the director determines that the consolidation will increase the efficiency of the state Title IV-D program and each county has at least one local child support office accessible to the public.”
El Dorado CSS was approached by the Tehama County Local Child Support Agency with a request to provide legal services through a contractual agreement. Under this agreement, Tehama County would compensate El Dorado County on a monthly basis for legal services. El Dorado CSS currently employs three attorneys. As caseloads continue to decrease across California, more small counties are seeking such agreements to facilitate the administration of the Title IV-D program statewide. These agreements help the state Department of Child Support Services promote cost-effectiveness and ensure continuity of legal access and full services for the families we serve. The intent of the agreement would be to ensure that Tehama County CSS can effectively manage child support cases within their jurisdiction, while allowing El Dorado C...
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