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Month: August 2016

OCSE Redesigns Website with Users in Mind

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This is a first for us today.  We have a guest blogger.  Tristan Anderson from the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE). OCSE has redesigned and launched their new website.  Her blog post today will help guide users through this new, redesigned OCSE website with all its great new features.  Welcome Tristan:

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow:

Technology moves fast. What once was new can quickly become old and outdated. Although we redesigned and launched a new website in 2012, by 2014 it no longer fit our users’ needs. In September 2012, only 12 percent of the people visiting our website did so on a mobile device. By September 2013, almost 25 percent were mobile users — a 102 percent increase in just 12 months! Each year we see a steady increase in the number of mobile users.

ocse blog picture 2On average, about 35 percent of our visitors are on their mobile device. To keep up with demand, we decided to redesign our website and make it mobile-friendly. That means our site will re-adjust the content to fit the size of any device, whether it is a desktop computer, a smart phone, a tablet, or something else.

Considerations for developers

  • Define your audience — who needs to know what? Our site must meet the needs of a variety of audiences: from parents to child support professionals, employers, and other partners; all groups need accurate information specific to them.
  • Identify top tasks — why are people visiting our site and what do they need? To answer these questions, we went to frequent website visitors.

User testing with employers

User testing with employers gave us insight into why you visit our website and how you navigate it. Based on feedback, we organized the main menus and submenus to accommodate your top tasks.

Here are examples of the most popular reasons you visit our website:

Understand employer responsibilities

Learn about electronic and online services

Find a complete list of federal forms used by employers

Access state contact information and program requirements

Get answers to frequently asked questions on a variety of topics

As more people visit websites using mobile platforms and as technology moves forward, you will see more updates and refinements. If you’d like to help test our site or have suggestions for improvements, contact Tristan Anderson at tristan.anderson@acf.hhs.gov.

White Paper: Disaster Payments and the IRS

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We are always hearing in the news about the latest disaster in the nation. Whether it be wild fires in California or flooding in Texas. Natural disasters do happen and can be annual occurrences in some parts of the nation.  When this happens, it is natural to want to help those individuals who are personally affected especially if it strikes close to home like in the case of a co-worker.  When a co-worker loses a home to a wild fire or must move out due to flood damage even employers want to help out.  But when an employer wants to help, does that change the nature of the disaster grantassistance. In other words,  if co-workers take up a collection it is one thing, but what if the employer gives the employee a grant to help cover the costs not reimbursed by insurance? Is it then taxable income and taxes must be deducted? Actually, it may not have to be. Our white paper this time is on Handling Disaster Relief Payments in Payroll.  It explains how and when these types of payments can be made and the taxation requirements.  We hope you find it useful.

white paper disaster payments 2016

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