For DeAnne Sandoval, what initially began as a job to support her own child turned into a career of supporting thousands of children over almost four decades. As a single mother of a toddler, seeking a job with benefits and steady pay, DeAnne applied to be a file clerk in the family support division under the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office and was hired in August 1979.
With her competent character and eager spirit, DeAnne promoted twice within six months of being hired. She went from filing cases and delivering mail to entering information as a data entry clerk in the input-output unit, then became the unit lead. After two years, at the age of 23, DeAnne became a supervisor. A few years later, she was in charge of all clerical staff, data entry staff, and summer interns. After taking on the responsibility of managing approximately 50 people for five years, she took six months off for maternity leave for her second child.As her family grew, so did her unit and responsibilities. Receiving yet another promotion, DeAnne was in charge of both files and records and the input-output units for staff in the main office in San Leandro and the office in downtown Oakland. After a decade working for Alameda County, DeAnne opted for a part-time position as a lead caseworker III in the interstate unit to spend more time caring for her daughter and infant son.
After 11 years of bringing up her children, DeAnne returned to her previous supervisor position full-time, but it wasn’t long before she was yet again on the move. After three months, she applied for two promotional opportunities she had eyed throughout her career and was selected for both. At this point DeAnne faced a decision; work in a technical world that was both new and intriguing, or manage staff, something she both enjoyed and was good at. She chose the technical route, assisting the transition of all county child support agencies to a single, statewide system – Child Support Enforcement (CSE).
In 2007, during version one of the statewide CSE conversion effort, DeAnne oversaw the Alameda validation team whose primary role was to ensure legacy data mapped accurately to the new system. One of the greatest highlights of DeAnne’s career was to learn that Alameda was the first county to convert to CSE V1 without a single piece of data falling out as a reject. As Alameda’s Systems Coordinator following conversion to CSE V2, she wore many hats— she was the primary go-to person for questions on the new enforcement system, business processes, and data monitoring. Additionally, she trained Alameda staff on utilizing the federal case registry for parent locate information, cleaned up CSE data, assisted parents who had issues with mistaken identity, and resolved duplicate cases and participants.
In 2012, DeAnne moved to the foothills, commuting from Auburn to Pleasanton every day for work. After 33 years of working for Alameda DCSS, she was deeply attached to the staff.
“They all watched me grow up, they helped me raise my kids,” said DeAnne.
Her co-workers were like family. As the two-hour (each way) commute began to weigh on her, she decided to apply for positions at the State of California. In September 2012, DeAnne began a new chapter with the California Department of Child Support Services as a senior information systems analyst in the Technology Services Division.
Looking to get back into management, DeAnne applied for the staff services manager II position in the Statewide Training Branch and was selected for the job in 2014. After two years, she applied for the branch chief position and was promoted to the position she holds today, overseeing the Training Development & Delivery unit and the Web- Based Learning & Support unit.
“The Statewide Training Branch staff are my family now”, said DeAnne.
DeAnne, now a proud grandmother of two, celebrates her five-year anniversary at CA DCSS this month, but celebrated her 38-year anniversary working for child support in August.
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