Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Child Support Employees Receive Outstanding IT Service and Support Award

On August 11, at this year’s California Technology Forum, the Center for Digital Government presented its Best of California Awards. Three California Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) employees were among the recipients.

Teri Hartley, Laura Jee and Jean Pratt received the “Outstanding IT Service and Support” award for their work on the design, development, testing and implementation of a new application that enables individuals in California to apply for child support services online. Using the new, Virtual Interactive Online Application (VIOLA), a child support case can be initiated using a computer, tablet or mobile device. 

VIOLA leads the applicant through the process based on the individual’s responses to questions. At the end of the process, VIOLA, which interfaces with the DCSS’s Child Support Enforcement System (CSE), automatically opens a case.

Designing an online application process for the nation’s largest child support program was a major undertaking and required the formation of a team of DCSS staff members from different divisions.  Work began in February 2015, with Laura Jee, Deputy Program Manager II assigned as Project Manager.

Laura was joined by Jean Pratt, Staff Information Services Analyst, who took on the task of Technical Systems Analyst and Teri Hartley, Associate Governmental Program Analyst was designated business lead. Though none of the team members had worked together before, their task was to design and deploy VIOLA within one year. 

Working together, the VIOLA team engaged staff members from all parts of DCSS, including California’s regional and local child support agencies. 

The team gathered, documented and scrutinized all the business requirements in order for the technical architects to develop a solid technical design. Considerable effort went into building consensus so the project moved forward and met deadlines.

They listened and incorporated suggestions from a broad variety of child support program stakeholders on functionality and operation, which made VIOLA an exceptional product.

VIOLA was officially launched on December 6, 2015 and the results have been amazing. More than 23,000 applications for child support have been completed and submitted using VIOLA.  A customer service survey showed an astounding 99 percent approval rating from VIOLA users. 

“The VIOLA Team believed in themselves and trusted each other,” said Catherine Lanzaro, Data Processing Manger IV. “(The team) always focused on making a difference in the lives of children and families. That is why VIOLA was successful.”

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By: Randy Juster
Associate Governmental Program Analyst
CA Dept. of Child Support Services

1 comment:

  1. im at single father. with rears owedbut even though ive been going to court over this matter did the entrerest didnt stop/ just like the judge said in court your missing up my life when,how,ok.the lease you put well switched over off what the judge clearly stated. none of the child support staff still having no rears that ,case dropped . i have copies of all money ive paid but never seen on my paperwork that the judge stated not also. i talked personally to my casemanger sup. showed him were she wasnt doing her job an told me to leave now i was so in disbileved that when i find them of eilresponable to have a very nice job but so eveilon trying to help out guys like myself.

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