Child Support Specialist I

THE AGENCY

Alameda County Department of Child Support Services (ACCSS) believes that all parents should be fully engaged in supporting the wellbeing of their children. To meet our Vision, ACCSS is committed to serving the children and families of Alameda County in ways that are innovative, responsive, efficient, compassionate and in tune with the rich diversity of our community.

Our customers are mothers, fathers, caregivers, children, community partners and the residents of Alameda County. ACCSS’s core business is to provide assistance to families through establishment of parentage, the establishment of child support orders for monetary and medical support, and through the enforcement of child support orders. To carry out this Mission, our employees are dedicated and talented people who leverage their skills and passion for public service to meet customer needs. Through coordinated efforts and collaboration with community partners, ACCSS collects and distributes important child support, enhancing self-efficiency and the well-being of families throughout Alameda County.

Alameda Child Support Services’ culture and business operations are shaped by the following key principles:

• Family Focused: Partner with families to eliminate barriers to providing reliable child support to their children.
• Dynamic Workforce: Attract, retain, and develop a highly skilled and engaged workforce.
• Operational Excellence: Focus on the highest level of performance and efficiency in our service delivery.
• Innovation: Meet the needs of families through creative solutions.
• Collaboration: Partner with the community to create an ecosystem of support services.

For more information about Alameda County Child Support Services, click HERE.

For more information about the State of CA Child Support, click HERE.

THE POSITION

Under close supervision at the lower level and general supervision at the higher level, Child Support Specialists perform a wide variety of child support duties; manage an assigned caseload; locate and interview parents and others to elicit factual information for the purpose of establishing child support obligations and enforcing child support laws; negotiate, collect and arrange for support payments of court ordered child support, prepare cases for court hearings, attend hearings as necessary; and perform related work as required. 

For more detailed information about the job classification, please visit: Child Support Specialist I (#1401)

IDEAL CANDIDATE

Positions allocated to this flexibly staffed classification series located in the Alameda County Department of Child Support Services (ACDCSS) require a high degree of public contact which requires incumbents to possess strong customer service skills, and the ability to handle confidential information, build rapport with customers and the public, and operate within the legal confines surrounding the child support program.  Positions in this series do not have supervisory responsibility and refer the most difficult and/or complex case related matters to higher-level classes.

This is the entry level class in the Child Support Specialist series responsible for performing child support case management work.  Incumbents, through a combination of formal and on-the-job training, learn and apply child support policies, regulations and procedures required to manage child support cases in a professional manner. Incumbents at this level are closely supervised and are assigned a caseload which may require the full range of child support functions. Child Support Specialist Is are expected to gain experience and demonstrate proficiency which qualifies them to promote to Child Support Specialist II after the equivalent of one year of full-time service.

Education:  

Graduation from high school or possession of a Certificate of Proficiency issued by the California State Board of Education, or possession of a G.E.D. certificate.

AND

EITHER I

Experience:

The equivalent of one year of full-time experience in the class of Child Support Assistant II, or in an equivalent or higher level class in the Alameda County classified service.    

OR II

Experience:

The equivalent of two years of full-time experience in the class of Customer Service Representative, or in an equivalent or higher level class in the Alameda County classified service.  

OR III  

Experience:  

The equivalent of two years of full-time experience in a public contact position with responsibility for performing any combination of the following as the primary element of work performed: interviewing applicants or case participants, exchanging detailed verbal information with customers, communicating with employers/customers to elicit information, and interpreting and applying policies, laws or regulations.  

OR IV

Education:

Possession of a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in sociology, public administration, liberal arts, or closely related field.  

Substitution:  

Possession of an associate degree from an accredited college or university in sociology, public administration, liberal arts, or closely related field may be substituted for six months of the required experience is pattern I, II, or III.

