Child Support Garnishments

The Human Resources System allows you to create Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) vendor payments for your state or the agency that processes child support garnishments. These payments are automatically generated through payroll processing, manual checks, and void checks and are stored in a batch accounts payable file in the Fund Accounting System. Each employee and case number will have individual batch accounts payable record. These records, when posted to Fund Accounting, will be processed through the Vendor Check option as an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) payment on a separate ACH format from any other EFT Payment.

Setting Up the Profile and Reference Tables

In order to begin using the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) of child support garnishments, you must first set up your Human Resources Profile and reference tables in both Human Resources and Fund Accounting.

Setting up the Human Resources Profile

Select System Administration > Administration > Profiles > Human Resources Profile.
In the Human Resources Profile page, select the Payroll Tab.
In the Pay Run Processing Options section, choose the appropriate method in the Child Support Reduction Allocation field that is specified by your state or the agency that processes child support garnishments. If the amount of the child support garnishments for an employee is greater than the maximum allowed based on the employee's disposable income, the system will determine how to reduce the amount using the method selected in this field.
- 0 – Not using child support garnishments – This method indicates that your organization is not processing child support garnishments through Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT).
- 1 – Prorate by allocating a percentage to each order based on dollar amount – This method indicates to the system to divide the maximum amount allowed by the total child support amount. This will determine the percentage to be used. Once the percentage is determined, the system will multiply the amount of each child support deduction addendum records or the amount of the deduction if no addendum record is found, by that percentage.
- 2 – Share equally by dividing the allowable disposable income by number of orders – This method indicates to the system to divide the total maximum amount allowed by the number of child support orders and allocate that amount to each order, if it can. For each of the employee's child support deduction addendum records, or the amount of the deduction if no addendum record is found, if the calculated amount is greater than the amount of the deduction addendum record, then only the deduction amount will be applied to that record. After the amount has been allocated to all addendum records, if there is any balance remaining, the system will divide the balance by the number of remaining addendums and apply the results to each record.
- 3 – Prioritize in chronological order of garnishment order date - This method indicates to the system to sort the employee's child support deduction addendum records by Order Date and allocate the amount to each order beginning with the oldest.
Click OK save your changes.

Setting up the vendor

Select Fund Accounting > Reference Tables > Reference Tables > Vendor List.
If the state or agency that processes the child support garnishments is already a vendor, search for and select the vendor record, and then click OK to display it. Open the EFT/ACH tab, and verify the Trans Code, Bank Code and Account Number fields have the correct information sending payments through Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) processing.
If the state or agency that processes the child support garnishments is not already a vendor, click Add New to add the vendor record.

Setting up existing deductions to be mandatory

Select Human Resources > Reference Tables > Payroll > Deductions to display the Deduction Table page.
In the Search Criteria section, enter criteria to identify the deductions that are required to be taken with every payroll and that should be used to determine the disposable income for the child support garnishments. Click Find.
In the List section, select a deduction, and then click OK.
Select the Taxation tab, and select the Mandatory checkbox.
When the box is selected, the deduction will be used to calculate the disposable income for the child support garnishments. The calculation is:
Total Gross Pay – Taxes – Mandatory Deductions = Disposable Income
Click OK to save your changes.

For more information, refer to the Deduction Table section.

Adding a child support garnishment deduction

Select Human Resources > Reference Tables > Payroll > Deductions to display the Deduction Table page.
Click Add New.

Set up the deduction record as needed, except for the following entries:

General Tab
Method	S – Employee Amount
Subjective Gross	DI – Disposable Income.
Employee Tab
Maximum Deduction	0.00
Maximum Method	P - % of Disposable Income.
Taxation Tab
Deduction Tax Exemptions	Leave checkboxes blank.
Child Support	Select checkbox.
Vendor Tab
Vendor	Vendor code for state or agency
Payment Frequency	Enter the frequency for creating batch accounts payable records.

Click OK.

