September/October 2023

Customer Service

Laurie Miller has been working with a case party since February 2023 to get his arrears balance paid. Prior to this he had auto withdrawal set up but had been barred due to NSF payment, so he hadn’t made any payments since February 2022. When Laurie talked to him, he indicated he would make payments and get the balance paid to zero.

It took him a few months to start paying, but he has paid $4,000 on his case since July 2023 and believes he will have the balance to zero by the end of the year.

Laurie has acknowledged even if he does not get the balance to zero, he has made an excellent attempt and is staying in contact with her. Laurie has been patient with him, and he is very thankful for her working with him to pay off the balance.

New Hires

Michelle Harken, Waterloo
Jaimie Storjohann, Clinton
Erik Elin, Des Moines
Alison Jones, Sioux City
Jenna Weiland, Mason City
Michelle Wolfe, Dubuque
Lindsey Young, Ankeny
Stephanie Youngmark, Ankney
Elizabeth Khounlavouth, Des Moines
Corby Webb, Marshalltown
Brittany Davis, Marshalltown
Samantha Thiele, Decorah

ISU Insights: PIAL Grant Reports

The ISU research team has been busy creating long and brief reports for the PIAL expansion grant. They have also been working on tool kits for the three objectives. All of this data collection and analysis relates to the OCSS' Charting a Course for Economic Mobility and Responsible Parenting grant. The original grant ended September 29. We are happy to announce we were able to get a no-cost extension to finish the work of the grant proposal using unspent funds. Thank you Harold Coleman for working with the feds to secure the no-cost extension! ISU now has until June 28, 2024 to continue this important work.

Objective 1 Report

Objective 2 Report

The ISU-CSS Contract Team has a new annual report for FY23. Check out what we've been working on by clicking the button below!

See our FY23 Annual Report

Training:

Keyboard Shortcuts

by Jay Grey, ISU Instructional Designer

One of my favorite technology hacks is the use of keyboard shortcuts. It is a great way to save time and overuse of your mouse. When you consider the amount of time spent on a project, the time it takes to transfer hand to mouse adds up. Also, the stress on your hand and wrist caused by using a mouse can be relieved by using the keyboard.

Staff Highlight: Financial Team

EPICS began working refunds in May 2022. At the time we had a team of six Administrative Assistant 1’s that were going to be assigned the new task of working the rejecting receipts report and we called them our “Financial Team." In August 2023, we added three more members to the team due to the volume of refunds and the amount of time it tasks to process each one.

Read More!

Staff Anniversaries

10 Years:

Tiffany Castle, Fort Dodge
Lacey Hopkins, Ottumwa

15 Years:

Jessica Hinners, Carroll

20 Years:

William Pepper, Davenport
Julie Eipperle, Ankeny

25 Years:

Angela Harrison, Fort Dodge

Policy Corner:

Tag for e-filing is now available in PODS Catalog. Users can identify the document for e-filing in Catalog, make any necessary redaction, then select Tag for e-filing. Tag for e-filing has been an available option in PODS Process Worklist but until now was not available in PODS Catalog. Using Tag for e-filing in PODS Catalog will provide an efficient and accurate way for staff to send documents to CSeF from PODS Catalog. As a reminder, documents already in PODS should not be re-uploaded via CSeF. Information on the ways to create a packet is available on the eFiling BPH under Trainings, CSeF Desk Aid: How to Create and File a Packet in CSeF.

Outreach:

Shannon Sinnott has been working with a customer for the last year on making payments. When she first tried to engage with him, he wanted nothing to do with Child Support and owed over $60,000 in back support.

Shannon has spent a lot of time monitoring his cases and reaching out to him monthly. After finally getting a connection established, he has completed the POPS program and is making regular payments. We were able to satisfy $13,859.52 after the first 6 months and if his payments continue, he will be eligible for another $13,859.00 to be satisfied around December 2023.

Shannon states this is because of the way she has handled him, spoke to him, and understood him. Shannon knows she does not need to reach out to him monthly, but taking the extra time has really paid off.

Is someone you work with not receiving In the Know? Send them this email or the link below so they can add their HHS email address to our list!

Sign-up Form

Submit comments or questions

https://hhs.iowa.gov/child-support