Judge says bureaucracy is no excuse

Judge says bureaucracy is no excuse

http://www.journalstar.com/articles/...5273842571.txt
By Margaret Reist/Lincoln Journal Star

Here's one for the little guy: A judge has ordered the state Health and
Human Services System to pay $819 in attorneys fees and chastised officials
for allowing a problem with child support payments to end up in court.




"The fact that (Health and Human Services) is a big organization is no
excuse for it not doing what it was ordered to do by the court in the first
place," Lancaster County District Judge Karen Flowers said in a decision
signed Tuesday.

The order stems from eight cases, all involving men who owe child support
and are on disability. In each case, a portion of their disability checks
was sent directly to their child or children's custodial parents. The
payments - more than $1,000 in some cases - were supposed to be credited to
their child support accounts.

But they weren't, so the men didn't receive credit for making the payments -
until their attorney took the department to court.

Attorney Susan Ugai, who contracts with the Lancaster County public
defender's office to represent the men, contacted HHS in April in an effort
to solve the problem without litigation, Flowers' order says.

At the request of department, Ugai sent copies of the orders to officials at
HHS, even though they had been served with copies of the order requiring the
credit.

State officials said they were unsure exactly what action needed to be taken
and Ugai again e-mailed them, explaining precisely what needed to be done,
according to Flowers' order.

Five months later, when the credits still hadn't been applied to her
clients' accounts, she filed proceedings in court, asking the HHS to show
why it shouldn't be found in contempt.

"It was only after the contempt action was filed that credits were
ultimately made," Flowers said.

HHS spokeswoman Leah Bucco-White said the department was surprised by the
ruling and was considering an appeal.

Lawyers reviewing the ruling believe there is a basis for an appeal,
Bucco-White said, but she declined to be more specific.

In December 2001, the state took over processing child support from
Nebraska's 93 counties. The system has been beset with problems since
shortly after the changeover.

Two years ago, a child support administrator was found in contempt for a
record-keeping issue, although the finding was lifted less than two weeks
later when a judge concluded the administrator had made a good-faith effort
to fix the glitch that caused the problem.

Ugai said she understood the department handled thousands of records but was
frustrated by HHS officials' unresponsiveness.

Not correcting the record could mean the men's wages or tax returns could be
garnisheed, although that has not happened in these cases, she said.

"I don't think they understand how dramatically they can affect someone's
lives when they don't correct the record," Ugai said.

Flowers ordered the department to pay the Lancaster County public defender's
office $65 an hour for the time spent litigating the issue.

The judge concluded Ugai made reasonable attempts to solve the problem
without going to court but HHS chose not to give the cases reasonable
attention.

"The defendants should not have had to resort to litigation," Flowers said.


--
"The most terrifying words in the English language a
I'm from the government and I'm here to help."
--- Ronald Reagan

Hey...my current stomping grounds and a judge I am way familiar with.





"Dusty" wrote in message
...
| Judge says bureaucracy is no excuse
|
|
http://www.journalstar.com/articles/...5273842571.txt
| By Margaret Reist/Lincoln Journal Star
|
| Here's one for the little guy: A judge has ordered the state Health and
| Human Services System to pay $819 in attorneys fees and chastised
officials
| for allowing a problem with child support payments to end up in court.
|
|
|
|
| "The fact that (Health and Human Services) is a big organization is no
| excuse for it not doing what it was ordered to do by the court in the
first
| place," Lancaster County District Judge Karen Flowers said in a decision
| signed Tuesday.
|
| The order stems from eight cases, all involving men who owe child support
| and are on disability. In each case, a portion of their disability checks
| was sent directly to their child or children's custodial parents. The
| payments - more than $1,000 in some cases - were supposed to be credited
to
| their child support accounts.
|
| But they weren't, so the men didn't receive credit for making the
payments -
| until their attorney took the department to court.
|
| Attorney Susan Ugai, who contracts with the Lancaster County public
| defender's office to represent the men, contacted HHS in April in an
effort
| to solve the problem without litigation, Flowers' order says.
|
| At the request of department, Ugai sent copies of the orders to officials
at
| HHS, even though they had been served with copies of the order requiring
the
| credit.
|
| State officials said they were unsure exactly what action needed to be
taken
| and Ugai again e-mailed them, explaining precisely what needed to be done,
| according to Flowers' order.
|
| Five months later, when the credits still hadn't been applied to her
| clients' accounts, she filed proceedings in court, asking the HHS to show
| why it shouldn't be found in contempt.
|
| "It was only after the contempt action was filed that credits were
| ultimately made," Flowers said.
|
| HHS spokeswoman Leah Bucco-White said the department was surprised by the
| ruling and was considering an appeal.
|
| Lawyers reviewing the ruling believe there is a basis for an appeal,
| Bucco-White said, but she declined to be more specific.
|
| In December 2001, the state took over processing child support from
| Nebraska's 93 counties. The system has been beset with problems since
| shortly after the changeover.
|
| Two years ago, a child support administrator was found in contempt for a
| record-keeping issue, although the finding was lifted less than two weeks
| later when a judge concluded the administrator had made a good-faith
effort
| to fix the glitch that caused the problem.
|
| Ugai said she understood the department handled thousands of records but
was
| frustrated by HHS officials' unresponsiveness.
|
| Not correcting the record could mean the men's wages or tax returns could
be
| garnisheed, although that has not happened in these cases, she said.
|
| "I don't think they understand how dramatically they can affect someone's
| lives when they don't correct the record," Ugai said.
|
| Flowers ordered the department to pay the Lancaster County public
defender's
| office $65 an hour for the time spent litigating the issue.
|
| The judge concluded Ugai made reasonable attempts to solve the problem
| without going to court but HHS chose not to give the cases reasonable
| attention.
|
| "The defendants should not have had to resort to litigation," Flowers
said.
|
|
| --
| "The most terrifying words in the English language a
| I'm from the government and I'm here to help."
| --- Ronald Reagan
|
|