Legal Practices Corner

Reporter COLIN ANDERSON, Lead Attorney, YOLO DCSS

Is my attorney really going to another LPC meeting?  The answer is YES and you should be happy about it.  But the better question is what is going on during these meetings and why do we have them and who is on it? The Legal Practices Committee aka LPC is a CSDA committee made up of LCSA attorneys from across the State from small, medium and large sized counties.  The proportion is balanced to give voice to the practices and concerns of all counties.

But what happens at LPC? It is LCSAs and child support program partners which include State DCSS, the Judicial Council of California and CSDA giving reports to the committee so members have a grasp on what is going on with the program as a whole, discussing existing and current issues, creating workgroups to research & analyze issues and to provide guidance to LCSAs statewide.  There are several sub-committees that are part of the LPC or which report to LPC:  Forms Committee, Managing Attorney Forum, Attorney Faculty Training Committee and Appellate Committee.  In addition, LPC has a representative on the Program, Policy and Regulations Committee, and CSDA committees, including Emerging Issues Committee and Advocacy Committee.  These sub-committees/committees regularly report on their activities to LPC.  The efforts include working on various judicial forms that our offices use every day to the work of the Appellate Committee pertaining to cases that are up for appeal that potentially effect the very way we do business.  The CSDA Legal College and National Child Support Legal College that are run and organized by the Attorney Faculty Committee which provides an invaluable resource that allows for training and sharing of ideas on a state and national level.

The committee also discusses pressing legal issues that come up throughout the year and will from time to time issue position papers which outline the advice/position of LPC.

LPC is a vital and long standing part of the CSDA, with a cross section of the attorneys in the State, it serves to inform, advise and settle various legal issues.  If you don’t have an attorney on LPC, the Committee minutes and other related information is posted on the CSDA website at csdaca.org.  So the next time you hear about an LPC meeting or your attorney says they are going to LPC, think – Wow there is a lot of information being discussed and shared at LPC, how it does affect the statewide program and my local child support agency?

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NOTE from the Chair: LPC’s Calendar, Charter, Roster, Agendas and Minutes are available on the Committee page on the CSDA website: csdaca.org. Please contact Adele Hendrickson at Hendrickson.Adele@centralsierra.cse.ca.gov with questions about the Committee and with issues for discussion.