Child Support Employees Win Proof They’re Making a Difference

Marie Girulat (left), Chief Deputy Director, San Diego DCSS receives the Top Performing Counties award from Kathleen Hrepich, Interim Director, California DCSS.

At work, all of us have good days and bad days, but in the end do we know whether our efforts are making changes in people's lives? Child Support Services employees do and the proof came yet again in an awards ceremony last week.

For the third time in the past four years, California honored the San Diego County Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) as one of the state’s Top Performing counties.

DCSS ranked highest for outstanding performance on five federal performance measures and dollars given to families. During Federal Fiscal Year 2010-11, the County distributed $177.8 million in child support payments, an all-time high for San Diego. The department manages nearly 90,000 active child support cases.

DCSS is in the category of Very Large Counties and also won the most improved in overall performance.

“These awards are indicative of the great work by our staff to serve the families and children in our region. I am so proud of them,” said DCSS Director Jeff Grissom. “To be acknowledged as the Top Performing Very Large County in California validates the fact that our employees’ efforts do make a difference.”

The California Department of Child Support Services presented honorees with framed certificates and letters of commendation during an awards ceremony in Sacramento last Wednesday. The California agency along with 51 local child support agencies operate the nation’s largest child support program and distributed more than $2.2 billion last year.