July 2025 CSQ_Final

Table of Contents
July 2025
NCSEA President’s Message ................................................................................ 3
Celebrating 50 Years of Child Support in New Mexico .......................................... 6
Federal Letter Spurs State Policy Changes: Examples from Massachusetts and
Washington Show Path Forward ........................................................................... 9
NCSEA Legislative Proposal Updated to Reflect Recent Changes .................... 17
NCSEA: The Legacy Begins ............................................................................... 21
Tech-Powered Child Support: Boosting Performance through Technology ........ 31
Come to the Great State of Georgia for NCSEA’s Leadership Symposium! ....... 36
NCSEA U Curriculum Profile: Leadership Symposium 2025-26 ......................... 41

Charles Smith,
NCSEA President
Hello, NCSEA!
It has been an honor to serve as NCSEA’s president. As my term comes to
an end, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for the privilege of serving
and working with such a dedicated community.
Over this past year, I have witnessed resilience, compassion, and
unwavering commitment to our colleagues, friends, and mission. While
there have been challenges and setbacks, we have continued to provide
outstanding resources and a voice for the child support community.
Through our partnerships and collaborations with sister associations, we
supported the passage of landmark legislation that eliminated contractor
barriers for state programs and expanded access to federal tax information
to tribal child support programs. To help our federal colleagues find
employment, we created NCSEA Helps to assist with job searches and
related needs. We also extended NCSEA individual memberships to
ensure they remained connected to the child support community and had
access to our online job registry. Most importantly, we showed the heart of
the child support community.
None of this would have been possible without the steadfast support of
each member, volunteer, staff, partner organization, and corporate
member/partner. Your insights, energy, and compassion for our work and
NCSEA have inspired me daily. I extend my deepest thanks to our board
for its guidance, NCSEA/MCI staff for their hard work, and our
extraordinary army of volunteers whose tireless efforts propel our
association to greatness.

As I transition into my role as Immediate Past President, I will continue to
support the association’s work and cheer on President-Elect Connie
Chesnik as she begins her presidency. I will also do all I can to identify and
cultivate the future leaders of our program who will bring fresh ideas,
passions, and perspectives.
Looking ahead, I am excited about what NCSEA can do to build a program
that supports families while ensuring that children receive the financial
support they need to thrive. Our mission has never been more critical. The
child support program has been successful over the years because we
have earned and maintained bipartisan support, not necessarily on every
aspect, but on the core mission of lifting families out of poverty, relieving
reliance on public assistance, and giving children an opportunity for a
brighter tomorrow through the collective efforts of our program. It will be
imperative to navigate the political waters into the future while remaining
laser-focused on our mission. I am confident that we can collect support,
employ the correct collection tools, and reduce/eliminate barriers to parents
providing consistent support while treating both parents with the dignity and
respect they deserve.
Thank you for making my year as president as magical as I could have
expected. I am grateful for the trust you placed in me and for the
friendships and memories we have built together. Let us tackle tomorrow
with hope, searching for unity, practicing human kindness to everyone, and
remaining steadfast in our commitment to children everywhere.
You have my heartfelt and deepest appreciation!
Warmest regards,
Charles Smith is the Vice President of Business Development for GreenCourt Legal Technologies, LLC.
He worked for 27 years in the Office of the Attorney General of Texas, Child Support Division. He served as
a volunteer, child support officer, office manager, regional administrator, Deputy IV-D Director/Director of
Field Operations (2004-2013), and IV-D Director (2013-2015). Charles has been active in NCSEA for many
years, previously serving on the board from 2007-2015 and from 2018 to the present. He has worked on

almost every committee within NCSEA and served as an NCSEA U instructor in 2018 and 2019. Charles is
an Honorary Life Member and Past President of WICSEC.
Charles is a fourth-generation Texan. He is a proud graduate of Texas Tech University. Charles and his
wife, Angela, have two children (both Red Raiders) and four grandchildren (future Red Raiders). He
cherishes his time being “Pop.”

Celebrating 50 Years of Child
Support in New Mexico
by Betina McCracken, Director, New Mexico
Child Support Program
Celebrating 50 years of almost anything is a must!
Turning the big 5-0 is worthy of a party, a trip, or a big purchase you’ve
always wanted.
Fifty years of marriage is the Golden Anniversary and absolutely worthy of
whatever the couple who were able to reach that milestone together wants.
So, what do you do to celebrate 50 years of child support? While exciting to
those of us who live and breathe child support every day, how do you
engage the community you are working to serve? Especially when some
may not have the most positive experience with the program, and others
have no clue what services the child support program offers.
The New Mexico Child Support Program tackled this dilemma head-on in
January 2025. First, we found the executive order that created the program
on June 16, 1975. It was official; we too were celebrating 50 years, along
with the Office of Child Support Services (OCSS)!
Second, we put our heads together to come up with ideas for this big
celebration. That resulted in the following:
• A Theme: “Celebrating 50 Years of Child Support in New Mexico:
Advancing a Modern, Family-Centered Approach;”
• Graphics: backgrounds for online meetings, email signatures, and
flyers for events;
• Calendar of outreach events: legislative session events, community
fairs, health fairs, Law-la-palooza, and law school recruitment, to
name a few;

• News releases: promoting 50 years of child support, the planned
outreach events, and the collaboration with the Department of Game
& Fish to reach parents who wanted to get hunting and fishing
licenses for the year;
• Social media posts: promoting where we were going to be;
• A Proclamation: issued by the governor celebrating 50 years of child
support; and
• An Anniversary celebration: that we organized, and to which we
invited the public.
Child support staff from all over the state began attending every event we
could attend. We set up tables with child support promotional merchandise,
informational pamphlets, flyers, and applications. As we enticed people with
our nice “swag,” we took thirty seconds of their time to tell them about the
terrific services we provide and asked them if they knew of someone who
could use our services. So many people were
surprised there was such a program and walked
away with a pamphlet or application.
By March, we started looking at some data to
see if our outreach efforts were working. We
compared the number of newly opened cases
from 2024 to 2025 and found a 268 percent
increase, with the majority of the new cases
being establishment cases. Those are the families with young children we
want to reach!
During our January brainstorming meeting, it was the suggestion of having
our own anniversary celebration that took our efforts to the top.
Our 50 th anniversary work group got to work and planned two events. First,
a child support open house that took place on June 16 th , the actual
anniversary of New Mexico’s child support program, where we invited the
public to our offices across the state for some refreshments and swag.
And second, a big outdoor event to be held in Albuquerque on August 16 th
for all to attend, featuring fun activities for kids and parents and, of course,
the opportunity to speak directly with child support staff about their case, if
they choose.

