Time, Talent and Tangible ResourcesJoin now to read essay Time, Talent and Tangible ResourcesTime, Talent and Tangible ResourcesIt is difficult to believe that it is already time to write my fourth and final column as president of NCSEA for the Child Support Quarterly. Although this is my last major writing assignment, many opportunities to be of service to the child support community remain available between now and August 2, 2000, and I assure you that I will avail myself of as many of them as are humanly possible. I decided to close out my series of these columns by sharing with the broader NCSEA family my personal view of what our beloved child support program should look like in the future.
In 2003, the NCSEA was formed. A year earlier, in March 2004, the NCSEA Executive Committee created an important document to ensure a proper process for developing and delivering child support and family services under the NSL. Since then, I have spent most of my time and resources advocating for the establishment of a Child Support and Family Care Act of 2004. The act currently contains many provisions that would enhance Child Support and Family Services, including the requirement that support should be made more readily available if a spouse or common law partner or child has lost custody. However, when it comes to addressing the needs of families and the public, the act should focus only on the needs of the families with whom the support is intended. As a rule, though, the act should be enacted in the best interests of every family: a family that chooses to remain at home with an adult, or a family whose children are left homeless in the absence of a work-family relationship. This approach encourages a healthy and collaborative relationship to support families when, for example, their daughter is unable to work in a home they need to support them; if their child is unable to care for herself by herself or for a new foster mom, or their child has other needs such as being able to read, write while staying home with family for at least a week, or learning to ride a bicycle. The act also offers meaningful support, through community activities, to many families in order to build a better future for their children.
In 2003, the child support budget for the state passed under the Governor’s Law, and as a sign that the law would be successful, we have an Act of Congress in which funds are authorized for providing care to the state’s children from the State Parent Act of 2006. As a result, nearly $5 billion has been dedicated to provide support to over 14,500 states that receive federal student loan assistance, including over 15,000 families who are in the state Medicaid program. The Act also provides assistance to family households to help the children of those enrolled in child support-eligible programs. While we do not have yet enacted a comprehensive agreement upon federal funding for Medicaid, we have already provided funding for the program in the past with our most recent version in late 2007, under an important provision of the Health and Human Services Act. The bill also requires states to increase federal funding for child support after enactment. In 2008, we passed a third comprehensive bill to provide support for the state’s families who are in the most desperate situations. The legislation also provides funding to provide an extended waiting period for the adoption of a family and provides for the placement of the baby in foster care prior to the adoption of our young legal adult family. This bipartisan effort has provided additional support to our families. For nearly one-third of
In 2003, the NCSEA was formed. A year earlier, in March 2004, the NCSEA Executive Committee created an important document to ensure a proper process for developing and delivering child support and family services under the NSL. Since then, I have spent most of my time and resources advocating for the establishment of a Child Support and Family Care Act of 2004. The act currently contains many provisions that would enhance Child Support and Family Services, including the requirement that support should be made more readily available if a spouse or common law partner or child has lost custody. However, when it comes to addressing the needs of families and the public, the act should focus only on the needs of the families with whom the support is intended. As a rule, though, the act should be enacted in the best interests of every family: a family that chooses to remain at home with an adult, or a family whose children are left homeless in the absence of a work-family relationship. This approach encourages a healthy and collaborative relationship to support families when, for example, their daughter is unable to work in a home they need to support them; if their child is unable to care for herself by herself or for a new foster mom, or their child has other needs such as being able to read, write while staying home with family for at least a week, or learning to ride a bicycle. The act also offers meaningful support, through community activities, to many families in order to build a better future for their children.
In 2003, the child support budget for the state passed under the Governor’s Law, and as a sign that the law would be successful, we have an Act of Congress in which funds are authorized for providing care to the state’s children from the State Parent Act of 2006. As a result, nearly $5 billion has been dedicated to provide support to over 14,500 states that receive federal student loan assistance, including over 15,000 families who are in the state Medicaid program. The Act also provides assistance to family households to help the children of those enrolled in child support-eligible programs. While we do not have yet enacted a comprehensive agreement upon federal funding for Medicaid, we have already provided funding for the program in the past with our most recent version in late 2007, under an important provision of the Health and Human Services Act. The bill also requires states to increase federal funding for child support after enactment. In 2008, we passed a third comprehensive bill to provide support for the state’s families who are in the most desperate situations. The legislation also provides funding to provide an extended waiting period for the adoption of a family and provides for the placement of the baby in foster care prior to the adoption of our young legal adult family. This bipartisan effort has provided additional support to our families. For nearly one-third of
I have long held that the child support program needs to look much more like the backroom of MasterCard, Visa or American Express rather than a cash assistance program. There is little question that the child support program was the cash assistance program designed to provide comprehensive reinforcements to families in need. Child support, as well as the other programs in our income assistance system, has a unique contribution to make to family well-being. The question is: how can child support best make that contribution.
Whatever else may be added to or subtracted from it, I believe, child support’s core functions will always include establishing paternities, locating noncustodial parents obligated to pay child support, establishing support orders, enforcing those orders, collecting and distributing child support payments. I would suggest the customer service centers for this country’s credit card industry hold some valuable and transferable approaches that can be used to improve not only the delivery of child support services, but also the public perception of the child support community.
Just think about it. When you call your credit card company about a recent purchase or their failure to properly credit a recent payment, you don’t even know, let alone have a long-standing relationship with, the customer service representative. They do not have to “case manage” you in order to provide you with value added service. You simply make the call, state your problem and get the information