# FPLS Release 04-01 Manifest Minor Questions & Answers from Manifest Calls and Specification Calls

## General Release Questions

1.  **Question:** What are the timeframes for the Release?

Answer: The manifest was posted to the OCSE Website on 4/16/04. The
specifications were posted to the OCSE Website on 5/14/04 and
implementation of FPLS Release 04-01 is scheduled for 8/20/04.

2.  **Question:** Do you know of other releases that are planned for the
    future?

Answer: Based on recommendations from the states on how to enhance the
FPLS, the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement hopes to have
another release in the not-too-distant future; however, neither a
manifest nor schedule are available at this time. States are notified a
minimum of four months prior to a minor-impact release and a minimum of
seven months prior to a major release.

## FCR \# 1871 - Create an Edit for Asterisk and Backslash in the Case ID 

3.  **Question:** Will the asterisk/backslash edits be imposed
    immediately?

Answer: Yes. This edit will go into production August 20, 2004.

4.  **Question:** Can we send a change that corrects the case ID, and
    send another change in the same file?

Answer: Yes, multiple changes can be made in the same transaction or
multiple change transactions can be made in the same file.

## FCR \# 1875 - Return Self-employment Information on SSA Locates

5.  **Question:** Will the self-employment information be returned to
    states proactively?

Answer: No, the self-employment indicator is not returned proactively.
The new indicator has been added to the SSA external Locate Response
record and is returned in response to a request for data from SSA.

6.  **Question:** Will the self-employment information be returned in
    the SVES records?

Answer: No, the self-employment information is only returned in the SSA
"E01" Locate Response record. However, when a state requests "All" or
"SSA" as an agency Locate, the self-employment data/indicator will be
included in the agency code "E01" Locate Response record. This applies
to states that opted to receive SVES data, as well as those that did
not. However, a state that did choose to receive SVES data could also
have opted to discontinue receiving the "E01" response. Only one state
has selected this option.

7.  **Question:** Do you have documentation on how states can best use
    this information?

Answer: The Technical Assistance Guide will be updated to assist states
with how to best use the information.

8.  **Question:** Can we test the data via the FCR test database prior
    to receiving the match information?

Answer: States may request a test file from their technical support
liaison.

9.  **Question:** Do I have to program to accept the self-employment
    indicator?

Answer: If a state would like to use the self-employment indicator, the
state's record definition will need to be modified to change the field
previously defined as filler to accept the new self-employment indicator
data element. If a state chooses not to use the data at this time, then
it may ignore the field and leave it as filler.

10. **Question:** Will we get an employer address?

Answer: With this release, states will not receive any additional
employer addresses.

11. **Question:** When the annual wage amount is reported in a future
    release, is it just for self-employed persons applying for Social
    Security?

Answer: No, as of now the amount of income returned in the E01 response
will be reported for all persons, self-employed or otherwise.

12. **Question:** Can OCSE provide a date with the self-employment
    indicator?

Answer: The OCSE interface with SSA for the Annual Wage information
returned via the E01 response provides the tax year associated with the
IRS W-2 data being returned. The tax year is returned in the Date of
Address field (position 367-374) in century and year format. This is the
only date available for self-employment data that can be associated with
all information that is being returned in the E01 response.

13. **Question:** What period will the self-employment indicator and
    amount cover?

Answer: The self-employment and the future Annual Wage amount is
associated with a submitted IRS W-2 and is associated with a tax year.
The tax year is returned in the Date of Address field (position 367-374)
in century and year format.

## CSENet \# 201- Create New Transaction to Support Interstate Business

14. **Question:** When would a state use a MSC P REJCT transaction?

Answer: A state would use this transaction when it receives and cannot
process an LO1, MSC, ENF, EST, PAT, or COL transaction because the case
ID the other state sent cannot be located.

15. **Question:** What is meant by the statement ..."MSC P REJCT
    transaction indicates that the case ID received in an LO1, MSC, ENF,
    EST, PAT, or COL transaction was not found"?

Answer: The MSC P REJCT transaction is used when a transaction is
received that contains an incorrect case ID. It is not to be used when
the case ID is blank or for CSI transactions.

16. **Question**: My state received a MSC P REJCT. Do we need to do
    anything?

Answer: The state receiving the MSC P REJCT transaction should identify
the other state's correc***t case ID, store it on the state system and
resend the transaction data that the other*** state could not process.
Note: States should have a routine process to identify and store the
other state's correct case ID and resend the data quickly.

17. **Question:** Is there a time limit regarding how long a state
    should look for a good case ID and resend the transaction data?

