Judge rejects challenge to child-support contract

THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

An administrative law judge has dismissed a challenge to the Florida Department of Revenue's decision to award a contract for collecting and disbursing child-support payments. The department last year decided to award the contract to Systems and Methods Inc., replacing the current contractor, Xerox State and Local Solutions, Inc. That prompted Xerox to challenge the decision in the state Division of Administrative Hearings. But Administrative Law Judge Diane Cleavinger issued a 53-page ruling Wednesday that backed the department. "The evidence did not demonstrate that the department's intended award of a contract to (Systems and Methods Inc.) deviated from governing statutes, applicable rules, or policies of the department or reasonable interpretations of the ITN (invitation to negotiate) specifications,'' Cleavinger wrote. "Further, there was no evidence that the department's decision was clearly erroneous, contrary to competition, arbitrary, or capricious." Cleavinger's ruling is a recommendation to the department, which will issue a final order. The contract is expected to be worth about $50 million over five years, according to the ruling.