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People on the Move – September 2017

September 5, 2017 by Danielle Wermund

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 email to Stacy Gray to share in our next issue of OneVoice.

Butte
Cari Erwin  – Child Support Specialist III
Charlene Vargas  – Supervisor, CS Specialist
Holliday Davis  – Child Support Specialist III
Linda Thao  – Child Support Specialist II
Natiely Lopez Saligan  – Child Support Specialist II
Nina Gott  – Child Support Specialist III
Rosa Orozco  – Child Support Specialist II
Tammy DeFord  – Supervisor, Child Support Specialist
Teresa Brockman  – Supervisor, Child Support Specialist
Wendie Dennisson  – Supervisor, Child Support Specialist
Contra Costa
Lori Moore  – Retired (CS Information Systems Analyst)
Del Norte
Aaron D. Goodwin  – Director
Mary McQuillen  – Legal Clerk
Treasure Cox  – Child Support Specialist
Matthew Hurley  – Office Assistant
Debbie Mayhue  – Retired (Director)
El Dorado
Nancy Gruebele  – Retired (CSS II) 18 years in Department
Humboldt
Shana Katz  – Child Support Specialist
Imperial
Bianca Padilla  – Supervising Child Support Attorney
Kern
Erica Lostaunau  – Fiscal Support Specialist
Michele Tavis  – Office Services Assistant
Azusena Rojas  – Departmental Analyst I
Tracy Scholz  – Supervising Child Support Officer
Los Angeles
Shonna Jeffries  – Management Analyst
Sarah Alvarado  – Child Support Officer III
John Blackmon  – Retired (Staff Attorney)
Merced
Diana Mendoza  – Supervising Child Support Specialist
Colleen Vieyra  – Retired (Child Support Assistant)
Susan Jacklitsch  – Retired (Child Support Legal Assistant)
Kimberly Lee  – Retired (Child Support Specialist)
Napa
Patty Nunez  – CSS I
Riverside
Angelyn Ward-Grady  – Retired (CS Services Regional Manager)
Irma Hulsey  – Child Support Specialist
Kellie Richardson  – Child Support Specialist
Waldir Guerrero  – Child Support Specialist
John Downs  – Child Support Specialist
Laticha Perry  – Child Support Specialist
Misty Miley  – Child Support Specialist
Yolanda Land  – Retired (Legal Support Assistant II)
Marti Rojas  – Retired (Child Support Specialist)
Jaime Hargis  – Supervising Program Specialist
Haislip Hayes  – Deputy Child Support Attorney III
Masuda Ghazanfar  – Supervising Office Assistant
Joel Ruvalcaba  – Child Support Specialist
LaTonya Sander  – Child Support Specialist
Melissa Salazar  – Child Support Specialist
Tiffany Loza  – Child Support Interviewer
San Bernardino
Stacy Collins  – Deputy Director, Operations
Ricardo Haro  – Retired (Deputy Director, Operations)
Leah Bulf  – Retired (Deputy Director, Operations)
San Francisco
Mary Mora  – Retired
Vanetta Dunlap  – Retired
Donna Merrida  – Retired
San Joaquin
Mayra Canela  – Supervising Child Support Officer
Monica Gomez  – Supervising Child Support Officer
Anita Diaz  – Child Support Officer
Jimmie Speers  – Child Support Officer
Shanice James  – Child Support Officer
Angela Bailey  – Child Support Officer
Kim Tran  – Office Assistant
Santa Cruz
Darren Benson  – Clerical Supervisor
Vicki Brown  – Retired
Solano
Courtney Perry  – CSS Entry
Jan Marie Vista  – CSS Entry
Elizabeth Stephenson  – Accounting Clerk II
Rochelle Wroten-Taggart  – Retired
Stanislaus
Baljit Atwal  – Director
Rhonda Mason  – Assistant Director
Sara Fearon  – Manager III
Tammy Nunes  – Manager I
Michelle Dunn  – Manager I
Joe Silva  – Child Support Supervisor
Michelle Lopes  – Child Support Supervisor
Eloise Willform  – Child Support Supervisor
Tehama
Beatrice Bradley  – Supervisor to Staff Services Analyst II
Cassandra Dainaukus  – Retired
Tulare
Jessica Van Allen  – Child Support Officer
Chelsea Abila  – Child Support Officer
Hannah Leoni  – Child Support Officer
Abriana Rodriguez  – Child Support Officer
Jessica Padilla  – Child Support Officer (Promotion)
Debbie Gick  – Retired (Legal Office Assistant)
Emily Haston  – Retired (Legal Office Assistant)
Leigh Elliott  – Retired (Department Secretary)
Ventura
Eddie Hernandez  – Child Support Specialist II
Jennifer Ventura-Ramirez  – Customer Service Representative I
Lupe Vasquez  – Customer Service Representative I
Pamela Arriaga  – Customer Service Representative I
Claudya Zuniga  – Customer Service Representative II
Stephanie Zuniga  – Senior Customer Service Representative
Veronica Franco  – Senior Customer Service Representative
Dulce Best  – Retired (Clerical Supervisor III)

 

 

Filed Under: OneVoice CSDA Newsletter, September 2017

PI #6 – Percent of Current Support Paid by Percentage Band – Great Concept, Let’s Expand Our Thinking!

