Giving Hope and Support to America's Children| Child Support Report | Vol. XXVII, No. 9, Sep 2005 |
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Child Support Report is a publication of the Office of Child Support Enforcement, Division of Consumer Services. CSR is published for information purposes only. No official endorsement of any practice, publication, or individual by the Department of Health and Human Services or the Office of Child Support Enforcement is intended or should be inferred. |
NCSEA Introduces New OCSE Commissioner OCSE Turns 30: Thirty Years and Counting for Stearns County Supervisor Region IX Strategic Planning Conference New Web cast Technology Brings Distance Learning Capability to State Offices District of Columbia Child Support - Amnesty Program 2005 Early Intervention Program in Pennsylvania's Montgomery County |
NCSEA Introduces New OCSE Commissioner
By: Elaine Blackman
The 54th annual conference of the National Child Support Enforcement Association in August met its objective of "Connecting for Children," and OCSE Commissioner Margot Bean met hers by connecting - or rather reconnecting - with an audience she knows well.
In her first speech as Federal OCSE commissioner, Ms. Bean told her long-time child support peers that she is ready to lead from a new level, confident that her experience in the child support business - as an attorney, state program director, and as NCSEA president - will serve her well.
"I, like so many of you, have devoted many years to a profession in child support," said Commissioner Bean. "... All of you have my great admiration and respect."
She praised the audience for state improvements in cost-effectiveness, their compassion for serving the children, and the nationwide program's continuing climb in collections, established paternities, and established support orders.
Commissioner Bean said that workers must continue to question, research, and explore new ideas in their daily work. She then detailed three areas of the program that she will ensure continue to receive national attention:
First, the national strategic plan for FY 2005-2009, which aims to make child support a reliable source of income for children and families and includes emphases on early case intervention, arrears management, healthy marriage, addressing cultural diversity, and international child support enforcement.
She cited preliminary results of a federally funded study that shows most arrears are highly concentrated among a relatively small number of noncustodial parents, and most arrears are held by noncustodial parents with no or low reported wages.
"There is agreement that working cases to avoid the buildup of arrears is something we need to emphasize," said Ms. Bean, as well as training staff with skills necessary to intervene in cases early on.
"It's vital that when we talk about children, we include all of the children of the world," said Ms. Bean. "Just as our nation's population has become increasingly mobile and transient, and we've had to address interstate issues through automation. ... We need to build up an international program now that will sustain us in the future."
The second focus is automation, said the commissioner, because "more effective information technology will mean better service delivery, more integrated case management, better reporting capability, and greater fiscal accountability."
And the third focus - partnerships, such as the new child support collaboration with government agencies that also strive to obtain medical support for children.
Commissioner Bean concluded by lauding the audience for their motivation to improve which is based on their "drive to succeed for our children ... and the spirit of cooperation among states to help each other succeed."
OCSE Turns 30: Thirty Years and Counting for Stearns County Supervisor
By: Elaine Blackman
At 53, Jerry Schroden isn't ready to retire. But sometime before he does, he wants to add up the number of children he's helped through establishing paternities.
Hired in 1975 as a resource examiner, the now - child support officer ("I like today's title better") has worn quite a few hats during 30 years in the Stearns County, MN, child support program. It's the area of paternity determination, however, that Schroden most enjoys. "It gives me personal pride and satisfaction when I can establish paternity," he says, and an appreciation that "the children will have the lifelong benefit of knowing their father."
Although the reward is great, paternity work can be taxing, says Schroden. Every family situation is different, and clients can be difficult to interview. He recalls an interview in the late 1970s with a custodial mother who claimed she couldn't identify her child's father. He told the mother that he didn't believe her, and urged her to "come back when you feel more like talking." She returned that afternoon to tell Schroden, " 'I do know who the father is.'
"Not only did we get paternity established for the child, I explained to her the benefits of paternity establishment. It was a good feeling."
When he's interviewing a mother, Schroden says he looks for credibility: "Does the story flow and sound plausible? Does she contradict herself? Do her facts mesh with what else we may already know about the family situation?" He also looks at the customer's body language: "Does she make eye contact with us throughout our lines of questions? Does she fidget?"
These days Schroden conducts fewer interviews up front because custodial mothers first fill out a paternity questionnaire and mail it in. He may follow-up with an interview by phone or ask them to come to the office if the form lacks information. Or, if she's alleging more than one father, "we might get her in and observe her body language."
As procedures have changed, so too have customers' attitudes. "People are more demanding with the child support officer than 30 years ago. They want paternity established now," says Schroden. "We try to turn that around and say 'OK, how can we work together? Let us know if you hear the dad is switching jobs.' "
To train new staff, Schroden may have them participate in his interviews, to observe, and then practice approaches to gain cooperation with a variety of customers. His training also entails brainstorming situations and determining the next steps in cases. He also may ask new staff to "shadow" others with experience, called peer training.
