October/November 2021
Customer Service
One of our Clerk Specialists, Yanira Calderon in the Des Moines office is Spanish speaking. She recently assisted a co-worker who had a non-English speaking payee who wanted help completing the NPA. Yanira assisted the customer and walked her through each section of the application so that she could receive the services she needed. We know many of our English-only speaking staff are able to use the language line to assist, but having a staff member provide translation services is beyond their scope of duties. This is an example of what it truly means to work at CSRU and serve the citizens of Iowa.
Staff Anniversaries

5 Years:
  • Adam Goodvin, Creston
  • Jill Day, Burlington
10 Years:
  • Jenna Seibeck, Council Bluffs
  • Melisa Weeks, Ottumwa
15 Years:
  • Jessica Roecker, Ankeny
  • Jenny Amundson, Western Region
  • April Betsworth, Indianola
  • Tricia Christensen, Cedar Rapids
20 Years:
  • Lana Saunders, Sioux City
  • Natalie Jolly, Indianola
30 Years:
  • Angie Light, Cedar Rapids
35 Years
  • Harold Coleman, Central Office
New Hires
  • Christina Newton, Cedar Rapids
  • Sarah Baley, Cedar Rapids
  • Whitney Gunderson, Marshalltown
  • Hali Anderson, Ottumwa
  • Angela Benigni, Ankeny
  • Lacey Watson, Sioux City
  • Michelle Guerdet, Mason City
  • Shannon Pettitt, Ankeny
  • Elizabeth Swanson, Des Moines
  • Lesa Kusilek, Des Moines
  • Melissa Albrant, Mason City
  • Shawn Orte, Ottumwa
ISU Insights: New YouTube Channel!
The Child Welfare Research and Training Project has an official YouTube channel. It will be used to post videos created independently and in collaboration with Child Support. View the channel by clicking the YouTube icon below!
Training
Team Building: More than a FUN time!
with Martha Stewart
We all know team building is important. It increases employee engagement, productivity, trust, communication, and collaboration. In the last year and a half, the office environment changed drastically. We are no longer all together, working 8:00-4:30, Monday through Friday. Instead, we are now hybrid, working varying schedules. Sometimes we see each other in person and other times we see each other through virtual platforms. This change to hybrid does not mean we don't need to engage, communicate, and collaborate with one another. We still need to do all that to be happy and successful team members.

We want to help your office be successful by offering team building activities. 

Check out this 5-minute video about the Lockbox Team Building Activity that ISU team member Martha can facilitate in your office. To schedule a session, contact Martha at moser@iastate.edu.
Thank you to the Waterloo office for having Martha out in October and allowing us to film the session. A shoutout to Jenny Parker, ISU Instructional Designer, for creating this fantastic marketing video!
Staff Highlight: Over Thirty Years of Service!
A staff member with the Des Moines Region requested a highlight for those dedicated employees who have been serving Child Support for a long time. The Des Moines Region has two staff who have been with CSRU since the ‘80s!
Laurie Yacavona-Marker started with CSC in 1987. Then she went on to work in FCRU when it was its own office, and now she is in Indianola where she is back to doing FCRU work after doing enforcement and establishment for CSRU!
Sandy Kipp started with the Creston CSRU under the Cass county contract in Creston in 1987. She has been with the Creston CSRU ever since, doing establishment, then enforcement, and now case set up!
These ladies have a wealth of information and history with child support and we are lucky to have them!
Policy Corner: Promoting Opportunities for Parents Program
The Iowa Department of Human Services developed the Promoting Opportunities for Parents Program (POPP) to assist parents in overcoming barriers which interfere with meeting their obligations to their children. The Child Support Recovery Unit (CSRU) established this program to partner with community providers that offer parenting or fatherhood classes and employment resources. CSRU can offer incentives for participation in approved community projects. Participants receive support and education to improve their emotional, physical, and financial responsibilities toward their children. Current community partners include...
Outreach
Des Moines Region Prison Outreach Update
Since the pandemic we have not been going to the prisons or in-person fatherhood meetings. However, we have a team doing a quarterly newsletter for the Region and that team has done a tremendous job keeping our region connected and informed, as well as entertained. This internal outreach has had a wonderful impact on everyone, as we are able to meet new hires and learn more about what is going on in the Region. Here is the link to the recent newsletters they have issued (only accessible to staff on the internal DHS site):
Key team members working on this are:
  • Natalie Jolly
  • Lisa Riley
  • Stacey Sherman
  • Melanie Ruffalo
Understanding paths to parenthood
If you missed the last quarterly call of 2021, the Child Support Training Partnership encourages you to take some time to view the recording of Atticus Ranck and Robert Curry from the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute Education and Training Program who presented: Everyone has the Right to Have a Family: Affirming Interaction with LGBTQ+ Parents.

Learn more about providing culturally sensitive assistance to those who take many paths to parenthood – assisted reproductive technology, adoption, fostering, and more. Many of these parents and potential parents are members of the LGBTQ+ communities. The presenters also help you explore differences between gender, sex and sexual orientation, as well as the importance of pronouns and ways you can support modern families and parents.

Mark your calendars for our Feb. 10, 2022 CSTP call at 1 p.m. when Ann-Marie Yeates will talk about the Child-Parent Security Act that went into effect in 2021 in New York state to legalize gestational surrogacy and provide a simple path to establish legal parental rights for parents who rely on assisted reproductive technology to have children.