Adding, updating, or verifying the FIPS Code table

Select Human Resources > Reference Tables > Payroll > FIPS Codes to display the FIPS Codes page.
In the Search Criteria section, enter criteria to identify the FIPS (Federal Information Process Standard) codes used for child support garnishments. This code identifies the state or agency that processes the child support payments.
Click Find.
Review the FIPS code information that displays. You can add or update the records as needed.
Click OK to save your changes.
For more information on the fields in the FIPS Code table, refer to FIPS Code Table.

Setting Up the Employee's Child Support Garnishment Deduction

Once you have completed the setup of your Human Resources Profile and reference tables in both Human Resources and Fund Accounting, you must set up the child support garnishment deductions for the employees who are required to pay child support.

Adding the employee's child support garnishment deduction

Select Human Resources > Entry & Processing > Employee > Employee Information> search for and select an employee > click OK to display the Employee Information detail page.
Click Payroll Information on the Action Bar, and then select Deductions.
On the Employee Deductions page, click Add New.
In the Deduction field, select the deduction code defined for child support garnishments.
In the Deduction Amount/Rate field, enter the total deduction amount the employee is required to pay in child support. The amount entered should be the total of the current support payments and any court-ordered arrears.
Complete all other fields as needed.
For information on the page's fields, refer to Employee Deductions Page.
Click OK to save the deduction and display the Deduction Addendum page, which shows the Deduction and Deduction Amount values entered in the Employee Deductions page.
In the Deduction Addendum page, complete the fields as follows:
Case Number Enter the garnishment's case number and if the state or agency requires one, the cause code. Character/20
Order Date Enter the date that the child support garnishment order was established. This date should be the original date of the case number, not the date that you were notified to deduct the garnishment from the employee's wages.
This field is required if your Human Resources Profile, Child Support Reduction Allocation field, is set to method: 3 – Prioritize in chronological order of garnishment order date.
Current Support Enter the dollar amount associated with the case number. The amount must be greater than 0.00
- If you are only entering one case for an employee with only a current support value, the amount entered must equal the Deduction Amount that displays in the Deduction Information section of the page.
  If you are entering more than one case number for the employee or there are court-ordered arrears, the total amount for all cases in both this field and the Court Ordered Arrears field must equal the value that displays in the Deduction Amount field
  Court Ordered Arrears Enter the amount of the child support garnishment that the courts indicate are in arrears.
- If you are only entering one case for an employee with only a court-ordered arrears value, the amount entered must equal the Deduction Amount that displays in the Deduction Information section of this page.
  If you are entering more than one case number for the employee, with current support or court-ordered arrears, the total amount for all cases in both this field and the Current Support field must equal the value that displays in the Deduction Amount field
  Medical Select the checkbox if the employee has health insurance coverage.
  FIPS The FIPS Code will default the code for the state associated with the vendor on the deduction table. You may change the code, if necessary.
  Terminated Select the checkbox if the employee’s employment has been terminated.
  Comment Enter notes regarding the garnishment. Character/100
If you only have one case number for the employee, click OK to save the record.
If you have more than one case number, repeat Step 8 until the sum of the Current Support and the Court Ordered Arrears fields equals the value in the Deduction Amount field, and then click OK.

Updating the employee's child support garnishment deduction

Select Human Resources > Entry & Processing > Employee > Employee Information > search for and select an employee > click OK to display the Employee Information detail page.
Click Payroll Information on the Action Bar, and then select Deductions.
In the Employee Deductions page, select the deduction code you defined for the employee's child support garnishment, and then click OK.
In the Employee Deduction Information section, change the fields as needed, and then click OK.
In the Deduction Addendum page, change the information or add case numbers if needed.
Click OK to save the record.

Pay Run Processing Procedures

Once the setup has been completed in the previous steps, you are ready to process your child support garnishments through payroll. When the pay run is set up, you must select the deduction frequency that you have defined on the deduction table for the child garnishment deduction code. Process the pay run as you normally would.

When the pay run is calculated, if there is insufficient disposable income, the calculation will deduct what it can for each addendum record for an employee based on the method selected in the Child Support Reduction Allocation of the Human Resources Profile. It will first deduct the current support amounts. If all the current support amounts can be deducted, it will then take any court-ordered arrears.