Schroden believes that Stearns' 16 offices (the state's eighth largest caseload) have improved in efficiency "because the statutes on books are allowing us to do better." For paternity determination, DNA tests return more efficient results than the blood test, and Schroden receives them in only two or three days from the public health department located right upstairs.
One statute, however, Schroden has found difficult to fulfill. "We thought that automatic income withholding was going too far because it was imposing the child support system on their lives. ... We were forced to use it on nonpublic assistance families that didn't need it." However, he notes that automatic income withholding, as well as early intervention techniques, is a necessary tool for families on public assistance. And he calls the absolute reversal in the percentage of public assistance cases -75 percent in 1975; 25 percent now - "a good change of events."
Minnesota IV-D Director Wayland Campbell appreciates Schroden's experience: "In addition to his supervisory work for Stearns County, Jerry has served on our county advisory board and several task forces. He has been a very valuable contributor over the years, and his advice is always welcome."
No two days are the same in the changing environment of child support, says Schroden to describe his continuing interest. He feels good about his work knowing he's helping people through tough times, even when the client may not appreciate the help - yet. He gives the example of "a mother with a new child, who does not see the benefits of establishing paternity, and is upset with us when we make her cooperate in the process.
"Hopefully," he adds, "later in her life or the child's life, she'll realize the benefits of our work."
Region IX Strategic Planning Conference
By: Rachel Freitas
On August 9-10, 2005, Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Region IX hosted a conference for IV-D Directors and State Senior Managers to share states' strategic plans and identify opportunities for collaboration on plan strategies. The meeting also provided an occasion for the Regional partners to discuss technical assistance needs to meet specific program improvement goals.
Sharon Fujii, ACF Regional Administrator for Region IX, provided the opening remarks on the importance of strategic management in order to carry out the goals of a strategic plan. She also emphasized the opportunity for state representatives to work closely with Federal staff to strengthen program performance and outcomes. The remainder of the first afternoon focused on individual state programs and identifying goals and strategies. The jurisdictions presented background information on their programs and detailed their strategic planning efforts to date.
The conference was the culmination of a series of teleconferences among Region IX states and Guam with a focus on the advanced stages of strategic planning - identifying strategies to meet goals and determining opportunities for greater Federal and state collaboration. The teleconferences addressed the critical elements of strategic planning; specifically what it means to strategically align an organization and executing efforts to date at the Federal and State/Territory level.
Jan Sturla, Director of California's Orange County Department of Child Support Services discussed the initiatives that the county has undertaken to better analyze and evaluate program performance. He provided examples of the process his department follows when implementing new programs: establishing objectives, designing pilot projects, assessing performance through rigorous research methods, and determining effectiveness from the findings.
During the closing session, Ms. Fujii offered the opportunity to identify potential technology transfers related to states' priorities for performance improvements. As a result, Region IX states are working closely with their ACF program specialists to determine opportunities for learning from other states or jurisdictions that will promote the strategies outlined in their strategic plans.
State participants included Sherry Seaman, Legal Services Deputy Operations Manager, AZ; Greta Wallace, IV-D Director and Sandra Poole, Deputy IV-D Director, CA; Arnold Enoki, IV-D Director and Jan Ikei, Program Specialist, HI; and David Castagnola, Program Specialist, NV. Sheck Chin from OCSE Division of Policy, Dail Moore from OCSE National Technical Assistance and Training Center, and Don Wall from OCSE Office of Audit also attended.
Feedback from the conference participants was very positive. Participants' appreciated the opportunity to learn from their regional partners and to work together at a regional level to focus efforts on specific strategies for increasing program performance.
New Web cast Technology Brings Distance Learning Capability to State Offices
By: Jean Shaw
Distance learning through web videos is one of the latest cost-saving technologies used for training geographically dispersed staff. OCSE has developed its first training using this technology: "Making the Most of the FPLS." This new training approach will allow more state staff to benefit from training that has been conducted by OCSE staff at state, regional, and national conferences. "Making the Most of the FPLS" is a popular training presentation given by the Federal Case Registry (FCR) State Technical Support Team. This Web cast training provides information for seasoned caseworkers and managers, attorneys, technical staff and those starting a new career in the child support enforcement field.
The training provides details about the FPLS data, including social security numbers, addresses, income, and assets as provided by the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH), FCR and the Federal Agency locate sources. These data are critical for locating non-custodial parents for child support obligations and custodial parents for undistributed collections.
OCSE's goal was to develop an easy-to-view resource that would relay useful FPLS information. The training development team started by determining a user-friendly look and feel for the video, then created a script and storyboard based on the existing training materials. The team came up with a training approach consisting of seven modules that each last between three and eleven minutes. The modules are: Introduction, FPLS Overview, SSNs, Addresses, Income and Assets, and Proactive Matches and Exceptions. There are also "Links" and "Glossary" buttons on the main page to allow the user to access commonly used child support websites and the OCSE Glossary.
The Web cast training is structured so the viewer can view the trainer on the left side of the screen and at the same time view slides and graphics that demonstrate the material on the right side of the screen. At any time the viewer has the capability of pausing the training to take notes; rewinding the training to review a section again; adjusting the volume and viewing closed captioning.
