Hope is All Around Us – CSS Goals and Standards

Reviewed Content on May 7, 2024

In our roles as Child Support Specialists, Administrative Professionals, Managers, Supervisors, and State’s Attorneys we have the potential to nurture the Science of HOPE through our interactions with them, our attitudes about our work, and how we relate to each other in OKDHS and Child Support.

While many of us joined Child Support and found that a big difference is made in the lives of custodial parents and their children, we have come to value our work and the impact we can have on families.

Significantly, the Child Support Services (CSS) Goals and Standards for professional expectations that reinforces our HOPE-Centered approach to serving our customers. For example, in the CS Quest article, CSS Goals, it states our four goals as: Child Support seeks to improve economic stability of families, improve children’s access to health care coverage, improve the NCPs ability to satisfy their child support obligation, and collaborate with families to connect them with services to meet their overall needs. These goals, when implemented with parties on child support cases has the potential to lift families out of dire circumstances using the Science of HOPE to open pathways for customers to meet their goals.

Our professional demeanor and how we interact with co-workers has an impact on how we view hope and how we inspire others to follow the science of hope. Child Support has identified four standards, that, when applied in all aspects of our work, we can serve as role models to co-workers, colleagues, partners and customers. The four standards are discussed in the CS Quest article, Professional Work Standards. Briefly, these four standards are:

1. Safety – Safety is everyone’s business and responsibility, and this means an environment where employees, customers and workplaces are free from harm or danger.
2. Integrity – Honesty, trust and fairness are central to integrity. This includes organizational and individual integrity and means that we act with only the highest ethical standards. How we follow the values, principles and expectations of the organization in relationships with coworkers, customers, partners and stakeholders makes a difference.
3. Professionalism – Practicing the skills, good judgment, and behaviors that are expected from a person who is trained to do a job well.
4. Compassion – this is an awareness of others’ needs together with a desire to help. It refers to a willingness to assist someone, without passing judgment, who is in need, sick, hungry, vulnerable or in trouble.

A valuable aspect of professionalism is the ability to measure these through organizational effectiveness surveys, supervisory support as measured by employee surveys, and instances of discussions about the workplace with change-makers.

If you get a chance, take a look at the CS Quest article, Working for Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) / Child Support Services (CSS): It’s More than Just a Job. Among other things, this short article features the mission of CSS. Part of the mission is to promote healthy families. This is done by encouraging self-sufficiency and strengthening relationships. The core values are caring, fairness, honesty, integrity, respect, and trust. CSS is the first choice for families seeking quality support services and we are CSS’s frontline representative.

The mission is a big one, for sure. Thankfully, we have the Science of HOPE to propel us through the sometimes-overwhelming cares and concerns of our customers, co-workers, and families. We can keep the larger goal in mind, while also making the mission easier in more digestible chunks. Your role in achieving our goal could be as small as showing kindness in a five-minute interaction with a customer. Set small daily goals and always be alert for new pathways. We must also maintain self-awareness and practice personal wellness to maintain our willpower. Willpower is finite, so pay attention if you are feeling overwhelmed and take care of yourself. To sustain the effort towards goals, we have our histories to draw on, our current circumstances, and those supporting us to encourage us not give up. HOPE begets HOPE.

For related articles, try clicking one of the tags at the bottom of this page.