#1 California Rank: Placer Dept of Child Support Services

Placer County tops in performance

AUBURN, Calif. – The Placer County Child Support Services Department, for the first time, placed first for performance statistics among all California counties – surpassing last year’s excellent accomplishments.

CSS has seen increasing performance improvement over the last 10 years, improving from 36th place in 2009, to their current first-place position for federal fiscal year 2019.

They exceeded all their federal performance goals, including; paternity establishment, cases with court orders, collection of current support, arrears collections and cost effectiveness.

In addition, CSS improved its overall collections by over 4%; collecting and distributing a total of over $27 million. Most money collected by CSS is sent directly into the homes of customers. This money assists families in meeting their monthly food, clothing, and shelter needs for their children, and much of the money is cycled back to the communities in which the families reside.

The improvement is a direct result of structural changes to operating procedures combined with the dedication and engagement of outstanding staff.

“We could not have attained this ground-breaking achievement were it not for very targeted strategic planning, committed and talented staff with ownership in their jobs, lofty goal-setting and the development of best practices that are being exported to other government agencies,” said Placer County Child Support Services Department Assistant Director Tami Uhler.

CSS has distributed approximately $250 million in collections back into the community over the last 10 years, all while increasing its cost effectiveness from collecting $2.93 to $4.13 for every dollar the department spends.

“Cost effectiveness is important as it reflects how efficient and effective we are by showing how much the department collects for every dollar spent on the program,” said Uhler.

“We pride ourselves on providing the best possible customer care in the most effective manner,” said Placer County Child Support Services program manager Susan Dunlap. “We focus on working important tasks in an efficient and proactive manner.”