1.0 DES MISSION AND VISION STATEMENTS: 1.1 ADES Mission: The Arizona Department of Economic Security (Department) promotes the safety, well-being and self sufficiency of children, adults and families. 1.2 ADES Vision: Every child, adult and family in the state of Arizona will be safe and economically secure. 2.0 PURPOSE: 2.1 The primary purpose of this procurement is to collect past due child support obligations for the Arizona Department of Economic Security, (Department) Division of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE). 2.2 Additional services include the collection of Non Sufficient Funds (NSF) checks and to locate Custodial Parents (CPs), Non custodial Parents (NCP), Alleged Fathers, Obligors and others, which the Department has the legal authority to locate, for which the Department does not have a valid address to distribute support payments. 2.3 The awarded services may also be used by other Department divisions such as Division of Children Youth and Families (DCYF) and Office of Accounts Receivable and Collections (OARC). 2.4 Projected Awards: It is the Department s intention to make multiple awards for this service. The contract will be established with an initial contract term of one year with extension options with an anticipated start date of June 1, 2008. 3.0 BACKGROUND: 3.1 The Department is mandated and authorized, through Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. 651, et seq. and 45 C.F.R., Parts 300, et seq. of the Social Security Act and Arizona Revised Statute 25-502 to establish child support obligations and to pursue collections on behalf of these obligations once a court order is in place. 4.0 TAXONOMY: 4.1 Services that locate absent parents, establish paternity, establish child support obligation and collect and distribute child/spousal support. 3-1
5.0 GENERAL INFORMATION: Debt Collection and Locate Services 5.1 The Department will provide each awarded Contractor a Department owned Post Office Box for receiving recovered Obligor payments. 5.1.1 Upon initial contact, the Contractor shall direct the obligor to send payment(s) to the assigned new Post Office Box. 5.1.2 It is the intention of the Department to provide each awarded Contractor a merchant account for collecting credit card, debit card, echeck and any future form of payment. 5.2 The Department will assign cases to the Contractor in a manner that is in the best interest of the State. Collection cases assigned shall: 5.2.1 have an active court order; 5.2.2 be 61 days or more delinquent; 5.2.3 have an outstanding debt in excess of $100.00. 5.3 The Department may suspend, or cancel the assignment of any case, regardless of the status of the debt balance upon written or electronic notice to the Contractor. 5.4 The Department reserves the right to review all disbursed collection reports and to deduct any payments as a result of any DCSE automated asset seizure. Automated asset seizure includes, but not limited to CSLN, FIDM, IRS tax intercepts, lottery and unemployment insurance. 5.5 The Department may refer cases in which a check was made payable to the Support Payment Clearinghouse and returned for NSF. 5.6 Cases may be referred to the Contractor at the discretion of the department.. 5.7 The Department will provide initial training to contractor s staff to instruct on the use of the read only and other functions of ATLAS (Arizona Tracking Locate Automated System). The Department will continue training as needed. 5.8 When an assigned case has had no payment activity by the assigned Contractor for 180 days after referral, the case may be assigned to another Contractor. 5.9 The Department may offer performance incentives to awarded Contractors each fiscal quarter. The Department will determine the area of focus and amount of award to the highest performing Contractor. 3-2
The areas of focus may include: 5.9.1 Collection of the most dollars; 5.9.2 Collection of dollars on the most number of cases; 5.9.3 Collection of aged dollars; 5.9.4 Collection of State owed arrears. 5.10 The Department may refer cases for special collection or locate projects. 5.11 The Department may assign cases for Locate only services. 6.0 SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS: 6.1 The Contractor shall: 6.1.1 Carry out in a timely manner all collection activities and procedures in accordance and in compliance with applicable state and federal laws including, but not limited to, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and guidelines established by the Federal Trade Commission in the Code of Ethics, and Rules and Regulations of the American Collectors Association, Inc., the United States Internal Revenue Code (IRC) 6103, 45 CFR 303.21 (Safeguarding Information); 45 CFR 303.30 (Securing Medical Support Information); 6.1.2 Accept all cases assigned by the Department regardless of whether the obligor resides in or out of the State of Arizona, and without regard to age, type of case or amount of debt; 6.1.3 Maintain documentation sufficient to meet all child support enforcement and Federal audit requirements. 6.1.4 Comply with all federal requirements for action on a case. 6.1.5 Not accept compromise or settlement payments on an account unless authorized in writing by the Department. In the event a compromise issue arises, the Contractor s staff shall notify the Department s Liaison immediately. 6.1.6 Not use wage withholding or garnishment, property seizure, home or workplace visits, or other types of collection methods not approved by the Department under this contract. The Contractor shall not bring suit on any account. The Contractor shall not litigate or garnish accounts assigned by the Department; 6.1.7 Maintain communication with the obligor and provide to the Department, on a daily basis, any new information that becomes available to the Contractor in the course of working the case. The information shall include, but not limited to: 3-3
