Category 1: Building a Customer-Focused Culture
BUREAU OF CHILD SUPPORT
ENFORCEMENT
State of Pennsylvania
Jaylene Bowers
Pennsylvania Child Support Director
Alex Cain
Director
Bureau of Child Support Enforcement
Susan Sease
Manager
Bureau of Child Support Enforcement
Camilla Fox
Manager
Bureau of Child Support Enforcement
Dory McGuire
Chief Information Officer
Health and Human Services Delivery Center
Tracey McSherry
Business Relationship Manager
Health and Human Services Delivery Center
The Pennsylvania Bureau of Child Support Enforcement (BCSE) is being honored in Category 1: Building a Customer Focused Culture for its visionary leadership in modernizing the state’s child support system to better serve families and frontline workers.
In 2017, BCSE launched an ambitious IT modernization initiative to transform the legacy Pennsylvania Child Support Enforcement System (PACSES) from an aging mainframe into a streamlined, user friendly Open Systems environment. As one of the top performing child support systems in the country, PACSES supports more than 407,000 children and distributes over $1.35 billion annually. Modernizing such a critical, high volume system required careful planning, innovation, and a phased, risk managed approach.
The effort focused on improving service delivery, reducing technology costs, and enhancing the experience for both families and child support professionals. Over the course of the project, 247 legacy mainframe screens were replaced with 142 modernized screens, and more than 1.096 billion records were converted with 100 percent accuracy. Complex financial functionalities such as distributions, collections, and obligations were successfully transitioned into a modern, efficient interface. By applying human centered design principles, BCSE reduced onboarding time and improved worker efficiency, enabling staff to provide faster, more personalized client support, especially during hiring and resource challenges.
Through close collaboration with counties, vendors, and the Pennsylvania State Collection and Disbursement Unit, BCSE ensured a seamless and impactful transition. Since the start of the project, nearly $10 billion has been collected and distributed to families, with more than $1.35 billion distributed in the past year alone.
By prioritizing the needs of families and frontline workers, BCSE has not only modernized a mission critical system but also strengthened the quality, efficiency, and impact of child support services across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.