Title
Title
Child Support: Child Support Commissioner and Family Law Facilitator Program Funding Allocation (Action Required)
body
Summary
Summary
At its meeting on April 17, 2015, the Judicial Council approved the recommendation from the Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee that the AB 1058 Funding Allocation Joint Subcommittee be established to reconsider the allocation methodology developed in 1997 for the AB 1058 Child Support Commissioner and Family Law Facilitator Program. The subcommittee, which included representatives from the Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee (FJLAC), the Trial Court Budget Advisory Committee (TCBAC), the Workload Assessment Advisory Committee (WAAC), and the California Department of Child Support Services (DCSS), was charged with reconsidering the allocation methodology developed in 1997 and reporting back at the February 2016 Judicial Council meeting. The joint subcommittee completed its work in November 2015 after extensive discussions and review of the relevant information.
The joint subcommittee was asked to report back to the Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee, the Trial Court Budget Advisory Committee, and the Workload Assessment Advisory Committee by December 31, 2015, and report back to the council at its February 2016 meeting. This report was provided in response to that directive and included the recommendation of the subcommittee as well as the reports from the three respective advisory committees.
body
Recommendation
Recommendation
The AB 1058 Funding Allocation Joint Subcommittee recommended that the Judicial Council, effective February 26, 2016:
1. Continue to allocate funding using the historical funding methodology, coordinate with California Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) on their current review of funding allocations for local child support agencies, and review the funding methodology for the child support commissioners and family law facilitators at the conclusion of the DCSS program review.
2. When developing a funding methodology in the future, determine whether there is sufficient data to determine the specific workload of the family law facilitator, which may be different than how workload for the child support commissioner is determined; and
3. Adopt the recommendation of the joint subcommittee for revising the process of how funds are moved from one court to another during a fiscal year to maximize program resources. This process would include providing questionnaires for the courts to identify funds available for redistribution and courts requesting additional funds. The Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee would make recommendations to the Judicial Council for reallocation of these available funds. The Judicial Council would direct the Administrative Director to continue to monitor spending patterns of the courts and provide a survey with a financial analysis to the courts towards the end of the fiscal year to determine if additional funds are available to be reallocated to courts that have exhausted their AB 1058 allocation. The Administrative Director would reallocate the available funds and report back to the Judicial Council on any action taken once the fiscal year has closed.
The Trial Court Budget Advisory Committee recommended that Recommendation 1, supra, instead provide as follows:
1. Allocate funding using the historical model in fiscal year (FY) 2016-2017. Develop a workload-based funding methodology to begin implementation in FY 2017-2018. Coordinate with California Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) on their current review of funding allocations for local child support agencies.
body
Speakers
Speakers
Hon. Lorna A. Alksne, Chair, Workload Assessment Advisory Committee
Hon. Mark A. Juhas, Co-Chair, Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee
Hon. Jonathan B. Conklin, Chair, Trial Court Budget Advisory Committee
Ms. Anna Maves, Center for Families, Children & the Courts
body