Who’s going where? This is a great opportunity to let us know who is promoting and or joining your organization. These are their new positions. Would you like to let us know who is moving and where? Send an email to Danielle Wermund to share in our next issue of OneVoice. BUTTE Dakota Jones CSS II (Promotion) Dwana Johnson CSS II (Promotion) Rhonda Ross Retired (Assistant Director) IMPERIAL Arita Riddle Legal Clerk I (New Hire) Daniel Lopez Child Support Assistant I (New Hire) Janette Govea Child Support Specialist I (New Hire) Jennifer Pipkin Child Support Assistant I (New Hire) Jewelissa Calderon Child Support Specialist I (Promotion) Karla Lopez Child Support…

By Sacramento, Solano and San Bernardino Counties The Hackathon project at the State DCSS provided LCSAs with an amazing opportunity to get involved in the ongoing development of the Child Support Enforcement system. The collaboration between the state and LCSAs fostered the development of new, creative ideas that led to incredible success. Furthermore, the project allowed LCSAs to provide valuable input into changes that will affect caseworkers on a daily basis. A few of us who participated would like to share our incredible experiences and successes. From the perspective of Laura Galsi (Sacramento County DCSS), what stood out was how much intricate work goes on behind the scenes in CSE.…

Don Semon, Director, El Dorado County DCSS, 2018 President of CSDA Board of Directors I wrote an article for the One Voice Newsletter back in January as I began my Presidency of CSDA. In that article, I talked about 2018 being a “Defining Moment” for our association. I explained that one of my biggest mantras in life was based on a line in the movie, Tin Cup, when Roy says, “…when a defining moment comes along, you define the moment…or the moment defines you.” As I mentioned in that article, I believe life is made up of defining moments, and either you define the moment, or the moment will define…

Using a Mobile Vehicle to take Child Support Services to the Community Using a Mobile Vehicle to take Child Support Services to the Community By Julie Watson, Deputy Director of Operations, Los Angeles County CSSD How do you spread the word about available child support resources in a county as big as Los Angeles? When you participate in resource fairs or outreach, how do you provide real-time case information, generate license releases, or collect child support payments? These were the problems facing our department, and we knew we needed to find creative solutions. A full-service Mobile Vehicle Unit (MVU) seemed like the perfect solution. Caseloads continue to decrease statewide, yet…

By Rob Lafer, Chief Legal Counsel, San Diego County DCSS No, it’s not the theme for a new sitcom. A recent appellate case highlights the relatively new California law (Family Code section 7612 subdivision (c)), which allows a court to determine that a child has more than two parents. In the case of C.A. v. C.P. “(2018) 29 Cal.App.5th 27, a man (plaintiff) wanted to be legally recognized as the child’s father, so he filed an action in court against the child’s mother and the mother’s husband. The mother in this case had conceived a child with a coworker (plaintiff) while still married to her husband. The child’s mother (wife…

By Alan Skidmore, Child Support Attorney, San Bernardino County DCSS In California, we have more than 128,000 active-duty personnel and over 56,000 reservists increasingly called to active duty. We are seeing more and more cases involving military parents. As such, it has never been more important to engage with our customers on duty. Recently the San Bernardino DCSS (SBDCSS) conducted outreach events involving the Fort Irwin National Training Center (NTC), and the 29 Palms Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC). Our liaison team for these events consisted of Chief Attorney Marci Jensen-Eldred, Child Support Attorneys Alan Skidmore and Anne Chen, Operations Manager Will Williamson, and Supervising Child Support Officer…

I spent most of my childhood in Yuba City enjoying the many outdoor experiences that Northern California has to offer. During my teenage years, I worked at Glacial Trails Scout Ranch, located near Donner Summit, for five summers. I really enjoyed my experiences working at this summer camp and I am proud to have earned the rank of Eagle Scout. I attended college at CSU, Chico earning a B.S. in Business Administration. I financed my education primarily by enlisting in the U.S. Army Reserves as a Combat Engineer. During my college experience, I took a life-changing semester off and backpacked Europe alone for a period of five months. This was…

By Greg Wilson, Executive Director, Child Support Directors Association Newsom released state revenue details that show an estimated surplus of $24.1 billion going into 2019-2020. His proposed budget allocates over 86 percent of that surplus to one-time spending, including a $4.8 billion contribution the state “rainy day fund” which is expected to total $19.4 billion by 2022-2023 and another $4.8 billion contribution to unfunded pension liabilities. The Governor’s new spending focus appears to be on education for children. The budget proposal includes funding over three years to work toward universal preschool and a 3.46 percent increase in state general fund spending for K-12 schools. The budget also proposes universal full-day…

Budget information at Department of Child Support Services: http://www.childsup.ca.gov/home/childsupportbudget.aspx CalChannel movie of press conference: (child support specific comments at 31:35) http://calchannel.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=7&clip_id=5849 Dept of Finance Budget information: http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/

By Greg Wilson, Executive Director, Child Support Directors Association California’s newly inaugurated Governor, Gavin Newsom released his proposed 2019-2020 state budget on January 10. The budget includes an additional $56.5 million ($19.1 million state general funds and $36.9 million in Federal Financial Participation) for local child support administrative costs. The increase is the first year of a three-year phased-in addition using a new funding methodology developed through a joint effort of the Child Support Directors Association and the State Department of Child Support Services (DCSS). The new funds are intended to be allocated to 21 LCSAs with the highest case-to-employee ratios of all Local Child Support Agencies (LCSAs) in the…