Customized virtual meeting background designed for the Celebrating 50 Years of Child Support
in New Mexico initiative.
Looking back at our first meeting in January on how to celebrate 50 years
of child support, I was excited, but my expectations were small. Maybe a
news release, some nice graphics, and a proclamation? What has resulted
is a big team effort from dedicated child support staff who are so proud of
what they do that they want to share it with everyone, help as many
families as possible, and have fun doing it! I couldn’t be prouder and more
honored to work with such great people and dedicated public servants.
Happy 50 th Anniversary, Child Support!
Betina Gonzales McCracken is the Director of the New Mexico Child Support Program, where she has
been serving in that capacity since May 2021 after being promoted from Deputy Director, a position she
held since 2013.
The New Mexico Child Support program has been recognized recently for its modernization efforts.
• 2022 Western Intergovernmental Child Support Engagement Council Excellence Award for Making
a Difference.
• 2024 National Child Support Engagement Association Program Awareness Award.
Betina has been with the New Mexico Health Care Authority (formerly Human Services Department) since
2003, where she began as Communications Director.
Prior to joining the Human Services Department, Betina worked at KOB-TV, the NBC affiliate in
Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she held several positions in the newsroom.

From left to right, top to bottom.
Federal Letter Spurs State Policy Changes:
Examples from Massachusetts and Washington
Show Path Forward
by Brittiny Considine, Washington State Division of Child Support,
Policy and Interagency Manager; Michele Cristello,
Massachusetts Department of Revenue Child Support Services
Division, Deputy Commissioner and IV-D Director; Megan
Nicholls, Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance,
Associate Commissioner of Family and Economic Assistance;
and Monica Turnbaugh, Washington State Division of Child
Support, Deputy Policy Administrator
On January 16, 2025, the federal Office of Child Support Services (OCSS)
and the Office of Family Assistance (OFA) issued a joint letter on child
support cooperation requirements (DCL-25-01). i The letter highlights areas
of cooperation and good cause policies, identifying for states areas of
potential flexibility to modify their policies and practices regarding child
support referrals from the agency that administers Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families (TANF). These areas include policies relating to:
• Caretaker relatives;
• Intact families and missing parents;
• Good faith;

• Good cause and other exceptions to cooperation under Title IV-D;
• Best interest of the child; and
• Family violence option under Title IV-A.
OCSS and OFA encourage state TANF and child support agencies to
review their policies and use these flexibilities to help “reduce child poverty
and barriers to accessing help, as well as improve overall well-being for
families.” ii
The flexibilities referenced in the joint letter are not new. They have been
available to states for some time, but the joint letter clearly lays out these
options and offers thoughts on how states can use them.
The joint letter comes at a great time. Both
TANF and child support agencies want to
encourage as much participation as possible to
ensure families receive all the benefits and
support they need for financial stability.
Many states are struggling with declines in
child support caseloads and not enough
participation in the child support program by
low-income families who could benefit from
consistent child support payments. Perhaps
modifying some of the more stringent (or
perceived to be stringent) requirements on
families and allowing parents to make informed
decisions about what is best for their families
will encourage parents to recognize and more easily access the benefits that
both programs can offer to support their long-term financial stability.
Many states are reviewing their policies and considering what changes they
can make. Massachusetts and Washington have already made some
changes.
Massachusetts
Even before the joint letter from OCSS and OFA
came out, the Massachusetts TANF and child
support agencies had been discussing the best
ways to serve families in our mutual caseload and
most effectively apply existing flexibilities in the

cooperation requirements and good cause policies. Over the past several
years, Massachusetts has updated its good cause policy, particularly
regarding caretaker relatives (relative caregivers in Massachusetts lingo)
and clarified its policy on intact families and missing parents.
Relative Caregivers
The determination of good cause lies with the TANF agency, the
Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA). In 2021, DTA heard from the
Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Grandparents Raising
Grandchildren (the Commission)
about the challenges grandparents
face when seeking financial
assistance for children placed in
their care. Grandparents’ number
one concern about applying for a
child-only grant under the state’s
TANF program was having to
pursue child support on their own
children. These concerns were so
significant that grandparents were often forgoing this financial support and
trying to make ends meet on their own.
Relative caregivers often take care of children during times of crisis with
very little notice, often through probate court or with involvement from the
child welfare agency. These placements keep children with family and out
of the foster care system, resulting in better long-term outcomes for these
children.
This is not a rosy picture, though. These families are in crisis. Biological
parents are not able to care for their children due to struggles with
substance use disorders, mental health issues, and other challenges, and
relatives are responding even when facing their own challenges, such as
living on a fixed income.
At the time the Commission approached DTA, grandparents were placed in
the difficult position of pursuing child support against their own child and
another person with whom they may not have any relationship.
Grandparents want their own children to heal, not to face additional
challenges. DTA responded to this information by reexamining child support
policy.

Historically, to receive the TANF benefit, relative caregivers were required
to cooperate in pursuing child support. While pursuing child support can be
a difficult thing for anyone to do, it often hits these caregivers the hardest,
with DTA’s exceptions for good cause not fully acknowledging their unique
concerns. At that time, good cause exceptions were limited to the previous
federal definition: domestic violence, rape, incest, or adoption.
To assist this population, DTA took advantage of federal flexibilities and
carved out an exception for relative caregivers, so they do not have to
cooperate in pursuing child support if they feel it is not in the best interest of
the child. Any relative caregiver who is not concerned about establishing a
support order can still do so.
DTA case managers must present the option to the relative caregivers at
every application and reevaluation, and no verification is necessary. DTA
changed its notices to include a checkbox that allows the relative caregiver
to claim good cause:
DTA collaborated with the Department of Revenue’s Child Support Services
(CSS) on the changes in the good cause policy. Referrals to the child
support program from the TANF agency are automated, so CSS needed to
be clear on what actions its systems would take under the new policy and
what, if any, additional steps CSS needed to take on the child support side.
CSS identified all the case scenarios that could arise and what child
support case processing would result. If the recipient claims good cause
when applying for TANF, child support would not get the referral. However,
in the relative caregiver scenario, there may have been a previous referral
with the biological parents or another relative caregiver, and thus an
existing child support case on CSS’s system for the child(ren). Child
support cases that had a previous referral with someone other than the
current relative caregiver may be in various stages of the child support

process: a child support order may have already been established,
payments may have been paid or are currently being paid, etc. It was
important for both agencies to be on the same page to effectively manage
these cases.
DTA has not seen a significant increase in child-only cases since this policy
has changed, but the Commission hears directly from grandparents that
removing this barrier is helping grandparents provide the best care for
children.
Intact Families and Missing Parents
DTA serves families eligible for TANF benefits who have come to
Massachusetts because of political unrest or violence in their home
country. Some of these families are intact but have been separated, with
one parent being unable to join the family. TANF benefits are critical for
these families to ensure they have the means necessary to get their
families situated and stable. DTA and CSS met to discuss the cooperation
policy as it relates to these otherwise intact families and quickly determined
that these families would not be referred to CSS.
Washington
Meanwhile, Washington state paid close attention to
the work of Massachusetts and Wyoming regarding
their approaches to kinship caregivers claiming
good cause. After the Washington IV-E program
stopped automatically referring foster care cases for
child support establishment and enforcement, child
welfare advocates approached the Washington
State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) Division of Child
Support (DCS) about child support referrals when a kinship caregiver—
usually a grandparent—receives a child-only TANF grant.
Because many grandparents are caring for their grandchildren outside of a
formal placement through a dependency action, these kinship caregivers
do not receive foster care payments. Child-only TANF grants may be the
only financial assistance available to them.
However, some feared that requiring their grandchild’s parents to pay child
support could ultimately result in the disruption of the child’s placement in
the caregiver’s home. So, some kinship caregivers chose to not apply for
TANF benefits because of the child support cooperation requirement.

