Nebraska Early Intervention Outreach Project 24 th Annual Western Interstate Child Support Enforcement Council Boise ID September 30 – October “Personal Contact/Early Intervention”

2 Section 1115 Grant ▀Section 1115 Grant ▀ Implemented Project at The Nebraska State Wide Customer Service Call Center ▀ Employed 2 Trained Customer Service Representatives

3 The Beginning of Early Intervention in Nebraska ▀ Tested Strategies of Early Intervention Vs. Delayed Intervention ▀ Established Control and Experimental Groups ▀ Employed An Independent Evaluator ▀ Conducted Focus Groups

4 Extension of Section 1115 Grant ▀ Developed Intervention Strategies - Created Guide for Mailing - Created Scripts for Personal Call to Non- custodial Parents - Designed and Printed Brochure and Business Card ▀ Encouraged Collections and Compliance ▀ Educated about Child Support Services

5 Section 1115 Grant Results

6 Nebraska Makes Early Intervention A Part of The Ongoing Child Support Program The Early Intervention Program: ▀ Retains Two Customer Service Representatives ▀ Builds on Strengths of Section 1115 Grant ▀ Educates and Encourages Payments ▀ Focuses on Human Interaction

7 Nebraska Makes Early Intervention Part of Ongoing Child Support Program ▀ Expands Outreach to All First Time Non- Custodial Parents ▀ Focuses on Non-custodial Parents New to Child Support ▀ Eliminates Control Groups ▀ Educates and Encourages Consistent Payments ▀ Continues Internal Data Gathering Activities

8 ▀ Utilizes CHARTS Automation ▀ Identifies Non-custodial Parents with New Court Order ▀ s Monthly Work List ▀ Reports Results 6 Months after Contact Nebraska Makes Early Intervention Part of Ongoing Child Support Program

9 Tracking Results

10 Non-Custodial Parent Contact

11 Collection Performance after Six Months Non-custodial Parents Had Paid 14.5% More of Their Accrual at 6 Months Following Personal Contact.

12 Lessons Learned ▀ Non-custodial Parents Welcome the Personal Contact ▀ Contact Needs to Be Early ▀ Possible Enforcement Actions Need to Be Explained and Relationships Nurtured ▀ All Parties Benefit ▀ Collections Increase Early Intervention Produces Results!

13 Quote from a Non-Custodial Parent “ I appreciate the opportunity for input. It feels good at least that somebody cares enough about this to get our input. Hopefully they have a desire to make the process better. And I guess what I’m hearing from others is that there is a way to get good information and to get satisfaction.”

14 Contact Information Lori Bengston VP Customer Service Operations Young Williams Nebraska Child Support Call Center 700 East Broadway PO Box 290 Wausa NE