September 5, 2017 by Danielle Wermund

By Adam Perry, Child Support Program Manager, El Dorado County DCSS

I recently had the pleasure of presenting a tool at the CSDA Membership meeting in early July and then again during a webinar hosted by CSDA in late August. The tool was developed during my time as a Program Planner in Sacramento County and a Program Manager in El Dorado County to expand on the concept of PI #6 and provide a valuable tool to caseworkers to target cases that may need intervention.

The Practice Indicators (PI) was created to provide data on Local Child Support Agencies (LCSA) practices that affect the overall service provided to our customers. The Mission Statement for State DCSS is to promote parental responsibility to enhance the well-being of children by providing child support services to establish parentage and collect child support.  The PIs support the mission of State DCSS and let the LCSAs know how they are doing in the support of the mission and the service to the customers. The PIs are intended to support customer service outcomes for California families that require IV-D assistance.

Practice Indicator (PI) #6 – Percent of Current Support Paid by Percentage Band has been identified by many LCSAs as a valuable PI to closely monitor as it correlates directly with Federal Performance Measure (FPM) 3. Because PI #6 applies banding segments to only the year-to-date current support paid versus year-to-date current support owed, I identified an alternative way of applying the same banding segments to the monthly current support paid versus the monthly current support owed as well. This allows a caseworker to see more real-time changes in current support paid throughout the Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) and intervene more timely. This alternative method of gathering data also allows the LCSA to look at payment trends as well as conduct impact analysis.

Below is an example of why it is important to look at data in alternative ways.

Over the past year, the concept of banding was also applied to arrears distribution to help identify and target arrears cases that may need to have the arrears payback amount increased due to the length of time it will take the NCP to pay off the arrears at his current payment rate.

Caseworker Banding Tool – What is it?

The Caseworker Banding Tool is a tool that:

  • Expands on the concept of PI #6 to help identify current support cases that may need intervention
  • Applies the same framework to help identify arrears cases that may need intervention
  • Provides a tool for supervisors to measure impacts
  • Provides reports to identify trends in current support payments and arrears distribution
  • Provides data that allows LCSAs to be creative and target cases for specialized projects

Can the tool be shared?

Before the tool can be shared there are some things that we need to overcome.

  • Data Repository – Access to the data for all LCSAs
  • Excel Skills – Complex Template and Formulas
  • Large Counties = Large amounts of data!
  • Monthly Maintenance

 We are working on it with the help of the CSDA IT Committee and others.

  • Frank Shipley (Alameda) – Automation/Different platform?
  • Phil Kryder (Santa Barbara) – Making the data available for all LCSAs
  • Pedro Marenco (Sacramento) – Query assistance

Things are moving quickly and we are hoping to have the tool available to all LCSAs in November for the FFY 2017/2018.

If you are interested in looking at the webinar CLICK HERE (Members Only link)

Filed Under: OneVoice CSDA Newsletter, September 2017

Are You Prepared? Lessons Learned from the Detwiler Fire

September 5, 2017 by Danielle Wermund

By Sharon Wardale-Trejo, Director, Merced / Mariposa Regional DCSS

On Tuesday, July 18, 2017, I received the notice we all hope to never get, our Mariposa office was ordered to evacuate due to a fast-moving wildfire that was threatening the town of Mariposa. Now, this fire was no surprise. Fire is a constant threat to this community, as it is to many mountainous regions. But with all the rain earlier in the year, this fire season was likely to be worse than recent history. Knowing all of that, were we ready when that call came? Yes and no. Though the fire is now nearly contained and my staff was fortunate to not lose any of their homes, I want to share some of our lessons learned from the Detwiler Fire so you can hopefully be more prepared if a natural disaster or other emergency should occur in your community.

A little bit about the Mariposa area. Located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Mariposa is the home of the central portion of Yosemite National Park. Sparsely populated, much of Mariposa County is grasslands, shrubs and a variety of trees. Due to years of drought and recent bark beetle infestations, millions of the Ponderosa pine trees are dead. There are three main routes into Mariposa—Highway 140E from Merced, Highway 49N from Oakhurst, and Highway 49S from Coulterville.

