The draft vision, values, mission, and goals below were informed by the Trends and Perspectives document, feedback received on Engage HQ, and conversations with various child support advisory groups.

Please take a look at draft vision, values, mission, and goals statements and answer the following questions: 

1) How well do the statements capture the future direction of the child support program?

2) What goals need greater emphasis?  What is missing?  

3) What other feedback do you have? 

Please feel free to also use the thumbs up and thumbs down or reply features to indicate your perspectives on the comments of others. 

Vision

All children in Minnesota’s child support program have the economic support they need to thrive.

Mission

The Minnesota child support program, in collaboration with federal, Tribal and county partners, delivers an effective family-centered approach to ensuring the financial stability of children.

Values

• Families: We believe in supporting the well-being of entire families by intentionally working with all family members in their lives together, regardless of their familial structure.
• Collaboration: We collaborate effectively with our partners to ensure participant and program success.
• Equity: We work to embed and advance equity at all levels of the program.
• Quality Experience: We aim to consistently deliver a high-quality, responsive, and empathetic experience to program participants.
• Our People: We support, invest, and resource our staff.

Goals and Strategies

Goal 1: Program actively works to promote whole-family systems, reduce disparities, and produce equitable outcomes in delivery and receipt of child support services.

• Ensure whole-family systems approaches are integrated throughout the program.
• Improve demographic data collection to better understand programmatic disparities and create comprehensive equity goals aimed at reducing disparities in marginalized communities.
• Enhance strong government-to-government relationships with Tribal partners to ensure children have the support they need. Provide support and technical assistance to Tribes seeking policy changes and those interested in starting their own child support programs.
• Partner with other programs to develop new strategies to support the needs of families such as integrating employment services with child support.
• Continue to analyze and modify enforcement mechanisms in ways that benefit the whole family.
• Build on creative strategies to better serve vulnerable populations such as those experiencing domestic violence.
• Work with national partners to advocate for federal performance measure changes more aligned with whole-family systems.

Goal 2: Parents and caretakers trust the program and feel the program meets their needs.

• Solicit continuous feedback and involvement from parents and caretakers and those serving them to ensure the program is meeting the needs of families.
• Ensure all public facing materials and communication templates contain current information, are easy to find, and written in welcoming and plain language.
• Ensure case workers are accessible, communicate regularly with participants, and are well-trained in customer service skills.
• Pursue statutory changes to maximize the amount of funds that go to families.
• Offer high quality digital tools to make the program more convenient for families and employers.

Goal 3: Program policies and services are effectively and consistently delivered to create a positive user experience.

• Create systems and tools to ensure consistent policy interpretation, application, and enforcement.
• Foster intergovernmental partnership and communications, particularly between county staff and their court magistrates.
• Continue to examine and improve program policies to better meet the needs of families.
• Advocate for consistent funding and capacity to make ongoing technology, business, and customer service improvements.
• Examine participant experience at all stages of the program and make changes to ensure positive and seamless experience across the program.
• Leverage technology to make child support services more efficient and effective.
• Use real-time data to drive program performance and decision-making.

Goal 4: Program supports staff to do their work well and is prepared for future workforce changes.

• Uplift and recognize positive work achievements of program staff.
• Provide and encourage opportunities for child support professionals to support their mental health and emotional well-being.
• Create a staff recruitment and retention plan to ensure the program can meet its future workforce needs.
• Ensure the systems modernization and other technology efforts enable current and future staff to perform their job duties more effectively.
• Provide ongoing opportunities for training and staff development, and ensure all staff receive baseline training on program management and expectations, customer service, whole-family systems, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Over the past two years, the child support program has gathered survey data from child support participants, held focus groups and interviews with child support professionals, and reviewed national research and analysis. The Trends and Perspectives document is designed to synthesize that data and provide a foundation for the future direction of the program. 

Please take a look at the document and use this tool to answer the following questions:

1) How well has the document captured the important trends and perspectives on the child support program?

2) What trends need greater emphasis?  What is missing from the document?  

3) What other feedback do you have? 

Please feel free to also use the thumbs up and thumbs down or reply features to indicate your perspectives on the comments of others.