ACS picks up fine-collection work in Missouri

Affiliated Computer Services Inc. won a six-year contract from the state court administrator's office in Missouri to manage and improve the operations of the state's fine collection center and to assist its courts with debt collection, the company said today.

ACS and the state court administrator's office will form a public-private partnership for the project based on a pay-for-performance contract with no initial up-front investment from the state. The contract can be extended for up to five years.

Under the contract's terms, ACS will manage all phases and aspects of violations enforcement through the state's fine collections center and provide a variety of services, including data entry, imaging, telephone and Web-based payment, payment collection and processing, and integration with Missouri's statewide court case management system.

Missouri's fine collection center was created in 1997 to centralize the enforcement of court-imposed fees for traffic, conservation and watercraft violations. It went into operation in 1999 and now serves 65 of Missouri's 114 counties.

ACS intends to help Missouri's court system to increase the rate of compliance with court-ordered fees and fines and improve overall service, the company said. The Dallas-based provider of business process and IT outsourcing solutions also will facilitate communication to promote the fine collection center's services to non-participating courts and to educate the public about the program's purpose and value.

ACS has around 40,000 employees and generated revenue of $3.8 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2003, according to the company's latest annual report. State and local government clients accounted for approximately $1.7 billion, or 45 percent, of the company's 2003 revenue.