The Detwiler Fire was first reported on Sunday, July 16, in the afternoon in a remote area near Lake McClure. Being relatively new to the Mariposa region and this whole concept of wildfires, I wasn’t sure how concerned I should be about the fire but fortunate for us, several staff had contacts in emergency services so we were receiving regular updates. The fire was growing quickly, doubling in size each day. California fire resources were already stretched thin fighting fires all over the state, so this fire initially had little resistance and lots of fuel.

By Monday afternoon, the County Administrative Office (CAO) had reported business as usual, but due to the unprecedented rate of burn and direction, the fire was being watched very closely. Though additional fire crews were arriving every hour from all over the state, staff was advised that evacuations may be necessary. The community was also advised of possible home evacuations, so each employee began packing up their valuables and treasured items. It’s amazing how much clarity you have of what’s truly important when you realize you only have space in the trunk of a car.

By Tuesday morning, I was in Merced giving our annual Child Support Awareness Month presentation to our Board of Supervisors. At the same time, the Mariposa CAO had announced that power may need to be cut from county facilities and if that were to happen then all non-essential staff was to go home. I was texting back and forth with the Supervising Child Support Specialist to gauge activities and decide next actions. By 10:30 that morning, we made the decision to evacuate the office. The official evacuation from the CAO’s office came right before noon.

Several staff had to drive down the hill to the Merced area and both Hwy 140 and Hwy 49 were being threatened by the fire. Two employees were able to travel to Merced via Hwy 140, but the third was cut off by the fire and had to travel an alternate route via Old Highway Road, a poorly maintained mountain road. Her journey was a white-knuckle drive of crawling down the mountain while fire trucks rushed past to get to the fire that was now threatening the town of Mariposa.

The staff that remained in the area were all able to evacuate to family members residing nearby but further away from the immediate threat. By Tuesday evening all routes into Mariposa except Hwy 49S to Oakhurst had been overrun by the fire and were closed to non-emergency vehicles. All that was left to do was watch and wait.

Back in Merced, I was struggling to determine where everyone was and if they’d made it down the hill safely. Cellular service is mediocre at best up there. First of my lessons learned was communication is key. Making sure I had everyone’s personal contact information in my phone was a must. I had recently done this as part of updating our department’s Business Continuity Plan. In a smaller office, this is very practical. In a medium or larger office, a chain of communication is more realistic, such as executive staff distributing a message to mid-level management and then each mid-level manager distributing to their own distribution list of staff.

Though we had everyone’s personal contact information, we didn’t know where they evacuated to until we were able to make contact with each team member. Additional lessons learned included a need to update contact information annually and to ask staff the question of where they would evacuate to if an evacuation was ordered. Including this information on the emergency contact sheet enables the office to know likely whereabouts of staff in cases of evacuation.

By Tuesday evening, we had established a text messaging group and knew where everyone was. We also had all joined the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Emergency Alert System which was giving regular updates on evacuations and fire notices. One thing I had to keep reminding myself was those who remained behind were without power, or were relying upon generators. While we were desperate to know the fire’s progress, staff’s wellbeing, and the wellbeing of their homes, keeping the texting to a minimum was necessary due to limited charging capabilities.

On Wednesday morning, those staff in the Merced area were able to come to the Merced Office to work. In anticipation of relocating staff due to the evacuation, we had set up access in the Merced Computer Lab with telephones. They would have access to the internet and CSE as well as phones for any calls.

The Mariposa office has a clean desk policy, so any documents they may have been working on at the time of evacuation were secured in a locking cabinet. As they didn’t have access to those documents, staff wasn’t able to pick up where they left off on Tuesday. Depending upon the type of emergency, if time permits, a suggestion would be to scan in and route via e-mail all working documents. Staff is then able to retrieve the documents via web mail and can then complete the work they had as well as any other normal activities via CSE.

In an effort to track the fire’s progress, we printed out a CalFire map of the county with an overlay of the span of the fire. Then we noted where the office and staff’s homes were. Updates were continuous, both through official and unofficial channels. A lesson learned was to gather information from any source available. Facebook was an amazing tool for the community to come together and share updates. Users that monitored scanners would share out updates so others knew where the hot spots were and where fire crews were concentrating efforts. Others would just post pictures of the fire’s progress and give updates to the community on the status of homes. The CalFire and County Office of Emergency Services (OES) teams did a great job providing nightly town hall meetings to update the community on progress and next steps. These meetings were live-streamed through Facebook, so we were all able to watch them. The caution with all of these great sources is you run the risk of information overload and can find yourself so wrapped up in watching the updates that you do little else.

