After 10 years of development, the California Statewide Automated Child Support System, run by the Department of Social Services (DSS), has been scrapped and the state has begun developing a new child support collection computer. This report evaluates the performance of publicly-funded child support collection programs in California, examining the history of the state collection program and describing the leadership needed for an effective child support system. Also provided are data to assess the current capacity of the state collection program. The report concludes that although there has been much improvement in child support collection, California still ranks among the worst-performing states in child support performance. Further, the report maintains that although DSS has statutory authority over the program, the department has never received enough support from the governor to effectively manage it. The report focuses on gross errors in the measurement of child support collections as a percentage of total support owed and the measurement of whether families are able to leave welfare and receive child support. The report concludes with recommendations for strong commitments by the California Governor, Attorney General, Legislature, DSS, every state district attorney, and the Judiciary to reform the child support program and build accountability into the system. A data supplement document presents tables enabling county comparisons within California and state comparisons with the rest of the United States with regard to child support enforcement. (KB)