According to advocates, many kinship caregivers were either unaware of
the good cause process as it could apply to their circumstances, or they
had previously been denied good cause.
In Washington, DSHS’ Community Services Division (CSD) houses the IV-
A program and makes good cause determinations. DCS and CSD have a
close partnership and began meeting regularly in Fall 2022 with people
from within the kinship care community to find solutions.
Washington was not well-situated to make the necessary system changes
to allow for a categorical good cause exception for kinship caregivers. DCS
and CSD worked together to examine existing good cause rules and
policies to find opportunities to address the concerns of caregivers using
the good cause criteria found in Washington Administrative Code 388-422-
0020. iii
Many advocate concerns about child support fit under an existing basis to
claim good cause: emotional harm; however, emotional harm had been
interpreted narrowly in practical application and not applied for this
purpose.
Caregivers expressed confusion about what “threat of harm” means and
worried about the financial impact on parents who may be experiencing
significant behavioral health or
other challenges.
Under Washington’s rules and
policies, a negative financial impact
to parents is insufficient to support
a good cause approval. However,
caregivers fear that requiring a
parent to pay child support could
cause volatile reactions and possibly disrupt the stability of the child’s
informal placement in the grandparent’s home. That seemed to fall squarely
under the existing criteria that cooperating with child support would result in
serious physical or emotional harm to the caregiver or child.
Once DCS and CSD determined that the existing rules could support a
claim for good cause, the group reviewed the application process to reduce
barriers experienced by kinship caregivers. While applying for TANF,
caregivers must tie their specific family circumstances and the requirement
to cooperate with child support to emotional or physical harm to the child or
caregiver. Caregivers were worried that if they did not say the correct words

or provide some sort of independent verification of harm that their requests
would be denied.
To help caregivers navigate the good cause application process, CSD
revised the form it gives to applicants to include language to help inform
and support emotional harm as a valid basis to claim good cause.
Caregivers also expressed concerns around documentation.
CSD designed the form to have applicants check a box to support the
request. Applicants are not required to give additional explanation. This
allows for ease of application for caregivers and reduces barriers that may
prevent the caregiver from seeking child-only TANF.
The biggest challenge Washington state has encountered so far has been
ensuring caregivers have the information they need to make choices about
what is best for their circumstances. Because form revisions alone are not
enough to support meaningful change, agency efforts also include
communication and employee training to ensure they understand the
changes and are able to apply them. Even though the changes did not
involve new rules or a major departure from prior policy, it is a major
change to broadening good cause and reducing barriers to the application
process for kinship caregivers.
Significantly, those involved in making
these changes learned that using
discretion within existing rules to make
process adjustments can result in
meaningful changes for families.
Exploring the possibilities resulted in a
reduced administrative burden in the
interest of preserving family bonds for
kinship caregivers who face different
challenges as they unexpectedly raise
children under difficult circumstances
and navigate TANF and child support
programs.
This is consistent with new federal guidance around examining existing
policies to find flexibility in a way to serve the overall well-being of families.
DCS and CSD will continue to work together to track whether these
changes are working for kinship caregivers and ensure that child support
cooperation requirements do not inadvertently create harm for families.

Brittiny Considine is the Policy and Interagency Manager at the Washington State Division of Child
Support (DCS). Brittiny enjoys finding creative policy solutions to support the DCS mission of providing
child support services that promote the well-being of children and families—especially finding opportunities
for collaborative problem solving at the heart of the intersection of the child support program with the IV-A
and IV-E programs and kinship caregivers.
Michele Cristello is the Deputy Commissioner and IV-D Director of the Child Support Services (CSS)
Division of the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Michele began her career in the Massachusetts
CSS program in 1993 and served the agency in various capacities before becoming IV-D Director in 2015.
Prior to becoming IV-D Director, Michele was the Director of Information & Analysis and led the initiative to
develop and implement CSS’s new, comprehensive child support system. Michele is a past president of the
National Council of Child Support Directors (NCCSD), chairs NCCSD’s Audit Committee, and serves on
NCCSD’s Policy and Practice and Systems Modernization Committees. Michele serves on the NCSEA
Board, is a member of NCSEA’s Policy and Government Relations Committee, and the co-chair of the
NCSEA U Committee.
Megan Nicholls is the Associate Commissioner of Family and Economic Assistance at the Massachusetts
Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) where she manages the state's cash assistance programs.
Megan focuses on streamlining and modernizing programs that work for everyone: individuals and families,
agency staff, and the public. Megan has implemented numerous reforms to the state’s TANF program
including a 100% earned income disregard, the repeal of the family cap rule, the elimination of an asset
test, grant increases, and a good cause exception to child support cooperation for relative caregivers.
Monica Turnbaugh is the Deputy Policy Administrator at the Washington State Division of Child Support
(DCS). She has been with DCS since January 1998 in a variety of capacities, including frontline
caseworker. As the Deputy Policy Administrator, she spearheads legislative work and policy
implementation projects for the division. She currently resides in Tacoma, Washington, with her spouse and
three cats, and enjoys a peekaboo view of Mount Rainier from her home office window.
i ACF-OCSS-DCL-25-01, OFA – OCSS Joint Letter on Child Support Cooperation Requirements | The Administration for
Children and Families
ii Ibid.
iii Washington Administrative Code 388-422-0020

NCSEA Legislative Proposal Updated to Reflect
Recent Changes
by James C. Fleming, Child Support Section Director and
Vocational Rehabilitation Section Interim Director, North Dakota
Department of Health and Human Services
The National Child Support Engagement Association (NCSEA) continues to
refine its comprehensive legislative proposal. The NCSEA Board of
Directors (“board”) approved the most recent set of changes to the
proposal during its April 23, 2025, board meeting.
The original NCSEA legislative proposal was first approved in February
2023 and has now been updated three times. These ongoing changes
reflect NCSEA’s commitment to maintaining a vibrant and effective
proposal that improves program services to families and maintains the
historic bipartisan support for the child support program. Worded more
practically, NCSEA continues to advocate for changes in federal law that
will receive bipartisan support from Congress and the White House.
The main goals of the NCSEA legislative package have remained constant:
• Increase Self-Sufficiency and Streamline Program Operations by
Eliminating Recovery of TANF Benefits;
• Strengthen Enforcement to Improve Collections for Single-Parent
Families;
• Streamline Intergovernmental Case Processing;
• Update and Strengthen Federal Performance Measures;