By Wednesday morning I wanted to know the status of the building. The fire had progressed to the edge of town the night before and I couldn’t determine how the building had faired. I contacted OES and they recommended I drive up on Thursday morning. Due to road closures, the normal 45 minute drive took over two hours. Fortunately, the office had suffered no direct damage. The fire had come over the hill across the highway and made it about midway down before fire crews had been able to stop it. In later reviewing maps, the point near Hwy 49N and our office was the closest the fire got to the town, stopping about 300 yards away.

The supervisor and I quickly checked the office and confirmed all information was secured. As the fire was not officially contained in that area and was still considered an active hotspot, we considered removing the county vehicle and took the precaution to copy all of the budget documents for the last three years on a flash drive to enable working on the budget from a remote location. At that point, we didn’t know how long it would be before the evacuation was lifted and we were planning for the potential of working in Merced for a period of time. Due to road closures, those staff still in the Mariposa area would not realistically be able to travel to Merced to work. I reached out to Madera and they graciously offered to house several staff if the evacuation was not lifted in the near future. The outpouring of offers to assist from counties near and far was comforting.

By Thursday evening, the winds had shifted; the fire direction turned away from Mariposa and was heading north towards Coulterville and south towards Catheys Valley. Several staff member’s homes were south of town and continued to be threatened through Friday. By Friday afternoon, evacuation notices were beginning to be lifted for the town and various residential areas. The last staff member was able to return home by Sunday. Due to five days of power outages throughout the community, all residents were advised to discard all perishables in their refrigerators and freezers. An unanticipated loss, but staff was grateful to have homes to return to.

In the end, the Detwiler Fire burned over 81,000 acres in a span of five days. Sixty-three homes were destroyed. The community is coming together to support each other as they recover from the fire. I have learned many valuable lessons from what was for us a near miss. First, make sure you have a communication plan in place so you can quickly and efficiently communicate with your team. Second, scan in and route active work so staff can retrieve remotely. Third, use all information sources to get up to date information. Fourth, have your contingency plans ready— where staff would go, what activities can be performed remotely, and what activities must be performed on county systems. Lastly, be grateful for what you have and for the tremendous support from the child support community around you.

Photo credits – 2 photos are from KCRA 3 News.

Cal Fire’s website – http://www.fire.ca.gov/

Cal Fire’s Ready Set Go video – http://www.youtube.com/v/dcf8FRAqUww&hd=1&rel=0

Cal Fire’s Ready for Wildfire App – http://www.readyforwildfire.org/Ready-for-Wildfire-App/

Filed Under: OneVoice CSDA Newsletter, September 2017

BEC or CEO Fraud

September 5, 2017 by Danielle Wermund

Article 2 in a series of 3.

By Michael Menz, Director, Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Do you know what “BEC” stands for? Not David Beckham, everyone knows David and the Manchester United soccer team. This BEC stands for Business Email Compromise. Another name is “CEO Fraud.”

Criminal hackers are like every other businessman: they want to maximum the profit for minimum investment/their time. This type of scam is very profitable since it only needs to be successful a few times to be highly cost-effective for the criminal hacker.

Criminal hackers will first do their research before launching an attack. They select the business on which to launch a BEC attack, then use social engineering skills and public records to find out the name and email address of the CEO and CFO. They decide who their victim will be within the business, normally employees in the financial side. They look for a person in the finance department who manages money. The criminal hacker will send a fraudulent email, impersonating the CEO or CFO, and try to trick their victim into initiating one or more wire transfers.

An offshoot of this trick is to send an email to a victim business’ customer who pays their bill via online money transfers. The criminal hacker will spoof the sender address and ask the victim company to change the banking number because of a recent change in banking. They make the change thinking they have been communicating with the legitimate business but it has really been the criminal hacker.

A successful BEC attack results in successful intrusion into the victim’s business systems, unrestricted access to the victim’s employee credentials, and substantial or massive financial loss for the company.

Some of the other techniques criminal hackers use could be Spoofing or typosquatting legitimate email addresses, using a domain name similar to the targeted business’ actual domain name. They will use an urgent tone, requesting that the funds transfer is done “ASAP.” They are needed now. The CEO or CFO is in a meeting and they cannot be disturbed during the meeting by email exchanges or phone calls. They will trick the victim again by implying that the sender is using a device to write the email by using the well-known and frequently-used phrase “Sent from my iPad,” in lieu of the corporate email signature. These techniques are very effective by implying the email is sent from a mobile device which excuses any poor English, misspelling, or lack of an email signature. Those are triggers to normally recognize phishing emails. The “ASAP” is important because the sender would have waited until he was back at his desk. Hackers might also use social engineering to find out when the executives are traveling for business and tailoring it to the counties they are traveling in making their scam even more credible.

So, what can you do to stem the tide on this type of fraud?

