FAIRFAX COUNTY (VA) - EVALUATION OF THE JUVENILE AND DOMESTIC RELATIONS DISTRICT COURT SUPPORT PROCESSING SYSTEM

• NCJ Number: 58377
• Author(s): ANON
• Date Published: 1976
• Length: 25 pages
• Corporate Author: Fairfax Cty Office of Research and Statistics; Fairfax Cty Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND STATISTICS PRODUCTIVITY REPORT

Annotation

THE COMPUTERIZED SUPPORT ACCOUNTING SYSTEM AND REVISED PROCEDURES FOR THE FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA., JUVENILE AND DOMESTIC RELATIONS COURT, ARE EVALUATED IN ORDER TO DETERMINE THE SYSTEM'S EFFECT ON PRODUCTIVITY.

Abstract

THE SYSTEM, BEGUN IN 1974, PROCESSES COURT ORDERED CHILD SUPPORT AND RESTITUTION PAYMENTS, MAINTAINS A MASTER FILE OF ACCOUNT RECORDS AND A HISTORICAL FILE OF ALL PAYMENTS, AND PRODUCES MANAGEMENT REPORTS FOR MONITORING PAYMENT COLLECTIONS AND STATUS OF ACCOUNTS. THE AUTOMATED SYSTEM AND SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES WERE NECESSITATED BY INCREASING WORKLOADS AND THE NEED TO PREVENT OVERTIME FOR COURT PERSONNEL. THE SYSTEM WAS BASED ON A MODIFICATION OF ONE NEW YORK COUNTY'S SYSTEM. IT WAS INSTALLED, USING BATCH PROCESSING, ON THE COUNTY'S IBM 370/155 COMPUTER. IN A RELATED PROCEDURAL CHANGE, THE COURT CHANGED THE SYSTEM OF PAYMENTS BY PERSONS UNDER COURT ORDER FROM A TWO STEP PROCESS TO A SINGLE STEP WHEREBY CHECKS WERE MADE PAYABLE DIRECTLY TO THE ULTIMATE RECIPIENT. THIS CHANGE HAS MATERIALLY REDUCED PROCESSING TIME, COSTS, AND ERRORS. PAYMENTS ARE NOW PROCESSED WITHIN 24 HOURS, IN CONTRAST TO PREVIOUS TIME LAGS OF UP TO TWO WEEKS. IN ADDITION, BETTER CONTROL OVER ACCOUNTS, IDENTIFICATION OF DELINQUENT ACCOUNTS, AND PREPARATION OF DELINQUENT NOTICES HAS PRODUCED AN OPPORTUNITY FOR IMPROVED ENFORCEMENT OF COURT ORDERS. A LEAA-FUNDED SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT PROJECT HAS RESULTED IN A 12.7 PERCENT INCREASE IN THE COLLECTION RATE FOR SUPPORT ACCOUNTS DURING ITS FIRST FOUR MONTHS OF OPERATION. THE COMPUTER SYSTEM HAS SIMPLIFIED THE GRANT'S IMPLEMENTATION. YEARLY DATA PROCESSING COSTS ARE NOW $16,500 LESS AND THE SAME EQUIPMENT IS BEING USED. THE SYSTEM HAS INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY AND IMPROVE THE COURT'S CAPABILITY FOR MANAGING ITS SUPPORT AND RESTITUTION RESPONSIBILITIES. AS A RESULT, THE COUNTY RECEIVED A 1974-75 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES ACHIEVEMENT AWARD. A DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTY AND ITS COURT SYSTEM, AND DETAILED STATISTICS ON SUPPORT SYSTEM AND PROCESSING COSTS, ARE INCLUDED. (CFW)