For the 11th consecutive year, the Child Support Lien Network (CSLN) had the privilege of celebrating the CSLN Partnership Awards – an event that pays homage to a few of the individuals or groups that are shining lights within the CSLN family. The awards ceremony was held on Friday, June 7th, 2019, during the 15th annual Rhode Island Child Support Conference. Why the Rhode Island conference? As you may know, the State of Rhode Island is the gracious host state for the CSLN program and our very first State member, joining back in April of 1999! Sharon Santilli, IV-D Director of Rhode Island Child Support Services and Administrator of the Child Support Lien Network proudly presented the CSLN Partnership Awards.
Ms. Santilli remarked in her welcoming speech that the three highly deserving recipients,
“…truly demonstrate and exemplify the core principles of the CSLN program, including but not limited to compassion and philanthropy, and continue to achieve so many things through this unique child support consortium. The very essence of the partnership is to jointly help families by assisting member states and attaching previously untapped resources with past due support.”
First up to receive their award was
Allstate Insurance Company
, named this year’s recipient of the
Insurance Member Partnership Award
. Allstate joined CSLN in 2006 and has been a staunch supporter of the program. So much so, Allstate recently expanded its participation to include all CSLN state members, dramatically increasing its influence toward reconciling back-due support payments. Allstate’s participation in CSLN has proven to be enormously beneficial to children and families across the country. To date:
- Allstate has reported over 70,000 insurance claims potentially matching to delinquent obligors in CSLN.
- More than 22,000 qualified matches were released to CSLN state members after performing quality assurance (QA).
- Resulting in a notable estimated collection amount in excess of $32 million.
Mark Keenan, Senior Manager of 3rd Party Casualty Line Management, accepted this award on behalf of Allstate. He is responsible for Allstate’s Casualty Claim Process Design and leads the operation that develops processes including the ability to partner with CSLN in fulfilling the insurer’s obligations and securing the opportunity to protect the children at the forefront of CSLN’s mission.
While accepting the Award, Mr. Keenan shared,
“Although legally required to comply with child support lien laws, we believe it is our moral and social responsibility to ensure that we fulfill and achieve the intent of those laws, not just the letter of them. I am both proud and honored to be here to accept this award on behalf of Allstate and to continue our partnership with CSLN in support of their ongoing work to protect and provide for the financial security of children and families in the communities where we live and work.”
CSLN thanks Allstate for its commitment to core values, corporate citizenship, and for all its valuable contributions to children and families around the nation.
Colorado’s Division of Child Support Services
, named the recipient of this year’s
State Member Partnership Award
, was next in line to accept their award. Colorado may be somewhat new to CSLN, having joined just in 2017, however, that doesn’t mean the State is not one of its bigger champions. CSLN commends Colorado for participation and support of CSLN and these efforts:
- Seizing all opportunities to collect past due child support.
- Its advocacy and promotion of House Bill 18-1363, mandating insurance claim payment interception to assist with the collection of past due child support payments.
- Since 2017, the Centennial State, with the support of Larry Desbien and LeAnn Anderson, has processed more than 2,600 CSLN insurance claims collecting over $2 million in support.
LeAnn Anderson, Manager of the State Enforcement Unit, accepted the award on behalf of Colorado. During her speech Ms. Anderson stated that CSLN,
“…played a critical role in our ability to make insurance intercept mandatory in the State of Colorado. Thank you to Rhode Island and CSLN for being such great partners as Colorado worked over the years to obtain the legislative authority and then successfully implement this important enforcement tool. Today the State has intercepted almost $2 million in past due child support. We anticipate collections will exceed $1.5 million this year. Some say it takes a village, Colorado says it just takes Rhode Island and the CSLN partnership.”
Rhode Island’s own
Colleen Warren
was recognized as the 2019
John F. Murphy Award
recipient. Ms. Warren has been a strong advocate in the child support arena for over 25 years, particularly in the area of fatherhood initiatives and CSLN. As the senior member of the Rhode Island Office of Child Support Services Lien Unit, she has been instrumental in furthering program development by collaborating with countless insurers to streamline processes and optimize collections. Some of Rhode Island’s highest lien collections and insurance intercepts have been under Ms. Warren’s oversight.
- This year, CSLN recognized her resolve, dedication, and the timely responsiveness which facilitated countless matched claims over the past decade.
- Her exemplary and industrious efforts have generated thousands of perfected lien notices while helping numerous families collect long-overdue child support payments. The cooperative approach and sense of pride demonstrated by Ms. Warren while working with CSLN personifies the ideals, strong character, and spirit of the of the John F. Murphy Award.
George French, Director of the Child Support Lien Network, presented the John F. Murphy Award and while doing so, reflected on what the award truly represents,
“…Jack served as the Child Support Director for many years. He was not only the Child Support Director, he became a good friend of mine…Rhode Island is not only the host state of CSLN, but also its biggest champion…I think Jack would be very, very proud to know that Colleen is a recipient of this award named after him. You know, there's a unique opportunity in this business and you heard Sharon talk about passion today. Well, Colleen Warren, Jack Murphy, Sharon Santilli – passion. Passion for the children and families of Rhode Island and even further beyond their own boundaries.”
Ms. Warren shared some thoughts on her experience with CSLN and Rhode Island during her acceptance,
“…in just a couple of weeks I will have worked for the Office of Child Support for 30 years…I started under the direction of Jack…I remember Jack being a very soft-spoken man who is easy to approach. Jack very much supported the work I did with fatherhood…when Jack retired I started working for our current Director, Sharon, who has always supported the different jobs I have done here at child support, including our work with fatherhood and working with the Child Support Lien Network program. I’ve been actively working for CSLN since 2004. This program brings a lot of money into the families of the State of Rhode Island and other states as well…we support the families who really need our help…”
The CSLN Awards were wrapped up by final remarks from Mr. French,
“I just want to close with congratulations and thank you to all the recipients here today. I’m sure that you can all take great pride in the knowledge that your organizations are the great champions of the ongoing effort to enhance the lives of the nation’s children and families. Your involvement in the development and growth of the Child Support Lien Network clearly reflects the dramatic impact influential parties can have on society when they work together to understand each other and act in concert toward a common goal…”
Click
here
to see photos from this year’s CSLN Partnership Awards.
