Electronic parent locator network
Fred C. Pieper, III
State of South Carolina
[email protected]
EPLN is a consortium of states that joined together in 1986 for the common purpose of pooling individual state data resources into a real-time on-line system which provides a comprehensive search capability to locate non-custodial parents under the Child Support Enforcement Program. The system has been nationally recognized through various awards for innovations in government. Currently, the fifteen (15) participating EPLN states are Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. EPLN is governed by a policy board which, through South Carolina acting as its agent, contracts with a private vendor who manages and operates the EPLN system.
EPLN consists of two (2) components: the Parent Locate Component and the Financial Institution Data Match (FIDM) Component. The Automated Enforcement of Interstate Cases Function was added to EPLN in 2004 as part of the FIDM Component. This new process is referred to as the FIDM-AEI Function. The EPLN approach is one that maximizes the benefits of a consortium because each member states agreement is an interagency contract with the Seat Agency, South Carolina. Therefore, becoming an EPLN participant is a simple process.