change of address, telephone number, change of employer, job status, selfemployment, assets, bank accounts, credit cards, school enrollment, major purchases, payment histories, court documents, legal action, birth, marriage status, death, estate assets, incarceration and deportation. This information received by the Contractor shall be forwarded to the Department electronically. 6.1.8 Make recommendations about potential litigation and forward the recommendation to the Department along with information regarding assets/liabilities and the potential for successful collection on the case. 6.1.9 Notify the Department within three business days of cases in which fraud is suspected by any person associated with a case. The Contractor shall provide the Department with all documentation, and a written report relevant to the suspected fraud. 6.1.10 Assist the Department to establish Income Withholding Orders by reporting verified new employment information of Obligors electronically to the Department. 6.1.11 Provide secure location for all documents related to the contract. 6.1.12 Have a written customer service policy which includes complaint resolution. 6.1.13 Be prepared to accept payments through any method available to the Contractor and approved by the Department. 6.1.14 Be capable of interfacing with the Department s computer system, ATLAS, utilizing Connect Direct, FTP, FTP (Harbor), VPN or Arbiter. 6.1.15 Provide the Department read only access to the Contractor s case notes of accounts assigned by the Department. 6.1.16 Provide training on their procedures initially and as needed to Department liaisons. 6.2 All forms used by the Contractor for the services outlined in this shall be submitted to the Department for approval prior to use. 6.3 The Contractor shall cease activities on a case if any of the following exists: 6.3.1 A case that the Department referred to the Contractor in error. If the Contractor discovers a case has been referred in error, the Contractor shall notify the Department immediately, cease collection activities on that case, and return the case with all related documents to the Department. 3-4
6.3.2 An Administrative Review has been requested. If, after the Contractor begins collection activities, the obligor disputes the amount owed, the Contractor shall cease activities and notify the Department for resolution of the dispute. The Department may refer the case back to the Contractor upon resolution of the dispute. The Contractor shall adjust account balances, as directed by the Department. 6.3.3 Any case in the Contractor s caseload which has been or will be sent to litigation by the Department. Upon notification by the Department that an account is in litigation, all activity on the account shall be immediately suspended. Any and all documentation on such accounts shall be immediately provided to the Department. 6.3.4 Any case in which the Department determines that it is in the best interest of the State to be returned. 6.3.5 A conflict of interest exists with the Contractor s staff. 6.4 Maintain all licenses required by and adhere to all provisions of A.R.S. 32-1001 through 32-1057 inclusive (Chapter 9). 7.0 COLLECTIONS NOT CREDITABLE TO THE CONTRACTOR: 7.1 The Contractor shall not be compensated for services rendered on cases where: 7.1.1 Payments in which the check is returned for non-sufficient funds. It shall be the responsibility of the Contractor to recover those funds in which payment was collected as a result of the Contractor s collection methods and the payment was returned for non-sufficient funds. No credit for collection on such checks shall be applied to the Contractor until the funds are fully recovered. 7.1.2 Payments received for cases that were referred by the Department in error. Whether or not a case is referred in error to the Contractor by the Department is the sole determination of the Department. 7.1.3 Payments arising from automated asset seizure activities initiated by the Department. 7.1.4 Wage withholding payments resulting from those cases where the Department was successful in locating an employer and issuing an Income Withholding Order by direct automated contact prior to the date the Contractor locates an employer. 3-5
7.1.5 Payments resulting from the Department's direct contact with the NCP or the NCP s representative to obtain a pay off of the debt(s). 7.1.6 Purge payments resulting from court actions the Department initiated. 7.1.7 Specific one time payments ordered by the judiciary. 7.1.8 Currently, the Department has agreements with some Tribes for child support collection and distribution. Referrals to the Contractor may include cases with tribal court orders which the Contractor shall be authorized to pursue. The Department will supply the Contractor(s) with a list of those Tribes. While working cases, if the Contractor has a case where the obligor appears to live on a reservation which is not on the list, the Contractor shall cease further action and notify the Department for direction. 7.2 The Contractor shall not earn fees for payments made beyond seven days after the expiration, termination or cancellation date of this contract, unless specifically authorized in writing by the Department. 8.0 PAYMENT FOR SERVICE: 8.1 The payment unit for collection services is a percentage of child support Disbursed Payments for cases that the Contractor s collected monies. 8.2 The payment unit for locate and employer locate services is per verified locate. 8.2.1 The Contractor shall receive payment for a verified employer locate for those cases where the Contractor locates an employer on a date that is prior to the date that the Department locates the employer, and the Department successfully issues an Income Withholding Order. 8.3 The Contractor shall receive payment for disbursed payments posted to cases assigned to the Contractor which are not included in the section Collections not Creditable to the Contractor. The Contractor shall receive payment for collections (generated by the Contractor) for the duration of 180 days following the receipt of the first payment. 8.3.1 The Contractor shall continue to receive payment for an additional 180 days by increasing the monthly amount collected from the obligor by 10% for disbursed payments posted to cases assigned to the Contractor by the Department. 3-6
9.0 REPORTS: 9.1 In a method acceptable to the Department, the Contractor shall submit the following reports: 9.1.1 A weekly report of cases recommended for closure and an explanation of why the case was recommended for closure. 9.1.2 A monthly report of cases in which the Contractor has increased the monthly amount collected from an Obligor. The report shall include Contractor name, ATLAS case number, monthly amount paid by Obligor for the first 180 day cycle and monthly amount paid on the next 180 day cycle. 9.1.3 A monthly summary report of all verified Employer locate information that has been electronically sent to the Department which includes Obligor name, employer name and ATLAS case number. 10.0 PAYMENT TO CONTRACTOR: 10.1 Payment for services provided to the Department shall be paid via Automated Clearing House (ACH) by using the ACH process. Enrollment instructions and downloadable forms are found at http://www.gao.state.az.us/vendor/ 3-7