San Diego Hosts Federal Health and Human Services Appointee to Showcase Unique Services for Veterans

By: Bryanna Fornerod, Supervising Child Support Officer/Military & Veterans Liaison, San Diego DCSS

In an effort to learn how the San Diego Department of Child Support Services (San Diego DCSS) approached creating the role of Military & Veteran Liaison for the child support program, Tina McIntosh, the newly appointed Veteran Liaison to the United States Health and Human Services Department (US HHS), visited San Diego DCSS for two days in September.

On September 12th and 13th, several representatives from the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) and California DCSS joined San Diego DCSS in welcoming Ms. McIntosh for a tour of the department’s efforts to meet the needs of veterans. 

USHHS Military & Veteran liaison Tina McIntosh (3rd from right)
 joins SD DCSS on tour of Veteran's program.

On September 12th, guests visited the Veteran’s Affairs (VA) Mission Valley Counseling Center where San Diego DCSS provides on-site child support case management every month, providing veterans a safe space to access services without barriers related to the invisible wounds of war. There, they heard from three social workers from the Veteran Justice Outreach, Healthcare for Homeless Veterans and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Veteran’s Affairs Supportive Housing programs, about how San Diego DCSS & the VA work together to assist veterans, and what is most important to keep in mind when working with the most vulnerable veterans.

On September 13th, at the 2-1-1 San Diego Connections Center, our guests were able to hear from partners including; the San Diego Veteran’s Coalition, California Veteran’s Legal Task Force, 2-1-1 San Diego, SDUnited, and Courage to Call about how the collective impact model drives the success for all veteran-serving agencies throughout San Diego. The visit concluded with a tour of the North Inland Live Well Center (NILWC) where San Diego DCSS is co-located with HHSA/Office of Military and Veteran Affairs, Public Health, Child Welfare Services, and other county agencies to create a one-stop-shop for serving families. At the NILWC, guests were able to learn about San Diego DCSS’s partnership with Office of Military and Veteran’s Affairs as well as Intel & Recon, the San Diego County collaborative group comprised of representatives from county agencies that meet regularly to identify and meet veteran needs countywide.

Ms. McIntosh and state DCSS Director Alisha Griffin both expressed being incredibly impressed by all they learned in just two days. Ms. McIntosh shared the following shortly after her visit:

“…San Diego is a model of family focused services to be commended nationwide. Your commitment to our service members, veterans, and families is greatly appreciated.”