  • Educate your employees about the scam. Have them monitor email addresses in their inboxes to avoid spoofing or typosquatting.
  • Train them to always question any emails requesting fast actions, whether they seem unusual or not, especially if the request is not following normal procedures.
  • Advise them to make a phone call to verify the legitimacy of a business partner or supplier by a known good number, not one sent in the email.
  • Use two-factor or multi-level authentication for initiating wire transfers.

Until next time, Be Safe

Michael Menz – Michael is a Director for Hewlett Packard Enterprise, the eDiscovery, Investigations & Forensics teams.

His prior career was a detective for the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department, High Tech Crimes Task Force.

Filed Under: OneVoice CSDA Newsletter, September 2017

San Diego Aims to Break the Cycle of Poverty

September 5, 2017 by Danielle Wermund

By Amy Miragliotta, Deputy Director of Operations, San Diego County DCSS

The County of San Diego DCSS (COSD DCSS) established a College Education Savings Account (CESA) team that has been working over the last twenty months to create a program to aid in the fight to end intergenerational poverty. In San Diego County’s child support program, 10,438 custodial and noncustodial parents were previously dependents on their parents’ cases. This trend of adults in child support cases who were formerly dependents is especially alarming among cases initiated by aided participants. In San Diego County, the percentage of both adults and children living in poverty increased from 9.6% of adults and 15.9% of children in 2005 to 14.2% and 18.9% respectively in 2014. Intergenerational poverty is influenced by a number of factors, with lack of education being chief among them. Educational opportunities for impoverished children is one key in breaking the cycle for low income families. Research shows that children who have $1 to $499 in education savings accounts are three times more likely to attend post–secondary institutions and four times more likely to graduate. Through this program, COSD DCSS believes we can help children within our caseload to be first generation college students.

The first optional plan, named the State Debt Reduction (SDR), has been submitted to State DCSS via “white paper” for review and permission to implement. This program works as a modified COAP offering two-to-one reduction of state owed arrears.  For each dollar that is placed in a 529 college savings account for the minor dependent, two dollars will be reduced from their state owed arrears.  The second proposed plan is to work with brand new case participants and educate at intake and establishment on the benefits of 529 college savings accounts and how a contribution of as little as $25 per a month can make a tremendous impact on their child. For this optional plan, COSD DCSS is working closely with the court commissioners to create and add language to court orders that will help to solidify a monthly payment to the 529 college savings account. This plan also includes match incentives that will help to reward targeted milestones for the CP, NCP, and dependent. COSD DCSS is working to solidify a grant to help financially support the match incentives.

In addition, COSD DCSS partnered with the San Diego Financial Literacy Center (SDFLC) and the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association–College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF). The SDFLC will provide a financial literacy component to our participants that will help them develop a strong foundation of practical money skills. The SDR program aims to empower families to contribute to the future successes of their children by alleviating the stress of paying for college. This optional program creates opportunities to pursue post-secondary education that can help break the poverty cycle for low-income families.

Filed Under: OneVoice CSDA Newsletter, September 2017

Ergonomics and Injury Prevention

September 5, 2017 by Danielle Wermund

Jeff Symons, MSE, CEAS, CEAC – Rehabilitation Engineer

You would not want to walk around with shoes that do not fit you well or are the wrong size. In that vein, it is important to have proper fitting equipment at work. However, most people have no idea of the proper ergonomic position or even how to adjust their chair. They just sit down and start working. Often times the chair may be adequate for their needs, but they are unaware of how to adjust it properly. Or the desk height is not right, monitor size and distance are improper, or lighting inadequate.
Most people have heard about ergonomics and how following the right principles can avoid injuries and provide a more productive work environment. Although there are a number of studies that support this, many businesses put this low on their priority list and never invest in ergonomic assessments until an individual has an injury. With repetitive motion injuries such as carpal tunnel becoming more and more frequent, now is a time to do some simple things to prevent these injuries.
Answers to ergonomics and injury prevention:

  1. Besides assessing an individual employee’s physical needs and specific work environment, an assessor will show the person how to adjust their chair, keyboard, mouse, font size, and foot position. As well, they will explain a good ergonomic position and the importance of taking micro stretch breaks throughout the day.
  2. Assessments usually last about 20– 30 minutes/person and cost around $50/person depending on total number in group, travel, and how detailed a report is desired.
  3. Most ergonomists who perform ergonomic assessments do not have a vested interest in selling any equipment (they should reveal this ahead of time).
  4. Musculoskeletal disorders (such as carpal tunnel) are entirely preventable and quite unnecessary injuries that cost the US economy billions of dollars and inflict misery and suffering on affected workers.

