After two years of pandemic-related challenges, members of our SMI team were beyond excited to meet with friends and new and existing state, tribal, and local partners in Washington D.C. for the 2022 NCSEA Policy Forum. Since the onset of the global health crisis, SMI has adapted to our “new normal” and embraced breakthroughs in efficiency and innovation. This has helped us overcome various issues to provide the child support community with the extra-mile service it deserves.
As a third-generation member of our 50-year-old family-owned business, I reflected on everything we’ve achieved since my grandfather, Bob Stone, founded SMI in 1971. Beyond new developments and upgrades, I thought about all the families we’ve served and the dedicated directors and employees who we’ve worked with, the passion they have and how vital they’ve been to the health of the child support community. I was honored to speak on behalf of SMI and reiterate to everyone our unwavering commitment to them on all levels.
Along with NCSEA, SMI envisions a world where every child receives reliable financial and emotional support. To see our vision materialize, we must evolve and further strengthen the services we provide to millions of families across the country.
So, the question is this: How can we improve? While there are countless ways, we can always offer better services to our partners, clients, and customers. We can determine ways to surpass our current levels of service to better assist families who are struggling. We can also collaborate with vendors to unveil more efficient payment methods, and we can expand our bandwidth so families have easier access to our critical services.
The NCSEA Policy Forum offered great insights into the challenges and issues facing the child support community. These insights were invaluable and sketched a blueprint that SMI can use to strengthen our services. They also reaffirmed my grandfather’s beliefs that cultivating existing relationships and building new, healthy ones are the backbone of who we are.
The 2022 NCSEA Policy Forum was a tremendous way to welcome the new year. Over the next 10 months, SMI will remain diligent and avoid complacency. Our mission to perform better will benefit the millions of families that we serve, and that’s all that matters.
