VIOLA Celebrates Turning One

Last year, the California Department of Child Support Services (CA DCSS) created a new, efficient way for those seeking to open a child support case to file an application online from the comfort of their homes, without the hassle of mailing in a lengthy paper application. The Virtual Interactive Online Application, also known as VIOLA, has helped thousands of people obtain services within its first year.

Any mother, father or legal guardian may apply to open a child support case, even if they do not have legal custody of the child.

Between VIOLA's initial implementation on December 7, 2015 and November 30, 2016, a total of 35,651 VIOLA applications were completed and submitted. Of the applications submitted, 31,678 (88.86%) were successfully opened or processed as cases in the Child Support Enforcement system.

In April 2016, a customer survey was sent to the approximately 12,000 customers who submitted online applications between December 7 and April 18.  CA DCSS received over 1,100 responses with  most customers reporting that the new application was very user-friendly and easy to understand.

An overwhelming majority of customers (88%) reported that their VIOLA application took less than one hour to complete, most stating it took less than 30 minutes. This is a significant reduction in the time required to complete the lengthy paper application that was formerly used.

For a tutorial on how to apply for child support, visit the VIOLA webpage here: http://bit.ly/2gbHwIR.

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Dana Simas

CA DCSS