The National Council of State Child Support Enforcement Administrators Resolves that:
OCSE in coordination with States develop a model Statement of Work (SOW) and contract language for Quality Assurance (QA) and Independent Validation and Verification (IV&V) services which could be used by each state. The standard document or guide could be modified to meet the unique needs or situation of each state. This should greatly decrease the time needed to develop an RFP and solicit proposals from qualified private sector companies. This will directly impact the delivery of child support services.
OCSE should work with states to identify the best methods to provide quality management and oversight of state child support computer systems. States have been working for many years to meet the stringent Federal and State requirements for computer systems and the ever-changing legislative mandates.
System development has become so complex few states can design, develop and implement a computer system without assistance from the private sector. State computer system resources are being depleted, diverted or consolidated so that many state child support directors do not maintain control of the resources and are unable to adequately set priorities for development, implementation or oversight of these huge complex computer systems.
System development has become so complex that management and oversight of the daily operations is a challenge with limited state staff. New resources are being utilized to assist the child support program in the development and maintenance of complex computer systems. Quality Assurance (QA) contracts and Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) contracts are providing a high level of support to some state programs while other states are struggling to secure these services. It appears that no common definition or standard exists for these "relatively" new Technology Tools. Each state must identify a unique set of standards and deliverables for the use of these Technology Tools since no common set of standards or guide exists. States are "reinventing" what probably already exists in another state and no centralized exchange program seems to be in operation.