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Policy, engagement, families take center stage at National Child Support Enforcement Association 2023 Policy Forum

Published Date
Author Robbie Endris

Conduent’s Child Support Services engages U.S., international thought leaders, practitioners at NCSEA 2023

The 2023 Policy Forum of the National Child Support Enforcement Association (NCSEA) was packed with more than 700 registrants discussing and presenting on advancements to the Title IV-D Child Support Program, a successful federal-state partnership that serves more than 13 million children. 

The theme of this year’s event was "Engagement – Delivering Quality Services with a Passion for Helping Families.” Programming focused on not only what practitioners do, but why and how they do it.  This theme was explored across 10 plenary sessions, all of which were well-attended. 

Conduent’s Child Support Services team, led by Senior Director Kimberly Newsom Bridges, was represented by team members who lead policy, systems, and projects. We value the opportunity to engage and learn from county, state, and tribal practitioners from across the nation, as well as from Canada, Germany, and other international locations. Conduent, a preferred partner to child support enforcement agencies nationwide, is proud to have been a Corporate Platinum Sponsor since the inception of corporate partnerships in 2018.

Federal Commissioner, Office of Child Support Enforcement, Tanguler Gray opened the forum with a session exploring “Federal Partners Vision,” and included recommendations for changes and outlined improvements that are in progress. Commissioner Gray is a former child support director for Georgia, and a former NCSEA president.

Here are some thoughts from members of the Conduent team about other lessons learned at the Policy Forum:

  • “Dream Big: NCSEA’s 2023 Legislative Proposal to Congress” was insightful for many. Rather than waiting to react to changes in policy, NCSEA’s Policy & Government Relations Committee worked alongside the NCSEA Board to consider changes to federal regulations. The audience responded positively on group polls. 
  • The session titled “Understanding and Engaging Justice Involved Families: Using Data to Build a Holistic Approach” with Sharmain Harris was described as “phenomenal” by Conduent’s Bob Havanki and Zach Steed. Bob said, “This made me think about how one moment, such as the moment a woman in the WIC office ran Sharmain down to hand him a fatherhood program flyer, can have such a profound impact on an individual’s life. Even more so, consider the ripple effects caused when one individual positively impacts many others. It was remarkable.”
  • Two Saturday sessions were especially eye-opening. A session on Debt Reduction focused on the value of working cases first by “engagement” rather than “enforcement.”  The second session introduced a national survey by states, which was prompted by concern over declining caseloads. The survey gives customers and potential customers an opportunity to report their perception of the program. Preliminary results indicate that it may be time to make major adjustments to the 48-year old program to ensure relevance. Total results will be submitted by fall 2023.

We look forward to attending the NCSEA Leadership Symposium in August in Anaheim! Our team of experts will be there!

Conduent’s Child Support Services can help reduce costs, improve processes, and deliver reliable and secure payments to parents. Discover how our team can help your agency now by visiting www.conduent.com/government-solutions/child-support-solutions.
 

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