The largest expense is a basic ergonomic chair that fits the staff person well ($300-$400). Additional items such as a foot rest ($40), wrist rest ($20), document holder ($50), and monitor risers ($30) are typical items that might be recommended in an injury prevention assessment. OSHA estimates the average cost of an ergonomic injury is $30,000.00. (http://www.creativesafetypublishing.com/how-much-does-an-ergonomic-injury-cost/)
Here are some documented benefits of an Injury Prevention Program:

  • Cost-effective and simple way to reduce workers’ comp injuries and costs
  • Prevents multiple potential injuries by training the workforce on best practices
  • Increases employee morale and builds teamwork
  • Increases worker productivity
  • Reduces lost time
  • Mitigates the risks associated with an aging workforce

In closing, besides the injury prevention and avoidance of lost staff time, the benefit to employee morale is incredible. Having conducted a number of these injury prevention assessments, I can tell you first-hand how often employees respond very positively that their employer would bring someone to help make their work environment more comfortable. 

As the saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” This is never truer than in the injury prevention area of ergonomics.

Jeff Symons, MSE, CEAS, CEAC is a Rehabilitation Engineer, providing a variety of services for ergonomic assessments, recommendations, and rehabilitation consultation. He can be reached at 916.933.2375; jtsymons@sbcglobal.net; www.jeffsymonsconsulting.com

Filed Under: OneVoice CSDA Newsletter, September 2017

Homeless Children Matter

September 5, 2017 by Danielle Wermund

By Ginger Harms Charity Coordinator, El Dorado County

Each year, the Child Support Directors Association (CSDA) raises funds to help support a non-profit charity selected by the incoming CSDA president. Historically, these fundraising activities have raised more than $25,000 annually for the selected charity. Don Semon, Director of El Dorado County Child Support Services, has decided to focus fundraising efforts for 2018 on homeless children.

As is probably the case with most of you, staff in El Dorado County was unaware of the homeless student population in our community. We had never heard of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, part of which is designed to ensure that children identified as homeless receive access to all school programs and services for which they are eligible. These services include academic support, school nutrition, and transportation to the school where they were enrolled when permanently housed. In California, more than 300,000 homeless students are identified each year and these numbers continue to climb. In rural El Dorado County alone, nearly 1,000 enrolled students have been identified by McKinney-Vento as homeless.

On a regular basis, homeless children and youth report that school is a home for them—a place where they see the same faces, sit in the same seat, and can put their hearts and minds into pursuits that help ease their daily troubles. In school, these children gain the skills and support needed to overcome poverty and homelessness as adults.

In partnership with the El Dorado Community Foundation, El Dorado Child Support Services has created a Homeless Children Matter Fund to support homeless students in our community.

Donations from the fundraising efforts, which conclude at the annual conference in May 2018, will help ensure homeless children in our county receive much-needed academic services and supplies, greater stability in their lives, and the hope for a better tomorrow.  Please help us to make a difference.

For more information or to arrange a donation, please contact Ginger Harms at 530-642-7238 or ginger.harms@edcgov.us

Watch for future articles on the Homeless Children Matter Charity

November 2017—More information/data on McKinney Vento

January 2018—Case studies/complexities of the issue

March 2018—How LCSAs can help

Filed Under: OneVoice CSDA Newsletter, September 2017

Meet Your Peers – Terri Morelock

September 5, 2017 by Danielle Wermund

Terri Morelock, Director, Shasta County DCSS

Growing up in a small town with a population of 900 had its advantages and disadvantages. Everyone knew everyone. My father worked at an automotive repair shop in a nearby town, and my mother was a stay-at-home mom raising three children. Dad did not believe in credit, so he built our family home wall by wall as he could afford it. One day, the repair shop owner decided to close the shop, which left my dad unemployed. Money was always tight in those days, and unemployment was not enough to feed the family. Government assistance was not an option. My parents believe in working for what you get and never accepting anything for free. This is where my work ethic began.

My dad worked any jobs he could find. Nothing was beneath him. The first summer my dad was unemployed, we spent all our free time cutting wood and selling it. Dad toyed with the idea of moving the family to Canada to ranch sheep and cows. (My mom was raised by a rancher, and my dad had experience from the odd jobs he had done over the years.) That idea was put to rest when my parents found out the closest school to the ranch was over 100 miles away. Us kids would have had to board during the week and only come home on weekends. Neither mom nor dad would allow for someone else to raise their children, so back to Palo Cedro, California, we went.

My dad had a following of customers who constantly encouraged him to open his own automotive repair shop, so during the following months my folks built and opened their own shop. By then, child number four had arrived, and the business grew day by day and year by year. As children, we all had chores to do—everything from chopping and hauling wood, to cooking meals, to cleaning the house. Each year when deer season opened, we packed up our rifles and canteens for a weekend of hunting. We spent our play time outside riding bikes, swimming, fishing in the creek, riding horses, and staring at the clouds and stars. Supper was always eaten at the kitchen table, never in front of the TV. This was our family time.

