Legal Corner – May 2019

By Colin Anderson, Lead Attorney, Yolo County DCSS

On Monday, April 29, 2019, the Child Support Directors Association (CSDA) through the organization of Legal Practices Committee (LPC) Co-Chair Gina Johnston, held its annual Managing Attorney Forum. This is a fantastic opportunity for Managing Child Support Attorneys from all over the state to get together and discuss a multitude of issues impacting the program. Speaking at the forum was Judicial Council’s Anna Maves who provided an update on Court funding for Title IV-D courts. Chief Counsel for the California Department of Child Support Services Kristen Donadee also spoke and provided an update on legal and policy issues. In addition, various CSDA LPC subcommittees provided reports to the gathered Managing Attorneys in order to keep everyone abreast of the latest issues facing the program. CSDA Executive Director Greg Wilson spoke to the group and provided the CSDA perspective on issues presented. It was an informative meeting and well attended.

It is hard to discuss the Managing Attorney Forum without bringing up Terry Symens-Bucher. For years, Terry was the fearless leader of the Managing Attorney Forum and a mainstay on LPC. Terry retired from Alameda County Department of Child Support Services this past year. For people who do not know Terry, he was a pillar of this program for years. When I first started in the program Terry always had time for my questions and always with a smile. There are many times when I would shoot off an email to Terry on some legal issue. It never failed that Terry would respond with an answer, sprinkled with good advice. Terry, your leadership and presence in this program will be missed. We all wish you well in retirement, and please come back and visit us once in a while. Your commitment to the families of the State of California is and was appreciated by a great number of people.