Michigan Child Support Program

The Michigan Office of Child Support has a Community Advisory Council that provides partner and parental feedback on important issues. The council shared stories about the confusion and frustration parents often feel when navigating the child support system. At their recommendation, we’re piloting a navigator program with experts trained to guide families through the child support system.

The program will take place in four key counties: Calhoun (home to Battle Creek), Genesee (Flint), Kent (Grand Rapids), and Wayne (Detroit). Local offices are designing their programs using service delivery models and staffing that will vary across counties with a mix of state staff and contracted partners. We will collaborate with community organizations in each county with experience serving child support populations.

Any family with an open IV-D case in one of the pilot counties will be eligible to work with a navigator. Eligible parties include payers and recipients of support as well as custodians and potential fathers who don’t yet have child support orders. Navigators will provide information and tools to help families address child support issues and connect with other local resources.

We are working closely with independent evaluators (Michigan Public Health Institute and Mathematica) to ensure rigorous analysis of the program’s implementation and effectiveness, including county-specific factors. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation and IV-D funding through a section 1115 waiver are supporting this navigator pilot. We expect the program to launch in the summer of 2024 and continue for about one year. 

For more information, email vandenboomj@michigan.gov.

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Michael Ginns, OCSS

Many organizations and government agencies are exploring Human-Centered Design to focus on the customer experience and improve effectiveness and outcomes. Human-Centered Design is a way to collaborate with end users and gain input on potential solutions to problems. Human service agencies are now identifying and evaluating well-intentioned policies that can sometimes have unintended consequences. 

Changes to program design and service delivery often begin with improving internal customer service at the organizational and operational levels. Internal customer service is how people inside an organization interact and support one another—individually, as teams, and across divisions. It’s essential to gather feedback, listen, and evaluate the needs and experiences of staff. An agency’s internal customer policies, procedures, relationships, and experiences can affect the external customer experience.

Telework or working in a hybrid environment can present unique challenges for effective internal customer service. Our interactions through online platforms can become rote. It can be easier to disengage and listen passively, losing focus that our colleagues are also our customers. Internal customer service requires practice and commitment from everyone. It’s not a matter of just training staff — it’s a mindset, an attitude, a culture. This kind of engagement sets an expectation that everyone deserves respect and the dignity of being heard, fostering communication to ensure everyone is on the same page.  

Maine’s internal customer engagement

Maine’s Customer Service Unit uses the “Around the Table” technique at weekly meetings. This allows everyone a chance to share something on their mind. Often, it’s just an update on what’s happening locally or progress on a project. However, this process shows that everyone’s thoughts are important, no matter where they are in the hierarchy. They use the technique on individual projects as well. 

All new case managers on the Customer Service and Training Team begin their training with a class primarily focused on internal customer communication. They plan to include their new Learning Management System in training for new employees. 

Tips to improve internal customer service 

Every day, we have at least one opportunity to provide a good customer service experience. This is a chance to show our respect and commitment to help one another and our customers. Here are a few tips to engage your internal customers:

• Internal customer service is a team effort. Embrace that mindset and cultivate an office culture that believes it, too. 
• Actively listen during meetings, presentations, report-outs, etc.
• Treat others with respect. 
• Learn your co-worker’s preferences. Some co-workers prefer phone calls, and others might respond more quickly to an email. You might even get a quicker response if someone likes using the office’s instant messaging service!
• Avoid potential distractions during in-person and virtual meetings. Put your phone away or silence notifications.
• Assume everyone is operating with good intentions before you judge and possibly misinterpret their actions. Ask clarifying questions like: 
  • What I hear you saying is XYZ…Is that right? 
  • Can you be more specific about…?  
  • What was your intent when you said...? 
• Schedule a face-to-face meeting with a colleague when there’s confusion about an assignment. Check-ins on long-term projects can ensure things stay on track.

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Read about International Forms (iForms), a Child Support Portal application where states can prepare 2007 Hague Child Support Convention forms.