court information center

Courts recently received e-mail correspondence from Dee Ann Davis at the Department of Social Services, Family Services Division – Child Support (FSD - CS). FSD - CS must insure that all their “partners” comply with federal requirements to complete and return forms related to the safeguarding of federal tax information (FTI). Ms. Davis oversees compliance with those federal regulations.

FSD - CS believes that individuals who have access to the Missouri Automated Child Support System (MACSS) have access to federal tax information and must comply with federal requirements for safeguarding it. According to FSD-CS, the FTI that is available in MACSS is contained on the CDLST (Collection/disbursement List) screen. Federal tax intercepts are coded as IRS on the CDLST screen. However, if the payment history REPORT is printed (rather than a screen print of CDLST), the REPORT document does not contain any FTI.COURTS SHOULD NOT CREATE OR USE A SCREEN PRINT OF CDLST.

The e-mail referenced three documents:

• The Policy on Safeguarding Requirements is informational and must be reviewed by all staff who have access to MACSS prior to each staff person signing the Acknowledgement of IRS and SSA Restrictions and Penalties form. Per FSD - CS, this document provides the required training as identified in the Safeguarding Requirements document.
  

• The Acknowledgement of IRS and SSA Restrictions and Penalties is a form that must be completed by each individual who has access to MACSS. Courts are asked to print this attachment and have each MACSS user complete and sign this document.

• The Internal Inspections Office Report (titled Internal Inspections Report Field Office in the e-mail attachment) is a form that must be completed by each court. Only one document is required per county. This form should be signed by the individual completing it, such as the circuit clerk, presiding judge, or other appointing authority. The last two signature lines are completed by FSDs compliance coordinator. Ms. Davis suggests retaining a copy of this form for reference, as courts will be asked to complete it, as well as the Acknowledgment form, on an annual basis.

To assist courts in completing the Internal Inspections Office Report, attached is a copy of the form containing comments on areas with statewide implication. Comments in parenthesis, such as (Per individual court procedure), should be replaced with local court procedure. Please note that courts that have a locally managed information technology department may have different responses. Courts may also have different or additional local requirements or safeguarding measures that should be included on the Internal Inspections Office Report, as appropriate.

Completed and signed forms must be scanned and e-mailed back to Ms. Davis. She asks courts to complete and return the forms by the end of February. You are urged to contact her if you believe you cannot meet the deadline. As noted above, this is an annual requirement, so in October of 2017, courts will receive these forms again by e-mail or possibly via an internet site. If you have further questions about the Internal Inspections Office Report, please contact Ms. Davis via the contact information in her e-mail. If you have questions regarding court processes related to child support information, you may contact the OSCA Help Desk and ask to speak with someone on the Child Support team. Thank you for your attention to FSDs request.