MINNESOTA

STRATEGIC PLAN - STATE LEVEL PROJECTS

Goal:Direct comprehensive statewide improvement of child support enforcement in Minnesota by using the strategic plan as a guide for county and state office staff planning.

Strategic Plan:Supports performance improvement on Federal incentives, which is a focus of the National Child Support Strategic Plan.

Description:The Minnesota Child Support Division initiated a comprehensive strategic plan in June 2002 to better serve Minnesota's families and children.

It allows for variation and creativity throughout the state and can be adjusted for individual circumstances to meet the same goal. The plan shifts the focus of the child support enforcement program to a more performance-based model. It is periodically reviewed by state and county staff and then updated to reflect current trends. The plan was revised in December 2004 to add new initiatives which made the state plan conform to the Federal strategic plan issued in July 2004.

Over a period of six months, the following steps were taken to develop the initial strategic plan:

• Obtained support from upper management within the Department
• Formed a planning group to determine if the environment was right for a new strategic plan
• Developed a statement of work for the project
• Enlisted facilitator assistance from Minnesota Department of Administration
• Conducted stakeholder focus group meetings to identify our program's strengths, weaknesses, barriers and opportunities
• Formed a team to develop the strategic plan
• Developed the strategic plan
• Initiated rollout of the plan statewide

The plan includes a mission statement, a five-year vision, and three strategies to fulfill the mission and vision. Specific objectives and outcomes were identified to carry out each strategy.

Results:Several initiatives have been developed to improve performance, such as:

• increased automation to ensure data integrity; and
• development of responsive policies and services, e.g., forming peer groups in all counties to share successes and failures as counties work to improve their performance as compared to the Federal performance measures.

Location:The strategic plan was initiated at the state level with input from state and county level staff. The plan has been used to develop specific implementation details by individual offices. This method promotes variation in methods to achieve the same performance goals, allowing state and county offices to find what works best for their particular set of circumstances.

Funding:Regular Federal matching funds were used in combination with state and county funds for staff time.

Replication Advice:Collaborate at the state and county level to produce a comprehensive plan that directs the goals of the state to meet Federal performance standards and encourages variation in implementation.

Contact:

Anne Lauer

Supervisor, Federal Reports and Compliance Unit

Child Support Enforcement Division

Phone: (651) 215-6281

Email: Anne.Lauer@state.mn.us