I attended a rather small school with grades K-8. I always loved riding the bus to and from school. Early on, I started playing softball and realized I had a love for sports. I played both school and league sports including softball, volleyball, track and field, and basketball. Eventually, I coached girls’ softball for a few years. Still to this day, I have friends with whom I started school and now have regular contact.

By my senior year of high school, I still had no idea what I wanted to do. Earning my own money was my first goal. I worked for YCC one summer, and then landed a retail job with Montgomery Wards. After six years in retail, I knew I needed something else. I attended the local junior college off and on but did not earn enough credits for a degree. In 1984, I was interviewed by the Chief Investigator at the DA Family Support Division of the County of Shasta. Before I made it home, he had called and offered me the job.

Naïve is the only word I can think of to describe my first several months with that office. I had never been exposed to divorce, welfare or government assistance programs, and only a very few people I knew had ever had a child out of wedlock. Two years into this job, I gave birth to my son, Matthew. Anyone who knows me knows he has been my pride and joy for 31 years!

I loved working in the DA FSD program. I applied for every promotion that presented itself, and I worked every different assignment I possibly could. I always volunteered for any new assignments or committee work. I was still taking college courses off and on but not managing to finish my degree. By 2003, I knew I wanted to eventually become the Director of the newly-established Department of Child Support Services. I returned to college full time (nights and weekends) while still working full time and raising both my son and then step-son. There was no such thing as free time. When we had family vacations, I would pack up my backpack full of books and papers so I wouldn’t fall behind in my studies. It was hard, but in the end I achieved my goal: I was appointed by the Shasta County Board of Supervisors as the Director in 2005.

In the fall of 2014, I reconnected with a friend from grammar school (Tim). We often drifted in and out of touch but always remained friends. In October 2014, Tim and I connected through social media and found ourselves in a position where we reluctantly started to date. In just six months, we tied the knot. Both of us had rebounded from unhealthy relationships. We have now built a strong and beautifully-respectful bond. Both of us have deep family roots in Shasta County, and both of us were raised that a paycheck is earned and that it only comes from hard work. Tim opened his own automotive repair shop in 1996. He, like my dad, is extremely successful because of honesty and hard work. Both eventually gave way to their sons who are now successfully carrying on the business legacies.

My years working in this program has opened my heart and soul to many diversities I may not have had a chance to experience. I was hooked, and this program became a part of me from day one. I have been lucky enough to have served on many different committees and workgroups, the CSDA Board, as well as serving as the President in 2007/2008.  I was honored with the Manager of the Year at NCSEA in 2003, the Truly B. Knox award in 2015, and am currently serving as the one and only Child Support representative on a Child Abduction Response Team (CART). I have made lifetime friends who have mentored me along the way, and I believe I have made a small positive difference by the work I have done.

My work and life motto is, “Life should not be a journey to the grave with intentions of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, margarita in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming: Woo Hoo what a ride!”

Eventually, I will hand the torch to someone else, but for now, I love what I do, the team I have the privilege to work with every day, and the families we serve. Life is just too short to stay at a job that you truly don’t love!

Filed Under: OneVoice CSDA Newsletter, September 2017

Meet Your Peers – Marcus Mitchell

September 5, 2017 by Danielle Wermund

Marcus Mitchell, Director, Kern County DCSS

I was born in Los Angeles and raised in the small suburban community of Valinda, California. I had a great childhood playing in a safe neighborhood with a multitude of friends on my street.  We played baseball in the street and the hoop was at my house where we played basketball as well.  While I wasn’t the best athlete, we were a great group of friends.  I attended William Workman High School and graduated in 1980.  I was also a member of my school band and eventually ended up marching in the Sacramento Freelancers Drum and Bugle Corp for three summers.  I was fortunate to travel summers competing all over the country and Canada.  I got to perform in the Olympic Stadium in Montreal Canada and in the Orange Bowl in Miami, FL.

At the end of my time in drum corps, to my mom’s surprise, I decided it was time to move out and live on my own. So, in my infinite wisdom I decided it would be great to live in Santa Barbara, CA.  I packed up my belongings and moved to Santa Barbara.  A friend of mine put in a good word for me and I got a job in the Math Department at UCSB.  I loved living near the beach but we all know that it ain’t cheap to live in Santa Barbara!  I made it about eleven months and packed up and moved to Sacramento where it was much cheaper to live.

After working for a couple of employers, I took the account clerk test for Sacramento County. I passed the test and made the list. Almost a year went by and I forgot all about the list. To my surprise, I got a message from the receptionist where I was employed to call the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office. I totally freaked out! I thought, what do they think I’ve done?  The rest is history.  I began my career in the child support program at the D.A. Bureau of Family Support in accounting.  I was bitten by the child support bug and realized I was cut out for this line of work.  You see, my parents divorced when I was 14 years old and my father was ordered to pay child support.  My dad paid his support every month on time and never ever missed a payment.  Not only did he pay his support, he stayed completely connected to me and my life.  He, along with my mother, raised me to have a strong work ethic, respect for my fellow man, an attitude of service, and healthy relationship with God. Through life experiences, I realized the power of child support.

