DCL-07-39, 18th National Child Support Enforcement Training Conference

DEAR COLLEAGUE LETTER

DCL-07-39

ATTACHMENT:

Useful Information for Developing Proposals (File Size:39KB)
Required Guideline Features (File Size:39KB)

DATE: December 4, 2007

TO: ALL STATE AND TRIBAL IV-D DIRECTORS

RE: Call for Proposals for Workshops for the OCSE 18th National Child Support Enforcement Training Conference

Dear Colleague:

I am pleased to announce that the 18th National Child Support Enforcement Training Conference is accepting workshop proposals. This year’s theme is "Beyond the Bench: Partnering for Excellence in Child Support through the Courts, Fatherhood and Employment Initiatives." The conference is scheduled for August 25-27, 2008, at the Grand Hyatt Washington Hotel, located at 1000 H Street, NW, in downtown Washington, D.C.

The National Child Support Enforcement Strategic Plan will continue to be a focal point of our program, along with our FY 2007-2008 national initiative: Project to Avoid Increasing Delinquencies (PAID). The PAID initiative renews our emphasis on child support activities that will increase the collection of current support and prevent and reduce arrears to create a reliable source of income for more families. In addition, this year we plan to highlight the court/child support connection by showcasing the National Judicial/Child Support Task Force and its many products and innovations that promote and enhance collaboration between child support and the courts for the benefit of families. Fatherhood initiatives and employment programs go hand in hand with this effort.

We encourage a variety of submissions. We are looking for new, creative and innovative workshop ideas.

Workshops and plenary sessions will include partnering with courts, employment programs, fatherhood programs, arrears management and prevention, locate and enforcement tools, automation opportunities, training, policy and research, collaboration, best practices, and other efforts among partners.

The "how to" clinics offered at last year’s conference were a big hit with attendees. We’ve decided to offer more. Topics should cover skill building for caseworkers and supervisors, training for trainers and subject matter experts, and training for top management. We are looking for a wide range of topics such as:

Working with courts, legislators, the media, and elected officials
Educating our customers, partners and staff about the Child Support program
Team building
Presentation, facilitation, and negotiation skills
Essentials of supervision
Interstate, interjurisdicational problem-solving
Understanding the incentive structure
Prevention and early intervention strategies
Proactive case management
Eliminating barriers associated with cases
Using specific collaboration protocols with other agencies
Customized approaches to customer service
Developing effective locate, service of process, and establishment tools
Expanding and improving enforcement/collection tools

Proposals must be submitted no later than January 11, 2008. Please see the attachments for details needed to complete your proposal. Information on The Strategic Plan and the PAID initiative can be found at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cse .

Please submit your proposal via e-mail to our Conference Chair, at Kimberly.MitchellHarley@acf.hhs.gov. You will be notified of the committee's determination concerning your proposal before March 1st, 2008. Remember to be creative with your workshop titles and proposals! They should reflect the conference theme.

Thank you for your interest in being a part of the 18th National Child Support Enforcement Training Conference. If you need additional information, contact Kimberly Mitchell-Harley by telephone at (202) 205-3496 or email Kimberly.MitchellHarley@acf.hhs.gov.

Sincerely,

Margot Bean
Commissioner
Office of Child Support Enforcement

Attachement

cc:	CSE Program Managers CSE Regional Training Liaisons State Training Liaisons National CSE Training Work Group