We value all opportunities to engage with leaders in the child support community.

Lara, a past president and Honorary Life Member, is speaking at the 2022 Missouri Child Support Education Association (MCSEA) Annual Training Conference. This year’s theme was the “Seven Wonders of Child Support.” MCSEA focuses on providing child support professionals with information to advance, educate, and inspire them in the child support field.

Lara Presented at Two Sessions

Public Knowledge® is excited to share that Lara had two opportunities to present at the 2022 MCSEA Annual Training Conference.

Child Support Feud! The “Wonder”ful Child Support Game Show

• Alongside Ellen Rutledge, Lara lead a gameshow-inspired session testing participants’ knowledge of key information about the federal child support

The Wonders of the PJAC Impact

• Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) is the name of a federal five-year grant that the Office of Child Support Enforcement awarded in September 2016. The purpose of the PJAC demonstration grant was to examine whether incorporating procedural justice principles into child support business practices increases reliable child support payments. The goals are to increase reliable payments, reduce arrears, minimize the need for continued enforcement actions and sanctions, and reduce the inappropriate use of contempt.

This session highlighted the grant findings, but it will emphasize teaching the five key elements of procedural justice in a child support case. All child support professionals learned how they could improve their own communications and interactions with parents on their caseloads and get better and quicker outcomes on their cases.

More About PJAC

There are five key elements of procedural justice to make the process fair and just. These elements include both child support professionals and the court/hearing process to give the parents:

• Voice and Participation: Participants have had every opportunity to share their side of the story and be heard.
• Neutrality of the Process: The decision-making process is unbiased and trustworthy.
• Respect: The parents are treated with dignity and respect.
• Understanding: Everyone understands the process, the rules, and how those rules are applied to them.
• Helpfulness: Parents perceive that the professionals are helpful to and interested in their personal situation.

Ready to Incorporate Procedural Justice Principles into Your Child Support Processes?

Public Knowledge® creates training for child support professionals. Our vast child support experience has created specialized training that uniquely equips child support professionals to navigate challenging real-world scenarios. In addition to courses relating to procedural justice, PK also offers training for customer service, communications skills, and unintended bias and cultural competence.

Procedural Justice in Action

PK designed our interactive procedural justice training for child support professionals of all levels. Participants walk through common issues in non-paying cases and discuss how to deal with those issues. 

If you see Lara at the 2022 MCSEA Annual Training Conference, she would be happy to tell you more.