About Public Relations / CSE Best Practices

The child support enforcement offices around the country are using various methods to cultivate a positive relationship with their clients, and the public.

Here are just a few samples that child support enforcement offices have provided. For more samples, go to the Federal child support enforcement Web site www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cse or to local agencies’ sites.

 

Hennepin County, Minn.

• Bilingual Child Support Officers
  Hennepin County began assigning language-specific (Hispanic and Somali) caseloads to bilingual child support officers in 2001, and it has gone extremely well. Having an officer on site who can fluently speak the same language as the client is more effective than a language line. Issues are resolved more quickly because a bilingual child support officer is more knowledgeable than an interpreter. The personal connection is also very important.
  
  These individuals also provide interpretation services as situations arise. Interpreters and child support officers who interpret must be certified by the State of Minnesota. Since Hennepin County began assigning language-specific caseloads to bilingual officers, it has achieved a 70 percent collection rate for ethnic groups, which is more or less the same for English speakers. Prior to having these language specialists as officers on staff and on the Language Barrier Committee, multicultural cases were closed or shifted to the back of the pile. The division feels better able to serve their customers and is viewed more like an advocate than an enforcer.
  

 

Houston, Texas

• Radio Talk Show
  Radio talk shows, where people call in their questions and comments to child support enforcement staff at the radio station, have proven to be very effective. Child support representatives in Houston regularly have used a Q&A format at Radio Tremenda, a Spanish-language radio station (1010 AM).

 

San Antonio, Texas

• Partnerships
  AVANCE is a non-profit organization created to strengthen, support, and educate families. They are one of the community-based organizations connected with San Antonio’s child support office. The agency has been described as a national model for helping high-risk families.

 

Washington State

• Madrina Project
  The goal of this project was to recruit and train 14 volunteers within the Hispanic community in child support, mediation, and notary public to increase monolingual Spanish access to child support services that lead to increased collections. Volunteers provided support and advocacy for those seeking child support in the Hispanic community and worked with child support staff to provide information at forums, public meetings, staff training, etc.
  
  Public Service Announcements were used specifically for the Madrina Project. These 60- and 30-second PSAs were aired on all of the local radio stations. The theme for the project, “Primero Los Niños,” was repeated in all media and print materials, and a pin with a logo/theme was also developed as a way to drive home the message that children come first.

 

New Mexico

• Brochure with Cut-off Card
  An award-winning bilingual English/Spanish brochure, Answers to Parents, explains child support enforcement and includes a cut-off card with the call center phone number that people can save.
• Introduction Letters
  When a new outreach coordinator joined its staff, the Hispanic Outreach Program sent letters and a brochure to government agencies, community-based organizations and faith organizations.
  
  These letters went to Head Start schools, day care centers, Health Department WIC programs, domestic violence centers, work skill programs, school districts, parent committee meetings at schools, Community Action Programs, and transition programs for the incarcerated.
  
  The letter introduced the new coordinator and explained the outreach program and child support.

 

Milwaukee, Wis.

• Expanded Customer Service Department
  Milwaukee has built a new unit and expanded their customer service department at the courthouse. They have about 25 well-trained people as full-time customer service representatives. They also have a sophisticated phone system. The department has a schedule of processing people with special language needs. All Spanish-dominant clients are processed on the same day each week. This allows the department to schedule interpreters in advance and avoid delays. Staff members have the cultural and language skills to work with Latinos and African Americans.
  
  If people have a special language need, there is a language line, which allows for three-way conferencing.

 

Other Ideas

• Bilingual Staff
  To improve public relations and help clients, many States are hiring bilingual staff and offering telephone “language lines.” Tampa, Fla., looks for bilingual skills in hiring receptionists, interviewing staff and call center personnel. Hennepin County, Minn., has bilingual child support officers who are Spanish-language specialists. These language specialists not only offer culturally astute, fast service to clients, but also help the office to gain a foothold within the community.
  
  Orange County, Calif., has set up automated I-CAN kiosks that Spanish-speaking clients can use to fill out forms. Bilingual signage orients visitors to the child support office in San Mateo, Calif.
  
  
• Collaborations with Professional Sports Teams (Wash.)
  The office works with professional sports teams to promote responsible fatherhood. It has media spots with the Seahawks and Mariners.
  
  
• Expanded Customer Service Department (Milwaukee, Wis.)
  In Milwaukee, an expanded customer service unit at the courthouse includes 25 well-trained staff as customer service representatives, a sophisticated telephone system, and scheduled processing for clients with special language needs.
  
  All Spanish-speaking clients with limited English-language skills are processed on the same day each week so that interpreters can be scheduled in advance, which prevents delays. Staff members have both the language and cultural skills to work with Latinos.
  
  
• Family-oriented Office Environment
  To reflect a more helpful, family-oriented focus that welcomes community members, offices such as those in St. Paul, Minn., and San Mateo, Calif., are using children’s play areas to calm parents and children.