Child Support staff at the Eastern Regional Interstate Child Support Association (ERICSA) conference in Portland, ME recently had a preview of the Web cast training and it was a big hit! Managers and supervisors felt that new employees, contractors and legal staff could also benefit from the training. Technical staff said they would like their programmers to see it so they can get a bigger picture of where their work fits in with the broader picture of child support.
This is just one more tool for caseworkers, and others closely involved in child support, to help them do their jobs more effectively. Don't forget the other tools located on the "Training and Best Practices Library," on the FPLS Website, such as Section 7 of the Technical Assistance Guide (TAG) and general child support related training materials. The National Electronic Child Support Resource System (NECSRS) is another resource available that provides Federal and state resource documents including policy, training, best practices and research.
Please take a few minutes to review OCSE's new training tool. Let us know what you think of the training by filling out the feedback form that is displayed at the end of the training presentation (or by clicking on the "Feedback Form" button at any time during the presentation). The Web cast training can be accessed at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cse/newhire/.
District of Columbia Child Support - Amnesty Program 2005
By: Traci Hughes
The Child Support Services Division (CSSD) of the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia recently held a hugely successful Child Support Amnesty Program 2005 - more than doubling collection expectations.
Amnesty was offered from August 1 - August 13, and more than 1,600 non-custodial parents took advantage of the program. Nearly $240,000 dollars in support payments were collected on behalf of the children of the District of Columbia. Hundreds of employers also committed to make future payments through wage withholdings.
More than 11,000 letters were sent to non-custodial parents in the District who were eligible for Amnesty - parents who owe back due child support and have not made payment arrangements - totaling some $174M in arrears.
Benidia Rice, Director of CSSD, says that although The Child Support Amnesty Program 2005 has resulted in a financial boost for the District's children, it's about more than just money. "We are very pleased with the turnout. The fact that hundreds of parents have stepped up to pay support, means that more kids are assured of having both parents actively involved in their lives. These parents now know that the child support agency is not a barrier from seeing their kids because they are behind on their child support payments."
The Child Support Amnesty Program 2005 was a tri-jurisdictional effort between the District of Columbia, Arlington County, and the entire State of Maryland. Ms. Rice said it could not have been done without the dedicated staff at CSSD. "The effort would not have been successful but for the dedicated team of child support professionals who expended countless hours, over and beyond the norm, to ensure the amnesty program ended with the District exceeding its collection goal of $100,000.00," said Ms. Rice.
Anyone who was eligible for amnesty, but did not participate in the program, could face arrest.
Early Intervention Program in Pennsylvania's Montgomery County
By: John Clark
Montgomery County, PA Domestic Relations has developed a unique and effective early intervention program (EIP). In accordance with the National Child Support Strategic Plan, EIP shifts the emphasis from "reactionary enforcement" to "proactive prevention."
"The Early Intervention Program is an excellent example of how Pennsylvania works with non-custodial parents to help them meet their child support obligation" said Daniel Richard, the IV-D Director from Pennsylvania. The EIP was highlighted at the May 2005, Regions II and III Good Ideas and Promising Practices meeting held in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
| Before EIP | With EIP | |
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The primary focus of the program is to put the NCP in a position to make consistent support payments. A key component of the program is to help NCPs who are unemployed or under-employed find quality employment. Employment counseling and job development are integral parts of the program. The EIP works with various state and private agencies to provide employment services (resume preparation, etc.) and job training. An essential participant in the development of the program has been the local Workforce Investment Board.
One challenge of any social service program is case management. The EIP program focuses on regular phone contact and establishing a rapport with the client. This effort allows EIP to serve as a point of contact for NCPs and to address any problems which may prevent them from complying with their support order. For example, a previous conviction, addiction issues, educational barriers, transportation problems, and disabilities are challenges addressed by the program.
Initial results of the Early Intervention Program are very encouraging, according to Gary Kline, Director of Domestic Relations for Montgomery County. The Court and the County government have recognized the importance of having the program within the Child Support Office and have fully supported its development.
Check the OCSE Web site at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cse for updated information for parents and employers in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The information is also available on the FAQ page - click on Questions?
Links to a wide range of human services and state-specific information are available on the ACF Web site at http://www.acf.hhs.gov.
To obtain additional information visit the Federal Government's Web site at http://www.FirstGov.gov.
Instructions for Completing Revised OCSE-157
AT-05-09 issues instructions for completing the revised OCSE-157 Child Support Annual Data Report. Visit http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cse/pol/AT/2005/at-05-09.htm.
Administration for Children & Families
Office of Child Support Enforcement
15th National Child Support Enforcement Training Conference
October 24-26, 2005
Hyatt Regency Crystal City
2279 Jefferson Davis Highway
Arlington, VA 22202
703-418-1234
For more information, contact Charlene A. Butler at 202-401-5091 or cbutler@acf.hhs.gov
Download FREE Adobe Acrobat® Reader™ to view PDF files located on this site.
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