Pennsylvania’s First Judicial District turns to Dallas-based ACS for debt collection services

Because when it comes to collecting debts, nothing says "pony up" like Texans packin' heat.

Dallas-based Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS) announced on Oct. 28 that it will create a public-private partnership with Pennsylvania’s First Judicial District (FJD) to handle all past-due collections, which currently stand at an estimated 200,000 past-due accounts totaling over $200 million.

"Pay up or shut up, pardner."

The FJD is the judicial body governing the county of Philadelphia, which includes the city of Philadelphia. It consists of the Court of Common Pleas, the Municipal Court, and Traffic Court.

ACS will provide all related services and support to handle collection of past-due fines, costs and restitution for the FJD, including accounting, debtor location, collection, payment processing, and management and control.

“One of the reasons the FJD turned to ACS is because of its reputation for being able to provide creative solutions and effective services,” said Dave Lawrence, court administrator for the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania. “ACS understands our needs, and we look forward to working with them to help us successfully reach our goals.”

ACS is an established leader in the field of public debt collections, with over 20 years of experience working closely with state and local governments to assist them in efficiently maximizing their collections.

“The FJD is a pioneer in finding methods to improve the way that it operates, and ACS has the resources and tools to execute a proactive plan,” said Joe Doherty, executive vice president and group president of ACS Government Solutions Group. “Our agreement with the FJD is another example of how ACS can create effective public-private partnerships that benefit government and its citizens.”

ACS is the largest provider of BPO services and one of the largest IT service providers to the nation’s public sector. We serve as an operational partner to more than 1,500 agencies at all levels of government located in every state in the U.S.

The work of ACS touches millions of people every day. Each year, for example, ACS processes more than half of the nation’s child support payments; manages electronic payment card services programs in 15 states; processes nearly 550 million Medicaid claims totaling more than $42 billion in benefits; handles more than half of the electronic toll transactions in the United States; facilitates more than 185 million online unclaimed property searches; and services student loans for more than nine million borrowers.

source: ACS