When the Fund Accounting Interface is processed, the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) vendor payments for the child support garnishments will be created in Fund Accounting's Batch Accounts Payable option. These payments are also created through the Manual Checks, Void Checks and if applicable, Adjustment Checks options.

The batch accounts payable files are assigned control numbers that depend on:

The payroll option used to generate the file.
The pay run code used. For example, for pay run 123, control numbers would be generated as follows:

Format	Option	Control Numbers
PCS(pay run code)P	Fund Accounting Interface	PCS123P
PCS(pay run code)M	Manual or Adjustment Checks	PCS123M
PCS(pay run code)V	Void Checks	PCS123V

An individual batch accounts payable record will be created in the batch file for each employee addendum record. If an employee has four addendum records, there will be four separate payable records for each one.

The invoice number will contain the employee number and an addendum number incremented by one. For example, employee number 111 has four addenda. The invoice number for each batch payable record will be 111-1, 111-2, 111-3, and 111-4. The description of the payable will contain the case number for each addendum.

For information on processing your payroll, refer to Pay Run Processing.

Vendor Checks Processing Procedures

Following are the procedures for processing the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) payments for child support garnishments.

In the Fund Accounting System, review, release, then post the batch using Fund Accounting > Entry & Processing > Payable Entry > Batch Accounts Payable.
Before generating vendor checks, review the Cash Requirements report for selected checks in one of the following options: Fund Accounting > Reports > Accounts Payable Reports > Cash Requirements OR Fund Accounting > Reports > Accounts Payable Reports > Cash Requirements in Check Format.
Once you have reviewed the Cash Requirements report, to process vendor checks, access the Process Payables page through Fund Accounting > Entry & Processing > Vendor Checks > Vendor Checks option.
In the Control Number field, enter the control number for the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) vendor payments for the child support garnishments. These control numbers must be processed separately from all other payables and automated vendor payments, since the process will use a separate file format.
In the Payment Type field, select E – EFT Only.
Enter the Due Date to process the child support garnishments. The system will process all child support garnishments in the control number entered with the due date prior to or equal to the date entered in this field.
Click Next to display the Print window for generating the Cash Requirements – Check Format – Due Date report. This report will show all the child support garnishments that will be processed based on the selection criteria entered on the Process Payables page. Review the report and verify the information is correct.
If the information is correct, click Next in the Vendor Check Verification page.
If the information is not correct, click Cancel. This is the last time you can cancel out of the vendor check process
After you click Next on the Vendor Check Verification page, the Print Checks page displays.
In the Check Criteria section, enter the beginning voucher number, check date and make your selection to create attachments and send email.
Click Next. A message displays indicating how many vouchers will print as well as their voucher numbers. You will be asked if you would like to continue printing vouchers.
Click Yes to continue printing the vouchers or No to return to the Print Checks page and re-enter the check criteria.
If you selected Yes, a Print window displays. Select the destination for generating the vouchers, and then click OK to print the vouchers and display the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) page.
In the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) page, select the EFT Destination.
The Bank Destination Name will default based on the EFT Destination selected.
The EFT File Format will display as CCD+. This file format is used only to process child support garnishments.
Use the Date Entries are to be Posted field to select the date when your bank may process debits to your account. The date defaults to the current system date.
In the File Creation Date field, enter the date to apply to the header record of the vendor check file to indicate when the file was created.
Click Next to display a Print window and define the settings for generating the file.
Make note of the file name and server directory you use for storing the file. The default file name used by the system provides the disbursement fund associated with the payments, for instance eftfile100.tpe.
Important
To avoid the possibility of overwriting of your ACH files, you should change the default file name.
Click OK to generate the ACH file.
- The system creates the PDF vouchers at this point.
- The EFT feature generates the file and stores it on your application server. You are then responsible for sending the file to your bank.
Another Print window displays for generating the EFT report. Enter your settings, and then click OK.
A final confirmation displays asking if the vendor checks printed correctly.
- Click Yes, proceed if the checks printed correctly.
- Click No, reprint if the checks did not print correctly.
When you click Yes to proceed, the Vendor Check Register page displays. Click Finish to complete the vendor check process.