dcl9519.htm

Outreach Liaison Specialists

March 6, 1995

DC-95-19

TO ALL STATE IV-D DIRECTORS

RE: Outreach Liaison Specialists

Dear Colleague:

I am pleased to announce the appointment of outreach liaisons in the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE). These liaisons will strengthen the links between the child support enforcement system and our nation's communities, focusing on issues tied to jurisdictional differences.

With the formation of these liaison positions, OCSE is reaching out to form partnerships with the international community, with Native Americans living on or near their reservations, with the military, with the Law Enforcement community at both the federal and state levels, and with the Department of Justice. In addition, other liaisons will be working with the medical and educational communities, and promoting better coordination between the Child Support program and other human service programs, such as Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), Head Start, and Food Stamps.

In promoting parental rights and responsibilities in these jurisdictions, these liaisons will provide much needed resources. In collaboration with the States, our ACF regional offices and our customers, the child support liaisons will establish a dialogue to plan, develop, and implement activities and projects, promoting child support services within their respective focus areas. Offering strong negotiating skills and a broad perspective on specialized subject areas, the liaisons will educate and advise on jurisdictional issues, facilitating a dialogue between States and others.

These liaisons and specialists are currently on board in the Special Initiatives Branch in the Division of Program Operations:

Lucille Dawson, a member of the Narragansett Indian Tribe of Rhode Island, will be the Native American Liaison. Lucille recently has come to OCSE from the Administration for Native Americans and has had extensive experience in working on Tribal issues. She has had more than eighteen years of experience in the Department of Health and Human Services.

Jack Shaw, the military liaison, served in both the Marines and the Air Force and is currently a major in Air Force Reserve. He came to OCSE after working in higher education and professional development.

Stephen Grant, the international liaison, lived with his diplomatic family overseas during his childhood and has been involved with international issues his entire life. He has a degree in international relations, in an attorney, and has over eighteen years of experience in the Department of Health and Human Services.

Karen Bartlett, with OCSE since 1992, is the interstate specialist. She co-chairs the Interstate Forms Committee which develops new interstate forms and training materials for UIFSA; she also has program operations responsibility for licensing restrictions and revocations and immediate W-4/Employer Reporting.

We invite you to make suggestions to your ACF regional offices about the issues you encounter when dealing with the other jurisdictions so they can be shared with the OCSE liaisons. In partnership with you and our ACF regional offices, these liaisons can provide the expertise you may need when encountering jurisdictional issues.

I urge you to share your concerns and suggestions with your regional office as we undertake projects beneficial to the Child Support program. With efforts such as this, we hope to improve our standard of excellence in providing child support services.

Sincerely,

David Gray Ross

Deputy Director

Office of Child Support Enforcement

cc: ACF Regional Administrators

OCSE Program Managers