• Expand Employment and Fatherhood Services and Assistance for
Parenting Time Agreements; and
• Strengthen the Funding Base for the Child Support Program.
The latest round of changes to the NCSEA legislative proposal responds to
a change in federal law, a change in federal regulations, and an internal
refinement to one of the enforcement proposals.
NCSEA has long advocated for tribal child
support programs to have direct access to
federal tax information, including the offset
process for federal income tax refunds. As
most readers know, Congress approved the
needed changes to the Internal Revenue
Code (IRC) in December 2024. It was
another long-awaited step of celebration to
remove the tribal access recommendation
from the NCSEA legislative proposal.
Thankfully, the same change in the IRC
resolved the troublesome issue with sharing
federal tax information with contractors. The contractor issue was just
emerging as a serious concern when the NCSEA legislative proposal was
first approved in February 2023.
NCSEA has also supported, for a long time, the extension of 66 percent
federal financial participation (FFP) for states that choose to administer an
employment services program targeted to parents
who owe child support. The beneficial impact of
employment services programs is often
underappreciated. Many states connect
such programs with the contempt of court
process. The availability of employment
services strengthens enforcement of the
child support obligation. A parent with
legitimate barriers to employment can be
referred by the court or child support agency
to needed services that lead to employment
and payment of child support through income
withholding. On the other hand, a parent who is not
making a good-faith effort to find employment and is willfully not paying
support can be required by the court to use employment services or face

further sanction for contempt. In either case, the availability of employment
services improves case management and outcomes for families.
NCSEA’s revised proposal acknowledges the change in federal regulation
in December 2024, authorizing the use of FFP for employment and training
services. The legislative proposal continues to
recommend that FFP for employment services
be approved in federal law, not merely in federal
regulation, and be capped at three percent of
the state’s program costs. This revised
recommendation ensures that targeted
employment services programs are a reliable
strategy that can be used by child support
agencies to promote employment and collection
of support from parents (similar to other enforcement tools) without
supplanting other government employment programs.
The third substantive change in the latest NCSEA
legislative proposal builds on the recommendation
in the previous versions of the proposal to create
a single point of contact for employers to report
lump-sum payments in lieu of reporting to each
state in which the employer does business.
Employers are a critical partner in establishing
and enforcing child support and medical
support. Having a single point of contact for
lump-sum reporting, as recommended in the
previous proposal, would help reduce the amount of
time employers are required to spend to help the child
support program. However, that recommendation alone would not, by itself,
solve the challenges employers face due to states’ inconsistent
requirements in mandating (or not mandating) lump sums to be reported,
and in varying the threshold amounts for lump-sum payments to require
reporting. NCSEA’s latest revision helps by adding a recommendation to
create a national process for employer reporting of lump-sum payments to
employees who are currently subject to income withholding. This revised
recommendation aligns nicely with the model Lump Sum Reporting Act
adopted by the National Council of Child Support Directors.

With these changes, NCSEA’s legislative proposal continues to be a timely,
current list of changes in federal law that would modernize and improve the
child support program for America’s families.
What’s next? A two-page summary of the NCSEA legislative proposal has
already been shared with key congressional committee staff. NCSEA
leadership, with the advice of its legislative advocates, is making informed
choices about how and when to discuss the proposal with Congress. The
timing of this effort is important to ensure the proposal does not become
lost among more pressing Congressional business and maintains valuable
bipartisan support for the program.
In conclusion, after years of reacting to federal legislation being proposed
by members of Congress, NCSEA has taken the courageous step of going
on record proactively with an innovative set of recommendations to improve
the program. If enacted, these proposals will be the most significant
changes in federal law regarding child support since welfare reform in
1996.
James C. Fleming is the director of the Child Support Section of the North Dakota Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS) and the interim director of the Vocational Rehabilitation Section of HHS. Jim is
a past president of both the National Child Support Engagement Association (NCSEA) and the National
Council of Child Support Directors (NCCSD) and is a member of the Board of Directors for the Western
Intergovernmental Child Support Engagement Council (WICSEC). He is co-chair of NCSEA’s Policy and
Government Relations Committee and NCCSD’s Employer Collaboration Committee. Jim also serves as a
member of the NCCSD Executive Committee, NCCSD’s Policy and Practice Committee, the editorial
committee for the NCSEA Child Support CommuniQue, and the Finance Committees for both NCSEA and
WICSEC.

NCSEA: The Legacy Begins
by Mary Ann Wellbank with Significant Contributions from John
Abbott, Wayne Doss, and Marilyn Ray Smith
This article would not exist without the generosity of John Abbott, Wayne Doss, and Marilyn Ray Smith,
who shared their invaluable insights and memories, many of which are documented by Marilyn in the
American Bar Association’s Family Law Quarterly. i Their dedication, vision, and leadership helped shape
NCSEA, leaving a lasting impact that continues to resonate through the decades.
1950s
The National Child Support Engagement
Association (NCSEA) traces its roots back to
1950, but its modern story begins in 1974.
Originally known as the National Reciprocal
Family Support Association (NRFSEA), it was
led by President Gerald Alfveby, a Ramsey
County, Minnesota Family Court judge, which
explains the association’s state of domicile.
Both John Abbott and Wayne Doss became
members.
At that time, what is now the IV-D program
consisted of state and county welfare
agencies recovering costs related to Aid to
Families with Dependent Children
(AFDC/ADC) under the Uniform Reciprocal
Enforcement of Support Act (1950). As a

result, many NRFSEA members were court clerks, prosecutors, local
judges, and other officials focused on cost recovery. NRFSEA began
holding annual conferences in 1952, with the first one in New York City.
These were generally held in the summer and fall months, but in 1982, it
became an August tradition that evolved into the Annual Conference and
Exposition.
1970s
Alfveby’s successor, Max W. Smith, an attorney and Friend of Court in Polk
County, Iowa, became NRFSEA President in 1974 when Title IV-D of the
Social Security Act was introduced. He established headquarters in Iowa
but moved to a federal position in 1975 as Region 5 Director for Child
Support in Kansas City.
With the enactment of Title IV-D in 1975, NRFSEA lost influence as newly
appointed IV-D directors took charge of administering contracts and
allocating federal funding for child support agencies. John Abbott and
Wayne Doss, along with directors in Michigan, Texas, and California, were
the key players in the emerging program; however, some NRFSEA
members resisted relinquishing control, sparking a power struggle. Tim
Morrison from the Iowa IV-D program managed daily operations as
executive director.
1980s
Over the next decade, the IV-D program continued to evolve, achieving a
major milestone with the Child Support Enforcement Amendments (CSEA)
of 1984. This legislation marked an initial shift away from cost recovery,
laying the groundwork for a family-first approach. The law required states to
provide child support services to all families, not just those receiving
welfare benefits, ensuring broader access and support. Key provisions
included mandatory income withholding for arrearages, expedited
enforcement procedures, tax refund offsets, liens on property, and no
limitations on paternity actions until a child reaches age 18. The
amendments also introduced federal incentive payments to encourage
strong enforcement and expanded services for families transitioning off
welfare.

