IDEAS INTO ACTION:
Different Approaches to
Engage Parents, Negotiate
Agreements, and Implement
Change
Ideas into Action
Cynthia Bryant, Consultant and Trainer, Austin, TX
Terri Love, Director, Shasta County DCSS
Jennifer Hellerud, Deputy Director, San Diego DCSS
Ideas into Action
The Idea: Improve performance by engaging
parents in case conferencing
Same idea in different contexts
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Shasta County
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San Diego County
Conversation about implementing change
The Idea
Improve Performance by Engaging Parents in Case Conferencing
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Parents are more likely to pay
agreed orders – stipulations –
than court-imposed orders
To reach agreements they are
likely to pay, parents need to feel
that they are part of the process
– something done WITH them,
not TO them
Case Conferences
Collaborative Negotiation
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Builds on existing processes for obtaining
agreed/stipulated orders
Focus on parents’ interests and problemsolving
Engages parents in the process
NOT mediation
Instead, trained child support professional
conducts conference with parents
NOT appropriate for all cases
Collaborative Negotiation
Key Components
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Opportunity to be heard
Informed consent
Voluntary agreements
Conflict resolution & negotiation skills
Effective communication skills
Dealing with behavior challenges
Problem-solving approach
Collaborative Negotiation is FLEXIBLE!
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Adaptable to jurisdictions with
administrative processes AND
judicial processes
Adaptable in different legal
contexts
Adaptable to different case
processes
Same State, 660 Miles Apart
SHASTA COUNTY
SAN DIEGO COUNTY
Both
Beautiful!
Same State, Different Contexts
Caseload
Shasta
San Diego
13K
76K
TANF
Caseload
3K
17K
Total
FTEs
79
463
Poverty
Rate
17%
14%
Shasta County, CA. –
Family Conference Team
Shasta County, CA
Economic, Cultural & geographical center of the northern section of the State of California
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County Seat – Redding, CA
County Population – 179,000
Rural, flat valley surrounded by Sierra
Nevada, Cascade and Coastal
mountain ranges
Caseload 13,000
Distributed Collections - $19m
Finding the right approach
2010/11
2012
What we did
different
First Attempt – New team name, but made mistakes in
approach
Second Attempt – How can we be successful this time?
Collaborative Negotiation Training, Letters of Interest,
New Team Name, New Team Members, Expectations
First Try
TRADITIONAL TEAM
Collaborative Negotiation Training
“Assigned” Supervisor
“Assigned” CSS staff
Expectations – Get customers to negotiate
Outcomes – No Change
Second Try
FAMILY CONFERENCE TEAM
Collaborative Negotiation Training
Letters of Interest (Supervisor and CSS
staff)
Reviewed/Updated Invitations
Expectation – Increase Stipulations
without delay in obtaining the Order
Expectation – Conference/Negotiate
does not always mean face-to-face
conference
We can
do it!
Expectation – receipt of first payment
faster than Court process
Save court calendar for those cases
that really need/want it
Increase current and arrears - Federal
Performance
How We Do It!
Case
Opening/Intake
Processes
Establishment
Receives case
from Case
Opening/Intake
Establishment
CSS generates
Establishment
Action
Establishment
CSS sends Invite
Letter
Case Resolution
Meeting resulting
in possible
Stipulation
Monitor case
for payments
Invitation to Participants
Custodial Parent
Non-Custodial Parent
Outcomes so far….
EST: Compared to FFY 2011 – Reduced # days to obtain order by 48% (avg 73 days)
EST: Compared to FFY 2011 – Average # days to first payment is 28 days faster (avg 26
days)
R&A: Compared to FFY 2011 – Modified Order 47 days quicker
Stipulations:
FFY 2012 = Stip 38%,
FFY 2013 = Stip 45%
Federal Performance Measures
FFY 2012
Current
Arrears
FFY 2013
64.5
64.5
Current
Arrears
63.2
62.1
Current
Arrears
Additional Benefits
Service of Process Costs
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24% saving in first year
Caseworker Satisfaction
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No request to change team
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Confidence
Customer
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Appreciation for opportunity to be
involved
Collaboration with Family Law
Facilitator
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Custody/Visitation Orders with
new child support orders
Child
Support
Case
Worker
NCP
CP
San Diego’s
Approach
San Diego County, CA
Southern most coastal, International border and large military presence
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County Population – 3.177 million
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Caseload - 76,000
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Distributed Collections - $178.7m
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Currently two office locations
• Downtown
• North County
2009:
Early
Intervention
Where it all started…..
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What was our goal?
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How did we plan to achieve it?
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How did we do?
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Was it good enough?
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What next?
120%
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
% of cases
with a
payment in
first 90 days
Goal 2009 2011
2011: Early Early Intervention
Case Opening
Contact NCP
Send Invitation
Stip
Genetic Test
Automated
Reminder Dialer
Informational
Video
Case Resolution
Meeting
Answer
Closure
Early Early Intervention
What did the first 6 months look like?
Non-Aid Cases
Aid Cases
Show Rate
42%
12%
Stip Rate
30%
31%
Closure
Rate
17%
Service
Savings
$17,280
$24,705
Current Support
Collected %
Non-Aid Cases
Aid Cases
Stip Orders
77%
69%
Court hearing
orders
84%
57%
Default Orders
36%
42%
Cases with a
payment in first 90
days
72%
63%
What wasn’t working
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Getting stipulations back in the mail
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Our office location downtown
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Some staff were not comfortable in the negotiations process
Now we were on the right track….
With collaborative conversations training, we had additional goals.
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Increase stipulated judgments and orders
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Increase collections individually and dept wide
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Improve enforcement action negotiations
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Engage case participants as partners in the process
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Increase staff confidence
How’d we do?
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122% more stipulated judgments than cases going to court
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73% of our cases have made a payment within the first 120 days of order establishment
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20% increase in filing a stip to modify
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Just Ask payments with walk-ins
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112% increase in number of collections
127% increase in dollars collected
106% increase on SLMS release collections
FFY 10/11
FFY 11/12
FFY 12/13
% of Current
Support
Collected
59.2%
65%
67.8%
% of Cases with
Payment on
Arrears
62.7%
66.1%
68.4%
Cost
Effectiveness
$3.51
$3.88
$3.85
Unanticipated Outcomes
With these new tools…….
Everyone in Operations wanted to use them!
Additional Outcomes
Some we hoped for, some a pleasant surprise
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Our case participants will call us if something change
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Our customer service ratings are at an all time high
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Staff are eager to share success stories, and congratulate one another
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Using behavioral economics to change all of our scripts and letters
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Parenting Time Opportunity for Children Grant recipient
What’s Next?
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Focus on internal and external communication
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Family Centered Services
R U Ready to be
a Parent?
Fathers Matter
Family Violence
Awareness
Options for
Health Care
Jobs and
Financial Tools
Positive
Parenting
Conversation: Implementing Change
Questions for Discussion
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What inspired you to adopt case conferencing?
How did you engage staff in the change to case
conferencing?
How did you capture data to determine if the
change was effective?
How long was it before you could see results?
What surprised you?
What lessons did you learn about implementing
change?
Questions? Need More Information?
Feel free to contact us.
Cynthia Bryant
[email protected]
(512) 970-2270
Terri Love
[email protected]
(530) 229-8896
Jennifer Hellerud
[email protected]
(619) 578-6238