It’s all too easy to look at a monthly or annual report and reasonably conclude, hey, we’re doing a pretty good job. For example, last year, DHR’s Child Support Enforcement Administration, or CSEA, collected and dispersed a record $544 million in child support to families. This was a year-over-year increase of $25.1 million, also a new state record.
I’m proud of these stats and our hard working CSEA employees who are helping Maryland families get the support they need in a timely and efficient manner. But I also know stats don’t tell the whole story. Sometimes to get a fuller picture of agency performance, you have to dig a little deeper.
Today I met with the Maryland Child Support Enforcement Administration’s Customer Service Advisory Workgroup. This is a group I assembled of individuals who interact regularly with CSEA. I wanted to get an outsider’s view of how we could improve CSEA’s customer service. I also asked them to discuss new ideas for increasing collections, to evaluate our practices and policies, and to recommend changes that might improve our overall performance. Lastly, I charged them with reviewing and updating our Statement of Customer Rights and Responsibilities.
Today they presented me with their findings. Overall, the group found CSEA is performing at a high level and has shown much improvement these past 18 months. They also identified several operational and customer services challenges we must address to improve customer and employee satisfaction.
I want to thank workgroup members Cathy Born, Ray Earnest, Wanda Fuesel, Laure Ruth, Dan Hatcher, Joe Jones, Rose Bynum, Margaret Murphy, Connie-Kratovil Lavelle, Dan Richards and Jamie Haskell, as well as CSEA Executive Director Joseph DiPrimio and workgroup staffers Marc Clasen and George Varghese, for their incredible hard work these last nine months. The workgroup’s report and recommendations will help inform our strategy to improve customer service and make Maryland a top 10 state for child support collection.
