San Diego DCSS Recognized by the NCSEA

By Norma Ramirez, Assistant Deputy Director, San Diego County DCSS

On August 8, San Diego DCSS (SDDCSS) received the Program Awareness Award for Community Collaboration and Education from NCSEA (National Child Support Enforcement Association). The award was presented at their annual leadership conference which was held August 6–9 in Scottsdale, AZ.

San Diego DCSS was looking for an innovative approach to educate customers about the child support process. The goal was to reach customers in outlying areas located further in proximity from their local offices. By using several multimedia solutions and partnering with local DMVs, SDDCSS aired a brief commercial highlighting how they can assist participants within the community. This video plays four times an hour in three local DMVs throughout the county.  Its animated format was intended to capture audience attention and help highlight the softer side of the child support process.

This worked well to help spread the department’s message, but SDDCSS knew transportation may still be a barrier for some of their customers so instead they took child support services to them. By partnering with local libraries, SDDCSS was able to launch a social media campaign to highlight how participants could access services within their communities outside of standard business hours.  This collaboration, titled “In Your Neighborhood,” makes it possible for customers to meet with their case manager at a location and time that is convenient for them with no appointments needed.  It is truly a one-stop shop handling issues from case opening to order modification.  This partnership started with two local libraries which were further in distance to our office.  It has now grown to 14 sites including one in southern Riverside County.

SDDCSS looks forward to exploring additional collaboration opportunities to better serve their customers.