A year later, John Abbott of Utah was nominated as NRFSEA president.
Initially he declined, saying, “I am not a judge, not a prosecuting attorney,
not even an attorney. I am just a IV-D director.” From the back of the room,
a voice called out, urging, “That’s all true, but the federal government has
just recognized Utah as the best child support program in the nation.
Surely, that means you have something important to add to this
organization.” With that, John accepted and immediately proposed
renaming the organization. A fellow director seconded the motion,
suggesting National Child Support Enforcement Association to better reflect
its mission. Some district and county attorneys opposed the change,
fearing their roles would be diminished. After heated debate, the motion
passed, and the National Child Support Enforcement Association (NCSEA)
was born.
Anticipating an expanding role for state child support enforcement
programs, NCSEA moved its headquarters from the Midwest to Capitol Hill
in Washington, D.C., a short walking distance from congressional office
buildings. This move enabled NCSEA to develop an influential voice in the
implementation of the broad mandates enacted by the 1984 CSEA. Next,
leadership focused on hiring an onsite executive director in D.C., defining
the role, and securing funding for the position.
Building on these efforts to strengthen leadership and influence in the
nation’s capital, NCSEA’s network expanded, drawing in legal and policy
experts dedicated to child support enforcement. One such leader was
Marilyn Ray Smith, a family law attorney whose appointment by Governor
Michael Dukakis in 1985 to the Massachusetts child support enforcement
commission marked a pivotal moment in the Commonwealth’s approach to
child support. That same year, she connected with NCSEA leaders at the
American Bar Association child support conference in Arlington, Virginia.
As NCSEA deepened its engagement with policymakers, its influence in
Washington, D.C., continued to grow. By 1987, a new executive director,
Kathy Duggan, had been hired and played a key role in NCSEA’s
expansion. The NCSEA board began hosting breakfasts and panel
discussions on pending child support and welfare reform legislation for
members of Congress and their staff, initially held in a congressional
meeting room. The House Subcommittee on Human Resources within the
Ways and Means Committee led legislative efforts, with the concurrence of
the Senate Finance Committee.
1990s

Representative Clay Shaw (R-FL) and
Representative Henry Hyde (R-IL) often
dropped by to chat with NCSEA board
members at the breakfasts. The board
invited not just members of Congress and
their staff but also representatives from the
White House, the federal Office of Child
Support Enforcement, state child support
directors, and advocacy groups such as the
Children’s Defense Fund, the National Women’s
Law Center, the American Bar Association, as well as
the ever-growing number of consulting firms providing
technical services to child support agencies. This is where NCSEA’s longtime
relationship with Ron Haskins took root, as he served as counsel to
the Republican committee staff. These frequent gatherings gave NCSEA
the opportunity to develop productive relationships with significant policy
makers. As attendance grew, the briefings moved to the Hyatt Hotel on
Capitol Hill, and in 1995, evolved into the Policy Forum (also formerly
called the Mid-Term). This new format strengthened NCSEA’s national IV-D
network, broadened its reach beyond Washington, and attracted vendors,
further solidifying its influence in child support enforcement.
Now with two conferences—the Annual Conference and Exposition and the
Policy Forum—NCSEA members managed conference planning, including
agenda development, session coordination, and speaker recruitment. Track
chairs secured bios and materials, organized panelist prep sessions, and
sent materials to Tim in Iowa for printing. For years, Wayne and other board
members assembled binders the weekend before the conference kickoff.
Meanwhile in 1986, Massachusetts transferred its child support program
from its welfare department to the Department of Revenue. In 1987,
Marilyn Ray Smith became chief legal counsel, with significant
responsibility for implementing federal mandates. She attended her first
NCSEA conference in August 1987, where she quickly deepened her
involvement, joining the NCSEA board in 1988.
The hiring of the new executive director, NCSEA’s proximity to Congress,
and the relationships built by the board allowed NCSEA to play a key role in
shaping the Family Support Act (FSA) of 1988, which introduced
presumptive child support guidelines, income withholding for all new
orders, and mandatory review and adjustment of orders every three years.

It also established the Interstate Commission on Child Support to
strengthen interstate enforcement.
In response, the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State
Laws (now the Uniform Law Commission) convened a committee to draft a
replacement for URESA. The drafting process actively engaged
representatives from the Interstate Child Support Commission (Margaret
“Meg” Campbell Haynes and Harry Tindall), NCSEA (Marilyn Ray Smith),
and the Eastern Regional Interstate Child Support Association (ERICSA)
(Susan Paikin). After several years of deliberation, in 1992, the
Commission issued the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA),
later included in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA).
That same year, the Interstate Commission on Child Support released
“Supporting Our Children: A Blueprint for Reform.” ii Chaired by Margaret
Campbell Haynes, with support from Vernon Drew and Legal Counsel Jeff
Ball, the 15-member commission included key legislators, child support
officials, advocates, and legal experts. The commission emphasized that
effective in-state enforcement was critical to improving interstate child
support, as cases depended on the effectiveness of the receiving state’s
procedures. The report offered detailed recommendations to transform
federal and state legislation.
President Bill Clinton campaigned to “end welfare as we know it,” and in
1992, Congress initiated welfare reform. Marilyn Ray Smith, Mike Henry
(Virginia), Wayne Doss (director of the Los Angeles Bureau of Family
Support Operations), and other NCSEA board members testified before the
Subcommittee on Human Resources, chaired by Rep. Tom Downey (D-
NY). Wayne testified, “… parental failure to support children is nothing less
than economic child abuse.”
After Republicans won both houses in 1994, welfare reform became a
priority, emphasizing time limits on cash assistance, work requirements,
and child support enforcement—a shared focus of the Clinton
administration. Representative Clay Shaw, a senior member of Ways and
Means, became Subcommittee Chair, leading efforts to embed strong child
support provisions into reform. Ron Haskins, the committee’s lead staffer,
recognized NCSEA’s expertise, prompting Chairperson Shaw to regularly
invite NCSEA leaders and IV-D directors to testify on successful state
programs that could become national mandates.

Kathy Duggan continued to serve as
executive director until 1993; however during
that time she contracted a virulent and
untreatable cancer. In 1993 the Annual
Exposition and Conference was to be held in
Salt Lake City, Utah. As president-elect,
Wayne oversaw the agenda development,
etc., alongside Kathy, who was increasingly
limited by cancer treatments. John Abbott, as
site chair, along with his staff, was of invaluable
support in helping to ensure that the conference
materials were gathered and bound. He also oversaw key
local arrangements, including coordinating hotel logistics and assembling a
squad of volunteers for onsite assistance. Unfortunately, Kathy was unable
to be present in Salt Lake City for the conference. In her absence, Vernon
Drew stepped forward and ran the on-site conference business office. He
also helped with managing the Washington, D.C., office afterward as Kathy
continued treatment.
Kathy traveled to Boston in November 1993 for the weekend conference
planning meeting for the 1994 Annual Exposition and Conference, which
would be held in that city. She was very obviously not well; nevertheless,
she insisted on participating in the full weekend of meetings to formulate
the agenda and do advance work with hotel staff. Sadly, Kathy passed
away before the mid-year board meeting the following February. To honor
her legacy, NCSEA established the Kathy Duggan Memorial Award, given
annually to a board member in recognition of extraordinary service and
dedication to the organization. The board appointed Eleanor Landstreet to
serve as executive director.
In 1994, Massachusetts emerged as a leader in child support reform under
Governor Bill Weld, implementing Interstate Commission recommendations
and pioneering automated data matches with wage reports, new hires,
licensing boards, and bank accounts. The state also leveraged the 1988
Family Support Act, which ensured child support orders became judgments
by law, preventing retroactive modification and allowing automatic asset
seizures without court approval. This innovation transformed enforcement,
enabling direct collections through data-driven matches.
As a result of its innovations, Massachusetts became the proof of concept,
showcasing dramatic increases in collections and providing persuasive