Answer: No time limit has been established, but it is recommended that
states have a routine process to quickly identify the other state's
correct case ID and resend the data.

18. **Question:** Is there a time frame for sending the MSC P REJCT
    transaction, e.g., two days, seven days, etc?

Answer: It is recommended to return this transaction ASAP.

19. **Question:** My state does not have the MSC Function code enabled
    with many partners. How can I communicate this new transaction?

Answer: Contact your CSENet Technical Representative or the Service Desk
at 1-800-258-2736 for assistance with expanding your exchange
agreements.

20. **Question:** Should the new reject transaction be used to advise
    another state that the case is closed?

Answer: No, the reject transaction is only used when you cannot locate
the case ID sent by the other state.

21. **Question:** Should my state use the MSC P REJCT transaction for an
    LO1 Request when the Other-Case-ID is not required for LO1 Request
    transactions sent to the OCSE server?

Answer: No, the transaction is to be used to indicate that the case ID
did not match, not that the case ID is missing.

22. **Question:** A case ID is not required for incoming (sent from the
    OCSE server) LO1, EST, ENF, PAT, or MSC Requests. How will my state
    meet the edits for the MSC P REJCT transaction, which requires this
    field?

Answer: The CSENet application converts the Case-ID and Other-Case-ID
(and the Local-FIPS-State and Other-FIPS-State) on incoming transactions
to keep the appropriate point of reference. When your state receives a
transaction, i.e., LO1 R, the other state's local case ID will have been
converted to the Other-Case-ID field and must be returned in a response.

23. **Question:** What should my state return in the Case-ID and
    Other-Case-ID fields?

Answer: Your state should return what it receives in these fields.

24. **Question:** Should the "bad" (rejected) case ID be returned to the
    state that sent the transaction?

Answer: Yes, the rejected case ID should be returned in the Case-ID
field in the Header.

25. **Question:** What value is acceptable in the Case-Data-Ind. field
    for a MSC P REJCT transaction?

Answer: The Case data block is not required for the MSC P REJCT
transaction, so either 0 or 1 will pass the validation criteria for the
Case-Data-Ind. field in the Header.

26. **Question:** What data from the rejected transaction must be
    entered in the Information-Text-Line-1 field in the Information data
    block?

Answer: The data must be entered in the following order: 1)
Transaction-Serial-Number, 2) Action-Code, 3) Functional-Type-Code, 4)
Transaction-Date, and, if applicable, 5) the Action-Reason. If spaces
are contained in all of the first 24 positions of this field, states
will receive a new warning message.

27. **Question:** Can the Information data block contain some of the
    information, e.g., Transaction-Serial-Number, Action-Code, and then
    spaces?

Answer: Yes, states will only receive a warning message if spaces are
contained in all of the first 24 positions of the
Information-Text-Line-1 field. However, states should enter the
Transaction-Serial-Number, Action-Code, Functional-Type-Code,
Transaction-Date, and Action-Reason (if applicable) to assist the other
state in identifying the transaction that they sent.

28. **Question:** Does a Transaction Functional Matrix (TFM) exist for
    the new MSC P REJCT transaction?

Answer: No, but we anticipate that the next version of the TFM will
contain the new transaction. The specifications document is posted on
the OCSE Website at
<http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cse/newhire/library/relmgnt/relmgnt.htm>
and contains more detailed information that should be helpful.

29. **Question:** What Function codes will the new transaction be used
    for?

Answer: All except CSI. CSI P FUINF, which serves the same purpose,
should be used for CSI transactions.

30. **Question:** Is the case ID required for LO1 transactions?

Answer: The case ID is required when sending all transactions except LO1
Responses and LO1 Acknowledgments.

## CCI \# 205 - Modify Case-ID and Other-Case-ID Validation Criteria to Match FCR Case-ID Validation Criteria

31. **Question:** Our state's case ID does not contain either of the
    invalid characters (\* and \\). Do we need to take any action due to
    this change?

Answer: All states need to determine how they map case IDs into a CSENet
transaction for both their own and other state's case IDs. If there is
any manual entry, upfront edits (not allowing the entry of invalid
characters) may be the preferable way to address the new requirements.

32. **Question**: Our state will include the new requirements in our
    worker training. What happens if a worker still sends the other
    state's case ID with an invalid character?

Answer: The transaction will be rejected and a report will be forwarded
to the sending state in the daily error report.

33. **Question:** Does the FCR use the same validation criteria for case
    ID in IV-D and Non IV-D cases?

Answer: Yes, the validation criteria are the same.

34. **Question**: Is the other state case ID the same as Other-Case-ID?

Answer: Yes, the field name in the CSENet application is Other-Case-ID.