ADOPTED - MAY 11, 1999

Agenda Item No. 13

Introduced by the Finance Committee of the:

INGHAM COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

RESOLUTION REGARDING FRIEND OF THE COURT BUDGET INCENTIVES

RESOLUTION #99-117

WHEREAS, beginning October 1, 1999, the federal government will implement a new performance based child support incentive program that will be phased in over a three year period; and

WHEREAS, it is anticipated that the new performance based formula will result in significant increases in incentive payments to the State of Michigan; and

WHEREAS, in addition to administrative costs, the federal government has paid performance based incentive money to the states in the past on a cost benefit basis for support collections; and

WHEREAS, these payments through the State of Michigan have been significantly reduced over the years primarily due to costs associated with the statewide computer system (CSES) and decreased welfare caseloads (Ingham County's ADC cases were 5,016 in 1993 and are 3,668 in 1998); and

WHEREAS, due to a series of problems related to the (CSES) computer system, the State is facing sanctions by the federal government for failure to have a certified system. These penalties could be as high as $12 million in the Fiscal Year 2000 and perhaps as much as $16 million the following year; and

WHEREAS, Ingham County is concerned that the State intends to use the incentives to pay the penalties; and

WHEREAS, the Friends of the Court and the counties are not responsible for the State's failure to pass certification; and

WHEREAS, to use the performance based incentives to offset the sanctions would be extremely unfair and greatly cripple the Friend of the Court's ability to perform the duties it is statutorily required to complete.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Ingham County Board of Commissioners requests that the Legislature amend the Family Independence Agency budget to specifically hold counties and the Friend of the Court offices harmless with respect to federal financial penalties; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the State of Michigan pass all federal incentive money on to the counties for specific funding of Friend of the Court statutory domestic relations functions.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a copy of this Resolution be forwarded by the County Clerk to Governor John Engler, the Michigan Association of Counties and our state legislative delegation.

FINANCE: Yeas: McDonald, Bernero, Grebner, Lynch, Juall, Minter

Nays: None Absent: Schafer Approved 5/5/99