data to Congress to support nationwide adoption of these reforms.
Marilyn’s expertise in child support enforcement and deep understanding of
the Commonwealth’s innovations positioned her as a subject matter expert
for advancing reform efforts. Recognized for her leadership, she was
elected president of NCSEA in 1994, further solidifying her role in shaping
national policy discussions and promoting best practices across states. By
the time Marilyn assumed the NCSEA presidency at the 1994 Boston
conference, her impact was clear. Governor Weld—later a presidential
candidate—proclaimed her to be “a national treasure,” a declaration no one
disputed.
A perfect convergence of people and ideas occurred in 1995 when national
child support leaders brought their knowledge, expertise,
recommendations, and practical experience to help develop the provisions
of PRWORA, and to advocate on behalf of this sweeping legislation. As
NCSEA president at that time, Marilyn served as NCSEA’s congressional
representative, setting up residence at the Hyatt Hotel on Capitol Hill and
advising Ron Haskins of the House Subcommittee and Paul Legler of the
Clinton administration on policy and legislative language.
As legislative efforts intensified, collaboration between child support
experts spanned across states. As immediate past president, Wayne Doss
worked on specific aspects of the developing legislation from California and
traveled to Washington on occasion, frequently calling Marilyn at the Hyatt

Regency Capitol Hill. The hotel operators
became so familiar with his voice that they
automatically connected him to Marilyn’s
room. At times, when Larry Silverman, head
attorney for Los Angeles County, CA, was
also in Washington, the operator would ask
Wayne whether he wanted to speak with
Marilyn or Silverman first.
Intrigued by collection results of Massachusetts
and other innovative states such as Texas,
California, and Virginia, Congress debated adoption of
many of the recommendations of the Interstate Commission on Child
Support. Among these were reforms, ultimately included in the bill, to
permit paternity establishment as part of the birth registration process, to
establish centralized state disbursement units, and to implement automated
systems for collecting child support through data matches with wage
reporting and new hire reporting data bases, revocation of driver’s and
professional licenses, passport denial, and financial institution data match
(FIDM). These data matches required use of the child support obligor’s
social security number to identify income and assets, an issue of some
controversy.
During the deliberations, Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) objected to
using social security numbers, citing privacy concerns. Marilyn gracefully
responded, “The social security number is the key to the kingdom of obligor
income and assets. There is no right to privacy to hide from your children to
avoid supporting them.” He immediately withdrew his objection.
These debates echoed throughout Congress, as lawmakers crafted the
most sweeping child support legislation of the 20th century, incorporating
the provisions that had been intensely debated. Congress included among
its mandates in PRWORA that states adopt UIFSA without making
changes, so that at last the interstate child support laws would become
uniform. With Marilyn's strong dedication and the unwavering commitment
of the NCSEA board and membership, the organization's deep involvement
in shaping PRWORA solidified its role as a leading authority on child
support policy, making it a valuable resource for Congress.
Attendees at the 1996 NCSEA annual conference in Louisville, Kentucky,
were delighted to hear NCSEA’s announcement that PRWORA was passed
by both houses on August 1 and would be signed by the President. This

momentous legislation marked a massive launch of state efforts to
implement its provisions, which continue to this day. None of its successes
would have been possible without the involvement of NCSEA and its
leaders, who worked tirelessly over many years to ensure that Congress
adopted provisions that would ensure child support was paid on time and in
full on behalf of the children of America.
PRWORA also laid the groundwork for a new international multilateral
reciprocal convention to be developed by The Hague Conference on
Private International Law. Gloria DeHart, NCSEA Vice President for
International Affairs and a past president, who was a pioneer in
international agreements, anticipated PRWORA’s push for multilateral
treaties and joined the State Department to shape future negotiations. Her
successor, Mary Helen Carlson, included experts like Margaret Campbell
Haynes, Robert Keith, Lily Matheson, Jack Sampson, Robert Spector, and
NCSEA leaders Margot Bean (then OCSE Commissioner), Alisha Griffin,
Ann Barkley, Marilyn Ray Smith, Kay Farley, and Vernon Drew, to ensure
U.S. treaties worked for child support agencies.
The Hague Conference launched a multilateral agreement in 1995,
culminating in the 2007 Convention on the International Recovery of Child
Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance. Congress later
mandated that states adopt UIFSA 2008 to align with these reforms.
The Visionaries
Over its early decades, NCSEA established itself
as the leading force behind child support
enforcement reform, guiding the creation of
critical policies and ensuring families had the
financial stability they needed. Through
unwavering advocacy, strategic leadership, and
deep legislative involvement, the organization
shaped historic laws that continue to serve millions of children and parents
across the country.
None of this would have been possible without the dedication of individuals
who shaped NCSEA’s course. Although many contributed to NCSEA’s
success, this article highlighted the work of:

John Abbott, NCSEA President 1984-1985, championed
NCSEA’s transition into a nationally recognized voice for child
support enforcement, boldly leading its transformation in
1985. His tireless work and foresight ensured that NCSEA
could influence policy at the highest levels.
Wayne Doss, NCSEA President 1993-1994, played an
essential role in legislative engagement, navigating complex
reforms and ensuring NCSEA’s vision translated into effective
national policy. His hands-on approach made lasting
improvements possible. Beyond his policy leadership, Wayne
was NCSEA’s longtime “Voice of God” at conferences, guiding audiences
with his signature announcing style.
Marilyn Ray Smith, NCSEA President 1994-1995, was the
driving force behind PRWORA’s child support provisions,
tirelessly advocating for reforms that strengthened
enforcement nationwide. Her ability to bridge state-level
successes with federal policymaking established her as one
of NCSEA’s most influential leaders.
Together, these pioneers solidified NCSEA’s place as the nation’s leading
authority on child support enforcement, leaving behind a legacy of impactful
reform and leadership that still resonates today.
Mary Ann Wellbank is a recipient of the OCSS Commissioner’s Award for Distinguished Service and
NCSEA’s Kathy Duggan Memorial Award. She is a past president of NCSEA and the National Council of
Child Support Directors (NCCSD), and a proud founding member of the Ex Ivy Dees. She is also an
Honorary Life Member of both NCSEA and the Western Intergovernmental Child Support Engagement
Council (WICSEC). Mary Ann is a co-author of a book with Jeff Ball entitled “The Insiders’ Guide to Child
Support: How the System Works.” Mary Ann holds an M.B.A. in finance from DePaul University and a B.A.
in English from Illinois State University.
i For a detailed history of the evolution of the U.S. child support program culminating in the adoption by the Hague Conference on
Private International Law of the Convention for the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family
Maintenance, see Marilyn Ray Smith, “Child Support at Home and Abroad: The Road to The Hague,” Family Law Quarterly 43,
no. 1 (Spring 2009): 37-60.
ii Domestic Policy Council, Gaynor McCown, and Printed Materials. Supporting Our Children: A Blueprint for Reform.
Washington, DC: Clinton Digital Library, 1994.

