Office of the Attorney General
An Audit Report Responding to Questions From the Senate Interim Committee on Juvenile Justice and Child Support
Report Number 97-031
January 1997
Key Facts and Findings
As of November 20, 1996, the total costs associated with Texas Child Support Enforcement System (TXCSES) are projected at approximately $75,106,703, including $6,362,307 in data purification costs. Of that amount, the State's share for developing and implementing the new system is $16,213,655.
The current estimated implementation date has not been announced. Based on the amount of work remaining and the recommendations from the United States Office of Child Support Enforcement (USOCSE), implementation will be no earlier than April 1997. Implementation could be further delayed because of the problems identified with converting data from the current system, processing month-end batch transactions within the limited number of overnight hours available, and reconciling financial transactions at the case level.
The original estimated completion date of the project was February 26, 1993. Delays in implementing TXCSES can be attributed to delays in receiving federal requirements, changing federal regulations and state legislation, complexity of the child support enforcement systems, problems with the design of the system, and unresolved issues between the contractor, Andersen Consulting (Andersen), and the Office of the Attorney General (OAG).
Substantial progress has been made toward implementation of TXCSES since the Senate Interim Committee on Juvenile Justice and Child Support directed Andersen and the OAG to have the system implemented by February 1997.
Based on the terms and conditions of the contract between the OAG and Andersen and our review of the deliverables, our interpretation is that Andersen has received all payments that are due. While the OAG has been inconsistent in enforcing the terms of the contract, Andersen has not completed all required tasks. To date, the OAG has paid Andersen $4,671,594.
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