The County of San Luis Obispo has the top performing child support services agency in the state, according to a recent report by the California Department of Child Support Services to the state legislature.
The state department reported its annual rankings to the state legislature in late January, with the County of San Luis Obispo taking the top spot. The rankings were based on the five federal performance measures during federal fiscal year 2015-16, which runs October through September. While this is the fourth consecutive year we have earned this title, the County has been recognized as having the top-rated child support services agency in the state for 10 of the last 11 years.
The County ranked first out of 50 local child support enforcement agencies in the state for overall performance in five federal performance measures, which include paternity establishment percentage, percentage of cases with a child support order, current collections performance, arrearage collections performance, and cost effectiveness.
“The County Department of Child Support strives to best serve its customers by providing responsive and timely establishment and enforcement services,” said Child Support Services Director Julie S. Paik. “We work closely with parents and employers to make accurate and fair orders at the start ensuring children receive continuous child support.”
The County department established a new mission in 2016 which is “Your Children, Our Priority: To improve the quality of life and create opportunities for children through establishing and enforcing child support.” This mission is applied daily when serving the public and the Department successfully distributed $14.3 million to families in federal fiscal year 2015-2016.
“Our efforts continue to be reflected in the year-end annual ranking released by the State of California DCSS to the California State Legislature,” Paik said. “We are committed to our families and our communities and are humbled to be recognized as the top Department of Child Support Services in California.”
Child support services are available to those in San Luis Obispo County who have custody or guardianship of a minor child and who need assistance with establishing paternity, a child support order or enforcing an existing support order. The County currently serves 3,900 children and families through the Department of Child Support Services. County staff continue to implement new strategies to increase collections and distribute monies to families while remaining cost effective and delivering world-class service.
The County and state child support professionals work together so that children in the system can rely on their parents for the financial and medical support they need to be healthy and successful. To open a case or to ask a question about child support services provided by the County, visit www.slocounty.ca.gov/css.htm.
ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILD SUPPORT SERVICES
The San Luis Obispo County Department of Child Support Services works to enhance the well-being and self-sufficiency of families by ensuring that they receive the support to which they are entitled by law. Staff works with families to encourage both parents to be involved in supporting their child, but the department may, in some cases, prosecute individuals who willfully refuse to do so. The department also establishes paternity through genetic testing and locates non-custodial parents and custodial For more information, visit www.slocounty.ca.gov/css.htm.