Time Flies: Lori Bengston Concludes NCSEA Presidency on a High Note

Lori Bengston, Project Manager for YoungWilliams’ Nebraska Child Support Customer Service Center, finished her term as President of the National Child Support Enforcement Association (NCSEA) in August. She sums up her year with two words – time flies.

“It went so fast, and I enjoyed every minute of being the NCSEA President,” she said. “NCSEA has a number of initiatives underway, and the committees worked their hardest to make them happen.” As Bengston shared with NCSEA committee members, under her leadership NCSEA:

• Provided professional development opportunities including Policy Forum, Leadership Symposium, Web-Talks, and NCSEA U;
• Hosted a successful International Roundtable with child support professionals from around the world;
• Sent representatives from NCSEA to participate, in person, at the Hague Special Commission;
• Produced the CSQ magazine quarterly with relevant and timely articles on issues of importance to the child support community;
• Increased NCSEA membership for state and county agencies, as well as tribal agencies;
• Hosted Affinity Groups (Intergovernmental, Leadership and Training) to engage and connect members with specific interests, providing important networks in the child support community;
• Updated the NCSEA website with changes to the Research page and more user-friendly Child Support Professionals and Parents pages;
• Greenlighted NCSEA U at Policy Forum, a leadership opportunity for policy makers, which will begin in 2023;
• Released 24 NCSEA on Location podcasts where the total plays have exceeded 5,000+ listeners;
• Increased NCSEA’s social media presence through Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn; and
• Led the NCSEA Board of Directors vote to propose a corporate name change from the National Child Support Enforcement Association to the National Child Support Engagement Association (this proposal will be submitted to the NCSEA membership for a vote in 2023).

“One of the great things about the NCSEA Presidency is the seamless transition,” Bengston said. “The incoming President will pick up where I left off.” Bengston will remain on the NCSEA Board as Immediate Past President. Executive Committee as the Immediate Past President.

YoungWilliams, a silver corporate partner, will continue to have a seat at the NCSEA Board. Ellen Rutledge, YoungWilliams’ Director of Professional Development, was elected to the Board in May. Her term starts September 1.

“Like Lori, I started my involvement with NCSEA by volunteering for a committee,” she said. “I am looking forward to working with the Board, all of whom come from varied backgrounds and places in the child support program. I can’t wait to get started.”