Statewide, California has nearly two million child support cases with more than $2 billion in collections. Ventura County collected nearly $50 million of that, surpassing previous collection records, and at the same time exceeding statewide averages in paternity establishment, collections on current support and collections on past support.The State Department of Child Support has implemented several major customer service initiatives statewide including the Ombudsperson Program, a Local Complaint Resolution process, and State Administrative Hearings. New regulations governing these initiatives went into effect before most counties made their formal transitions.“The mission of our new child support department, developed by our staff,” said Trom, “is to promote the best interests and well-being of children and families by working to ensure that children receive adequate and appropriate support from both custodial and non-custodial parents.”To achieve this goal and make the best use of the resources available the new department has installed a more efficient voice response system, assigned an employer liaison to assist employers with wage and health assignments, established a non-custodial parent liaison to help non-custodial parents with special case-related issues, and placed case managers at Job and Career Centers throughout the county.Anyone with questions about the changes in the child support program may call the Ventura Department of Child Support Services at 654-5200. Information about Child Support Transition may also be found on the Internet: California Department of Child Support Services, http://childsup.ca.gov/ and Ventura County Department of Child Support Services, http://childsupport.countyofventura.org.
Ventura County launches new local child support agency
July 19, 2002
Santa Paula News
The County of Ventura has its first new department since 1996. The Ventura County Department of Child Support Services became a new independent county department on July 1. The Child Support program was moved from the District Attorney’s Office when California legislation, adopted in 1999, required all child support programs to be operated in separate and independent county agencies.
The County of Ventura has its first new department since 1996. The Ventura County Department of Child Support Services became a new independent county department on July 1. The Child Support program was moved from the District Attorney’s Office when California legislation, adopted in 1999, required all child support programs to be operated in separate and independent county agencies.The Board of Supervisors and County Executive Officer will oversee the new department’s operation at the county level. The California Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) is responsible for statewide oversight.“Our staff has been working for months to ensure a smooth transition without any disruption in services,” said Stan Trom, director of the new Ventura County Department of Child Support Services. “We have been working on this project for the past year and have received invaluable support from Barbara Journet, director of Human Resources, Christine Cohen, the auditor controller, and County Executive officer John Johnston. The Board of Supervisors has been very supportive of this change.... We mailed 70,000 transition notices to clients, government agencies and local community groups. We have redesigned all our business material and even built a new web-site. Our new name went up on Telephone Road office Friday, June 28. Today, July 1, we open for business as the Ventura Department of Child Support Services, the transition is complete.”“However,” Trom added, “the work of improving our services and streamlining our agency is ongoing. We often go above and beyond state and federal mandates. For example, we have been negotiating for many months to arrange direct access to the DMV for case managers so that our staff can cross-reference State vehicle and drivers license information. That new tool will be available shortly.”Governor Gray Davis signed Child Support Reform legislation in September 1999 to provide leadership, ensure uniformity of services for families throughout the State, and to oversee the development of a statewide automation system. “This is an important step toward improving child support services through strong state leadership and a uniformly administered program in California,” said Curtis L. Child, director of the State Department of Child Support Services.“Moving Ventura’s child support program into the new department has taken a lot of hard work,” Child said, “but the process has gone very smoothly.” Citing the need for a new approach for the delivery of services and collection of child support, Child said the Child Support Services Program is one of the largest human services programs in the State and serves families longer than most other social services programs. “Two thirds of the families we currently serve are not on public assistance, meaning that most of the child support funds that are collected by the state go directly to families and children.”The state transition process is well ahead of schedule and will save the state millions of dollars a year in administrative costs.
