By Ignacio J. Guerrero, Director – Santa Clara County DCSS & CSDA Board Member
The Trial Court Budget Advisory Committee has five subcommittees; one of those is the AB1058 Funding Allocation Joint Subcommittee, co-chaired by the Honorable Jonathan B. Conklin, Superior Court Judge, County of Fresno, and Rebecca Fleming, Court CEO, County of Santa Clara. This subcommittee is comprised of 23 members who are either Judges, AB1058 Commissioners, State DCSS representatives, and Superior Court staff from various California counties. The group is charged with reviewing the existing AB1058 court funding model and developing guiding principles for a new funding model, including key workload data to be used in the development of this new model. This workgroup meets regularly at the Judicial Council offices in Sacramento.
CSDA identified the need to engage with this subcommittee, communicate our support, and provide any necessary assistance to help them in their work. On April 18, I attended the subcommittee meeting on behalf of CSDA. I spoke during public comment in my role as a CSDA board member and identified the California Child Support Program as the key stakeholder and partner in delivering effective child support services at the local level with the Superior Court. As such, our 49 LCSAs make policy decisions that directly impact and influence much of the court’s workload associated with the AB1058 program. Our LCSAs are directly involved in delivering direct services to our customers in the child support courtrooms across California. CSDA is uniquely situated to provide the subcommittee with any necessary key workload data and information critical to making informed decisions regarding each county’s AB1058 funding allocation.
The CSDA Board also sent a letter in May to the co-chairs of the subcommittee offering technical assistance and any resources that may help the group in their efforts. More information to come on this as the AB1058 Funding Allocation Joint Subcommittee continues their very important work.