Enhancing Customer
Service to Parents
Receiving Child Support
Services
Presenter: Rachel Dawkins,
Community Outreach Coordinator
ERICSA 50th Annual Training Conference & Exposition ▪ May 19 – 23 ▪ Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista, Florida
Parents Able & Willing to Succeed (PAWS)
Outreach Program
• Outreach program offered at the Division of Child Support
Enforcement to non-custodial parents who have been ordered
to pay child support
• Implemented in December 2009 in Hampton & Chesapeake
District Offices
• Identify barriers that non-custodial parents may be facing and
refer them to meet with service providers in the community
that can help them overcome their barriers
Parents Able & Willing to Succeed (PAWS)
Outreach Program
• Program Requirements
– Agree to participate
– Contact Outreach Program Case Manager on a weekly
basis
– Go to all appointments and get the help that is offered
– Report all changes in residence, telephone and
employment
– Make voluntary child support payments
Parents Able & Willing to Succeed (PAWS)
Outreach Program
• Services offered:
– Employment assistance
– Parenting/Mentoring services
– Ex-Offender services
– Financial Counseling
– GED services
– Other services as needed
Parents Able & Willing to Succeed (PAWS)
Outreach Program
• Program Statistics
– Number of active participants (ITD)
471
– Collections (ITD)
$232,331.35
– Graduated cases
100
– % of cases still paying after graduating 52%
Customer Service Techniques
• Learn to identify and analyze customer needs
and problems
• Recognize the most common reasons for
customer complaints
• Discover techniques to cultivate and maintain
special customer relationships
Customer Service for Participants in
Child Support Outreach Programs
• Working with customers in Outreach Programs
– Understand that successes are based on client’s
cooperation
– Understand that barriers are preventing payments
– Possess a sensitivity to the barriers individuals are
experiencing
– Understand that payments may not have been in made in
over a year
– Understand that often times the non-custodial parent is
willing to pay support, but doesn’t have the resources
Effective Customer Service in Outreach
• Understand the needs of the non-custodial
parent (NCP)
Distrust
Shame
Fear
Avoidance
– Program buy in
– Quality of life
– Face child support debt
– NCP may want to buy time
Effective Customer Service in Outreach
• Understand the needs of the custodial parent
(CP)
Distrust
– Is outreach in the CP’s best
interest
Anger
– Need for financial support
Apprehension – Distrusts program goals
Frustration
– Wants DCSE to be CP’s
advocate
Providing Effective
Customer Service to Mothers and Fathers
Receiving Outreach Services
•
•
•
•
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Provide detailed case information
Emphasize & encourage constant communication
Use persuasive tactics
Emphasize collaboration
Focus on improvements in quality of life
Win/Win/Win
– Win for NCP
– Win for DCSE
– Win for Child/ren
Challenges to Providing Effective
Customer Service in Outreach
•
•
•
•
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Traditional methods of communication
Loss of contact
Loss of motivation
Multiple barriers
Accountability
Fatherhood Programs &
Non-custodial Parent Concerns
• The Role of Fatherhood Programs in Outreach
– Collaboration with Fatherhood Programs
• Workshops to address issues facing fathers
– Challenges for Fathers
•
•
•
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Communication
Positive interaction with mother of child/ren
A poor employment record
Criminal history
Summary
• Successful outreach programs include a collaborative effort between child
support enforcement agencies, service providers, fatherhood groups,
custodial parents and non-custodial parents
• Providing excellent customer service is crucial for the success of an
outreach program
• Enhancing your agency’s customer service approach increases program
participation, fosters participant commitment and guarantees success for
both program participants and the child support enforcement agency
Contact Information
Rachel Dawkins, Community Outreach Coordinator
(757) 548-7941
[email protected]