Tech-Powered Child Support: Boosting
Performance through Technology
by Rob Rinard, Senior Consultant, CSG Government Solutions
Child support programs operate in a demanding environment, working to
meet certain performance measures while striving to support families
through complex processes and family dynamics. Technology offers diverse
opportunities to enhance these programs, from modernizing outdated
systems to adopting targeted tools that improve efficiency and service
delivery.
With rapid advancements in technology, child support programs are
increasingly seeing new options to customize systems to meet their unique
objectives. These range from cloud platforms that reduce the cost of
ownership and provide access to new technologies such as AI, predictive
analytics, and chatbots, to mobile applications that provide self-service
features with dynamic customer interactivity and increased operational
efficiencies. These innovative technologies and services can be
implemented as part of a full-scale system modernization or deployed as
incremental enhancements to help child support programs optimize data
management and reporting, as well as automate and enhance business
processes. By leveraging these technologies, states are able to increase
collections, improve order establishment, enhance customer service, and
ultimately boost overall program performance.
Optimizing Data Management and Reporting to Improve Program
Performance

Technology empowers child support programs to make sense of their data,
enabling smarter decisions that improve performance. System
modernization plays a critical role by replacing outdated infrastructure,
integrating disparate data sources, and leveraging
business-friendly data analytics tools for efficient
and effective reporting. This advanced technology
turns mountains of data into actionable insights,
allowing child support programs to identify trends,
pinpoint high-value interventions, and prioritize
efforts that drive toward desired results.
In Idaho, Child Support Services (CSS)
modernized its legacy system utilizing a refactoring
approach, lifting the system from the mainframe in
2018. As part of the modernization initiative, Idaho
CSS utilized Tableau, a powerful data analytics
tool, to perform data-cleansing efforts and enhance
reporting capabilities to identify high-value casework and analyze business
processes. The tool’s data and reporting capabilities helped the program
target cases for a variety of actions, including enforcement activities, locate
efforts, and timely case closures that all contributed to improved program
performance metrics. In addition, data cleansing improved reporting
accuracy while Tableau’s interactive and intuitive dashboards made insights
accessible to non-technical users.
By clarifying where to focus resources, the tool maximized impact and set
the stage for technology to further support operations by automating tasks
and aiding caseworkers in customer-focused work. It also enabled greater
visibility into the operations and performance that the program never had
before. As a result, Idaho CSS was able to analyze and redesign nearly
every business process, which contributed to the program achieving its
highest historical ratings across every federal performance measure.
Automating Business Processes to Increase Output and Enhance
Customer Service
Technology can also take on significant work for child support programs,
reducing staff demands and freeing caseworkers for high-value tasks. By
automating routine business processes, technology can handle repetitive
actions efficiently, allowing child support program staff to focus on
customer-facing work.

For Idaho CSS, time-intensive manual case reviews previously limited the
agency to 700 license suspension actions monthly, although far more
cases qualified for the enforcement action. Implementing modern
technology with automated business rules and real-time data exchanges
with vendors and other agencies enabled the entire caseload to be
reviewed daily, and CSS now initiates nearly 2,000 license suspension
actions monthly. By modernizing technology, Idaho CSS nearly tripled its
output while limiting caseworker involvement and enabling caseworkers to
spend more time focused on enhancing customer service.
Idaho CSS also utilized business process technology to migrate current
license suspension business processes into workflows within the system to
direct staff through critical and complex functions and supportive actions,
such as generating documents and tracking next steps. These system
workflows now guide caseworkers through conversations and necessary
actions, resulting in wage withholdings, repayment negotiations, hearing
requests, exclusions, or suspension. This newly implemented technology
ensures consistency and accuracy of the casework and improves efficiency
and productivity of the child support program.
Idaho’s caseworkers no longer need to spend
excessive time on initial case reviews, which frees
them up to spend more time on collection calls with
customers.
The new business process technology also
enabled Idaho CSS to establish a specialized team
that is responsible for all order establishment and
modification work for the program. This allows caseworkers to spend more
time serving the custodial and non-custodial parents, and less time
navigating processes and generating documents. By seamlessly supporting

caseworkers, technology empowers them to build trust with families and
deliver exceptional service, paving the way for stronger program outcomes.
Technology’s ability to handle tasks and aid
caseworkers improves both quantitative metrics,
like collections and orders, and qualitative
outcomes, like customer trust. In Idaho, faced
with recruitment and retention challenges at the
time, the program looked for ways to do more
with less. The revamped license suspension
automation boosts the completion of case actions and supports
caseworkers to achieve greater collections. In legal actions, business
process workflow technology reduces errors and decreases the time
required to navigate the process and system. These technology
implementations deliver efficient and accurate services for custodial and
non-custodial parents, enhancing program effectiveness while operating
with a more than 20 percent reduction in caseworkers from prior to
modernization. The streamlined workflows also boosted employee morale
and contributed to reduced turnover, as workers spent less time on
repetitive tasks and more time providing meaningful services for customers.
Technology Planning for the Future of Your Child Support Program
Technology enables child support programs to improve performance while
serving families with compassion and competence. By improving data
management, automating routine tasks, and supporting caseworkers in
complex work, technology drove performance improvements in Idaho.
When considering investing in technology upgrades for your state, a key to
success lies in clearly defining what a program aims to achieve. Leadership
should begin with establishing a clear vision for the program and defining
goals and corresponding objectives. From there, the program can consider
its resources, determine its ideal path for system modernization, and
analyze technology options that will support program improvement. Each

child support program possesses unique challenges, opportunities, and
objectives, but all programs have great opportunities to leverage
technology to achieve desired performance outcomes.
Rob Rinard has more than a decade of public sector experience with the Idaho Department of Health and
Welfare, where he served as the IV-D Program Director from 2017 to 2025. In this role, he led the
statewide child support program and spearheaded transformation projects, including a new business
operating model that resulted in the program’s highest ratings across all performance measures and
enhanced customer engagement. He has experience implementing technology solutions to streamline
workflows and improve service delivery. Rob recently joined CSG Government Solutions’ National Child
Support Practice. He is leveraging his child support program and system expertise to support CSG’s clients
in deploying technology to enhance their capabilities and achieve efficiencies through strategy and
planning, project management, organizational change management, quality assurance, testing, federal
compliance, and independent verification and validation services.

Come to the Great State of Georgia for NCSEA’s
Leadership Symposium!
Kelly Micka and Diane Potts, 2025 NCSEA Leadership
Symposium Co-chairs
For years we have been hearing about the “Great State of Georgia,” and
now it’s time for NCSEA to descend upon the Peach State! The Leadership
Symposium is NCSEA’s annual conference that focuses on program
initiatives and innovative practices. This year, we have a fantastic lineup of
sessions, thought-provoking content, and speakers from across the country
to inspire and motivate you!
NCSEA will celebrate the 50 th anniversary of our Title IV-D child support
program in Atlanta at the beautiful Omni Hotel on August 11-14,
2025. Our theme this year is “From Foundation to Future,”
and the dates are correct—no more weekend travel! NCSEA
is starting this year on Monday evening with the Welcome to
Atlanta reception, where you can visit with our sponsors and
mingle with child support colleagues, reconnecting with old
friends and meeting new ones.
Leadership Symposium Plenaries
The conference officially kicks off on Tuesday morning with our
opening plenary. The lineup of keynote speakers to get the
conference started includes Sarah Hurst, Georgia IV-D director;
former Chief Justice Harold Melton of the Georgia Supreme
Court; and Charles Smith, NCSEA’s president. Following this and every
plenary on Tuesday and Wednesday, attendees will enjoy ample time in the

