Rhode Island Hosts the 5th Annual CSLN Partnership Awards
The CSLN Partnership Awards were held on May 16th during Rhode Island's Annual Child Support Conference. Ms. Sharon A. Santilli, IV-D Director of Rhode Island Child Support Services and Administrator of the Child Support Lien Network, proudly presented the CSLN Partnership Awards to four recipients in recognition of their outstanding efforts.
Ms. Margaret O'Connor-Fitzpatrick, Senior Claims Technical Administrator, and Ms. Pamela Hallagan, Assistant Vice President of MetLife Auto & Home, accepted the CSLN Partnership Award on behalf of MetLife. Ms. O'Connor-Fitzpatrick expressed appreciation for the CSLN program and its team members. She recognized MetLife's vital role in helping state agencies collect past due child support and the necessity to help children obtain the financial support they deserve. According to Ms. O'Connor-Fitzpatrick, "It amazes me we are being awarded for doing the right thing." Currently, over $1 million has been intercepted through MetLife claims in the mandatory states. As MetLife plans to expand their participation to all CSLN state members, significant increases in collections will result.
Ms. Diana DeLaCruz, South Valley Regional Manager with the Arizona Division of Child Support Enforcement, accepted the CSLN Partnership award for a state member. Ms. DeLaCruz recognized the Child Support Lien Network as an effective enforcement tool and thanked the CSLN team members who work diligently to provide quality matches, allowing Arizona to quickly take further action. She conveyed Arizona's passion to find new ways of pursuing collections for its families and shared that they look forward to expanding CSLN services to include real property liens. Since joining the program in 2007, CSLN has released over 4,600 insurance matches, yielding significant collections for Arizona's children. We applaud Arizona's dedication to the child support community and appreciate Ms. DeLaCruz taking the time to accept the CSLN partnership award on behalf of the Arizona Division of Child Support Enforcement.
Ms. Doris Moore of Kentucky Child Support Enforcement received the John F. Murphy Memorial Award. This award honors an individual with an uncommon and tireless commitment to the CSLN program and the partners it serves. Ms. Moore focused on CSLN's ability to provide new collection opportunities on hard to work cases. "We were at a crossroads as to how to get more money for the children. CSLN has given me that new blood line." Ms. Moore's passion for child support was evident as she explained how great it feels to share collection news with custodial parents by saying, "When you get that lump sum and you call that momma, sometimes $4,000 can mean as much as $40,000." Kentucky has seen tremendous growth during its short time in CSLN, and its dedicated child support staff hopes to achieve their collection goal of $2 million in 2013. CSLN looks forward to helping Kentucky meet that goal because, as Ms. Moore said, "It's all for the children."
The Child Support Lien Network is privileged to work with these organizations and individuals to increase child support collections for its member states. We look forward to strengthening this collaborative effort and improving the success of the program to assist our nation's children and families to achieve financial stability.
Congratulations and thank you to the recipients of the 2013 CSLN Partnership Awards!