After promoting to a Child Support Officer and a Supervising Child Support Officer, I worked on our county’s conversion to the CASES System. I was offered a position with Informatix as a Conversion Manager and with fear and trepidation I left the government for private industry.  I had a great mentor (Frank Shipley) and I worked in several counties doing all the activities related to conversion.  This position allowed me the opportunity to see how the program was administered in different counties and work with and learn from many talented child support professionals.  While I grew so much in a short time, I really missed the program, and the travel was grueling. My wife and I were also trying to start a family and it is really difficult when you aren’t in the same place! I eventually made my way to the CADCSS and worked on the pilot conversions to CSE and became a Regional Administrator for Southern Region. 

Although working at the CADCSS was rewarding, I still missed working at the local level. In 2009, I was hired as the Assistant Director of the Kern County Department of Child Support Services (KCDCSS).  Boy, I thought Sacramento was hot…Bakersfield is way hotter! I had the privilege of working alongside Phyllis Nance, and when she retired from Kern on her road to Alameda I was appointed the Director of KCDCSS, where I proudly serve our community with a dedicated team of child support professionals creating a better life for children.  Along the way I managed to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Management & Ethics from William Jessup University and Associate Degrees in both Criminal Justice and Christian Studies.

But most important in my life is my family. I married my best friend Sara, and we have three beautiful girls—Victoria 12, Ava 8, and the baby Sarina 6.  Being a husband and father is the most rewarding facet of my life.  We love doing things as a family.  We camp in our RV (the Mitchell Memory Mobile), make as many trips to Hawaii as possible, and my girls and I dance Hula worship together. I live a charmed life.  I have a career that I am passionate about, I get to work with many dedicated professionals serving families, and I get to go home at night to a wonderful wife and three beautiful daughters who love me no matter what.  I am truly thankful for all the blessings that have been bestowed on me in this life.

Filed Under: OneVoice CSDA Newsletter, September 2017

LPC CORNER – September 2017

September 5, 2017 by Danielle Wermund

By: Colin Anderson, Lead Attorney, Yolo County DCSS

Honoring Chief Counsel Kathy Hrepich

On August 3 and 4, the Legal Practices Committee met at the offices of the Judicial Council in Sacramento.  Previously we had been informed that DCSS Chief Counsel Kathy Hrepich was retiring.  Kathy began a distinguished career in 1981, which saw her serve as a Deputy District Attorney in three different counties.  Kathy served as the Chief Deputy DA for Nevada County and then transitioned to the Director of Nevada County Child Support Office to eventually being appointed Chief Counsel for State DCSS.  This lead to being named Interim Director of DCSS.  She retires as Chief Counsel for DCSS in October and is the longest serving Chief Counsel in the history of the department.

Kathy has been an integral part of LPC over the years providing a crucial link between State DCSS Legal and the diverse legal operations throughout LCSAs in the state.  LPC took a break during the meeting on Friday to recognize her with a certificate signed by all LPC members and coffee and cake.  A picture of the LPC crew, including our state and judicial partners and Kathy, was taken to memorialize the event (see below).  Thanks to Lisa Bispham and Melinda Self for the cake!  It was a great send-off with all of LPC wishing Kathy well in retirement.


Protocol for Court Appearance by non-CMR LCSA

One of the items on the agenda for the meeting was a review of the existing Protocol for Court Appearance by non-CMR LCSA, which was developed by LPC and the LCSA Managing Attorneys in 2009 and has been in use since that time.  In discussing its use and possible revision, the committee determined that not only should the protocol be updated, but that it was time to redistribute it and educate/re-educate LCSAs about the protocol. This protocol is used for court appearances by LCSAs that do not have case management responsibility (CMR) in CSE.  In other words, in situations where your county has CMR, but the court case itself remains in another county, this protocol will be used to handle court appearances, from receipt of legal documents to completion of the court order.  The protocol can be found on the LPC page on the CSDA website (https://csdaca.org/committees/legal-practices-committee/) and on CA Central., The LCSA contact list which is referenced in the protocol is maintained in CA Central (https://central.dcss.ca.gov/Lists/Contact%20List/AllItems.aspx) and is titled Non-CMR Court Appearance Contact List. Please review the protocol to ensure your contact listed is still current. More information about the revision and its use will also be provided to LCSA Directors and Managing Attorneys.

Filed Under: OneVoice CSDA Newsletter, September 2017

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