Date of Award

Spring 5-21-2005

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Public Administration (MPA)

Abstract

The California Child Support Program has experienced monumental restructuring in the past five years. A paradigm shift from a primary focus on just the total dollars collected to one of ensuring a quality, uniform, and customer service-oriented program has occurred. A major tenet of the restructured program is the establishment and operation of a performance-based system to permit effective oversight and management of the child support program. California must compete with other states for federal incentive dollars awarded based on their performance in five measures and it is critical that the state improve its performance in order to be eligible to receive maximum incentive dollars and ensure that program customers are receiving quality service.

This study explores the affect that benchmarking and regular monitoring of program performance of the largest Local Child Support Agencies (LCSA) in California by the State Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) has on improving the LCSA and statewide performance in the federal performance measures. This benchmarking and performance monitoring has been implemented by DCSS through the Big Six Initiative (Big Six). The six local child support agencies currently participating in the initiative are: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino and San Diego Counties. Performance data will be analyzed for the last four federal fiscal years to compare the county's performance prior and subsequent to DCSS implementing the benchmarking and structured monitoring process.

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