Auburn, Calif. – Placer County’s Department of Child Support Services ranks eighth in the state out of 51 county child support agencies for their federal fiscal year 2016 performance numbers.
The annual statistics are reported to the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement and are based on the five performance measures: paternity establishment, establishment of court orders, collections on current support, collections on cases with arrears and cost effectiveness.
In recent years, Placer County has continually increased collections and orders, while maintaining their budget and staffing levels. The latest ranking is the highest achieved by CSS to date.
During federal fiscal year 2016, which ended Sept. 30, 2016, CSS increased the percentage of cases with a court order established to an all-time high of 95.1 percent. Collections of current support and cases with an arrears payment rose into the 70 percent range for the first time ever at 71.6 percent and 70.2 percent respectively. CSS is one of the top counties with respect to cost effectiveness, collecting $3.69 for every dollar that is spent.
“CSS collected and distributed over $24.5 million dollars to families, which is an exciting achievement,” said Placer County Child Support Services Director Troy Held. “The customers benefit from our diligence and can expect the best service by the professionals of this department, and we are committed to serving them.”
CSS leaders credit two key factors for the substantial performance improvement: excellent and dedicated staff employed by the department, and a new case management model for servicing the department’s 8,000 cases.
“Our CSS staff is phenomenal,” said Child Support Services Program Manager Susan Dunlap. “They are professional and dedicated people focused on providing the best customer care for families.”