Louisiana taps ACS for child support collection

Affiliated Computer Services Inc. won an $8.6 million contract from Louisiana to collect child support payments, the company announced today. The three-year contract also has two options years.

Under the contract, ACS of Dallas will operate the state's centralized child support collection unit. As such, the company will be responsible for promoting and processing electronic payments from employers and implementing new technologies designed to improve the speed, security, and accuracy of these payments, the company said.

The company implemented an electronic funds transfer system in Louisiana two years ago that allows employers of parents who don't have custody to electronically send child support payments to the centralized collections unit for disbursement to parents with custody.

Louisiana is part of a consortium of 14 state that belong to a system known as the Electronic Parent Locator Network that tracks the financial assets of noncustodial parents who owe child support.

ACS provides Louisiana with a variety of outsourcing services, including ticket processing, emergency medical billing and collection services, records management and information and systems management services.

The company currently has child support collection contracts with 14 states and Los Angeles County.

ACS is a provider of business process and information technology outsourcing services to commercial and government clients. The company has more than 40,000 employees and had annual sales of $3.7 billion in 2003.