exhibit hall to network and explore all the services and products offered by
organizations and companies supporting NCSEA and the child support
program.
This year, the Leadership Symposium plenaries were
designed to showcase readily implementable projects,
policies, and technology for leaders to take home and run
with immediately, as well as new ideas to consider for the
future of the program. Our second plenary focuses on
artificial intelligence (AI), which is creating a lot of buzz
these days. We will explore what AI is and how it can be
applied ethically in child support to optimize program
effectiveness, diminish administrative work, and simplify
work from intake to collections.
On Wednesday morning, our distinguished group of speakers will discuss
another hot topic—how to easily implement an employment and training
program. Since it looks like the final rule is here to stay, states should
consider using the new federal funding to offer an alternative to the
traditional enforcement tools for parents struggling to pay their child
support. In this engaging session, representatives from mature and topperforming
child support programs that have already walked the path of
establishing employment services for parents will share their best practices
to simplify the development and rollout of this program-defining service.
Regardless of where you fall on the generational spectrum—“Baby
Boomers” to the new “Zoomers” and all in between—everyone will benefit
from this session that tackles the challenging subject of multigenerational
workers and customers. Continuing the employment and training session
momentum from the prior plenary, this session will highlight educationfocused
initiatives that connect service recipients to larger goals, such as
economic mobility, and discuss how to improve engagement across
multiple generations of service recipients whose knowledge, philosophies,
and outlook on the child support program may be quite different.
The final two plenaries on Thursday are dedicated to two popular and
important topics. The morning kicks off with a discussion on leadership—
apropos for Leadership Symposium! This session focuses on adaptive
leadership and will provide the tools and strategies needed to effectively
navigate change and uncertainty, which is needed more than ever with
today’s rapidly evolving workforces, policy decisions, and technology
innovations. And then we close our 2025 conference with a plenary on

family support services that focuses on several aspects of program
delivery, including customer care, parent accountability, and fatherhood
partnerships.
Leadership Symposium Learning Labs and Workshops
In addition to the diverse array of plenaries, this year’s
Leadership Symposium will have five learning labs offering
hands-on experience and nineteen thought-provoking
workshops. For example, one session will be on strategies and
tools to best accommodate the unique needs of neurodiverse populations,
especially employees and customers with autism. Another example is the
learning lab on succession planning, which is important to the longevity and
continued success of the program.
To highlight a few more sessions, there will be a workshop on building
holistic economic and parental stability for those paying support. There is
also a workshop on the recent TANF referral guidance potentially impacting
how programs refer and work cases, as well as sessions on building
collaborations and partnerships with other agencies, tips for budding data
analysts, strategic systems modernization, and how to leverage social
media and change management. For a full list and description of all the
wonderful sessions, please look at the full agenda at Home Page - NCSEA
Leadership Symposium 2025.
What’s New at Leadership Symposium this Year
NCSEA recognizes that there are child support professionals
who, for various reasons, cannot attend and experience the
Leadership Symposium in person. We have been working on
some new initiatives for virtual attendees, such as an opportunity
for the virtual audience to engage with speakers, which will make the
conference more beneficial to participants viewing the conference from the
comfort of their offices or homes.
This year, NCSEA will showcase the innovative work in a couple of states
with a new “Innovation Showcase,” which has worked successfully in other
industry conferences. We are excited to see the creative ways that the pilot
states will use to highlight their programs! The posters will be on display for
viewing during the entire conference. In addition, each participating state
will have the opportunity to showcase its state in the exhibit hall during a
break, and representatives will walk attendees through the poster details
and answer any questions.

We also have a new “timeline” this year, designed to
connect folks across the country and supply endless
conversations at the receptions and breaks! It starts with a
giant swath of paper on the wall showing every year dating
back to the beginning of the program in 1975. Along the
timeline will be highlights reflecting the major milestones of
the program (like PWRORA in 1996). Now comes the fun
part—every conference attendee will be encouraged to
mark on the timeline when they got started in the child
support program and any significant milestones they
experienced since (like their first promotion and job
changes). It will be fun to check back with the timeline and
see who got started the same year as you or experienced
similar milestones along the 50 years of the Title IV-D Child
Support Program!
Conclusion
The fantastic speakers and sessions for the 2025 Leadership
Symposium are the collective effort and hard work of many
volunteers that spanned almost half a year. Diane Potts and
Kelly Micka, this year’s conference co-chairs, would like to thank
the following leaders of the subgroups: John Hurst and Daniel King
(Plenaries); Rob Velcoff and Jackie Scharping (Workshops); Linda Rhyne-
McKinley and Jay Bland (Learning Labs); and Tim Lightner and Brandi
Gallebo (Virtual).
We also would like to thank the session facilitators on the planning
committee: Corri Flores, Hope Matfield, Tanika Nevills, Lisa Gibbs, Elise
Topliss, Tunisa Jackson, Anne Stadther, Veronica Pinion, Michele Ahern,
Alisha Griffin, Mike Cianfichi, Surrena Little, Artis Landon, Shaina Scoggins,
Grefonda Tisdale, Tiffany Cosey, Twamecia Stinson, Rosemary Gray,
Jamie Zaffino, Amy Shaum, Wrenn Awbrey, Janice McDaniel, Terri Greer,
Monica Hall, Erica Taylor, Jonell Sullivan, Landis Rossi, Kelli Lelack,
Theresa Emig, Daun Perino, and David Love.
Finally, the entire conference planning committee would like to recognize
the hard work and incredible talent of Katie Kenney, our fearless NCSEA
conference leader. NCSEA will miss Katie, and we appreciate all she did to
make our Leadership Symposium a success.

Kelly Micka is a senior manager at NTT Data with 30 years of experience in health and human services.
She has extensive experience in child support, having served as an attorney for Tennessee’s Child Support
Services and working with state and local IV-D programs to manage grants, analyze legal processes, train
staff, and design and implement child support systems. Kelly serves on the Board of Directors for the
National Child Support Engagement Association and the Eastern Regional Interstate Child Support
Association (ERICSA). She is a frequent presenter at child support conferences and is a member of the
WICSEC Presenter Hall of Fame.
Kelly earned her J.D. from the University of Tennessee College of Law and her degree in public
administration from the University of Tennessee.
Diane Potts is the co-founder of the Center for Child Support Policy, an advocacy and consulting nonprofit
organization dedicated to improving the child support program and services to families throughout the
country. Diane served for over 10 years on the National Child Support Engagement Association (NCSEA)
Board of Directors and is NCSEA’s past president, past secretary, and an honorary lifetime member. This
year, she is co-chair of NCSEA’s Leadership Symposium.
Diane has also been on the Eastern Regional Interstate Child Support Association (ERICSA) Board of
Directors for six years and is currently the vice president of policy and legislation. During her 20-year career
with the Office of the Illinois Attorney General, Diane served for six years as deputy attorney general for
child support.

NCSEA U Curriculum Profile: Leadership
Symposium 2025-26