Special Requirements:    

1.  Must possess a valid California State Motor Vehicle Operator’s license.  

2.  A thorough background investigation, including fingerprinting will be conducted of all candidates who have accepted a conditional offer of employment to ensure suitability for Child Support related work.  A felony conviction may be disqualifying.  

NOTE:  The Civil Service Commission may modify the above Minimum Qualifications in the announcement of an examination.

NOTE:  The level and scope of the following knowledge and abilities are related to duties listed under the “Examples of Duties”” section of this specification.  

Knowledge of:  

• General case management principles, child support establishment, enforcement and collection methods and techniques.
• Federal, State and local laws pertaining to the establishment, collection and enforcement of child support.
• Sources and methods to effectively locate absent participants and related financial information.
• Interviewing principles and research techniques.
• Basic knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook).
• Basic arithmetic to perform calculations and understand financial records.
• Principles and practices of customer service.
• Modern office methods, procedures, tools and equipment.
• Proper English usage, spelling, grammar and punctuation.
• Terminology and processes related to child support laws and regulations.
• Legal forms and documents used to enforce support orders.
• Child support case management computer systems, or similar programs and applications.

Ability to:  

• Learn and utilize a variety of collection methods, techniques and procedures in child support collection work.
• Research and extract personal and financial information from a variety of sources.
• Communicate clearly and concisely both orally and in writing.
• Interview participants in person and over the telephone to obtain specific information.
• Organize assigned work effectively and manage multiple  priorities.
• Adapt to changes in policies and regulations which require learning and applying new information.
• Use sound judgement to analyze factual information in order to solve problems, accomplish tasks, and make recommendations within guidelines
• Maintain systematic, detailed and accurate case files/records and notes of activities.
• Deal tactfully and courteously with people from diverse backgrounds; establish and maintain good working relationships with internal and external customers.
• Read, understand, apply and explain Federal and State laws and county policies relative to the collection and enforcement of child support.
• Maintain integrity and confidentiality of sensitive and personal information.
• Draft and compose standard business correspondence using proper English usage, spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
• Follow oral and written instructions.
• Comply with Federal, State and court mandates.
• Work independently with initiative and sound judgement in absence of direct supervision.

THE EXAMINATION WILL CONSIST OF THE FOLLOWING STEPS:

1. A review of applicant's application and supplemental questionnaire to verify possession of minimum qualification.  Those candidates who possess the minimum requirements for the class will move on to the next step in the examination process;
2. A pass/fail written test. Those candidates who pass the written test will move to the final step in the process;
3. A pre-recorded video oral interview, weighted at 100% of the candidates' final examination score. The oral interview may contain situational exercises.

Candidates must attain a qualifying rating on each portion of this recruitment.  

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE ANNOUNCED EXAMINATION STEPS.

Alameda County utilizes a Civil Service Selection System founded on merit. Such a system is competitive and based on broad recruitment efforts and equal opportunity for qualified applicants to test in an examination process designed to determine the qualifications, fitness and ability of competitors to perform duties of the vacant position. Many of our recruitments are targeted and specific to the needs of a current vacant position, in which case, the eligible list may be exclusively used for that current vacant position. Other recruitments may be more broadly used for both current and future vacancies, or for other alternate jobs with comparable scopes of work.

For more information on the Civil Service Selection process, please visit the “What You Need to Know” section of our website, www.acgov.org/hrs.

Alameda County offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that affords wide-ranging health care options to meet the different needs of a diverse workforce and their families. We also sponsor many different employee discount, fitness and health screening programs focused on overall well being.  These benefits include but are not limited to*:

For your Health & Well-Being

• Medical – HMO & PPO Plans
• Dental – HMO & PPO Plans
• Vision or Vision Reimbursement
• Share the Savings
• Basic Life Insurance 
• Supplemental Life Insurance (with optional dependent coverage for eligible employees) 
• County Allowance Credit
• Flexible Spending Accounts - Health FSA, Dependent Care and Adoption Assistance
• Short-Term Disability Insurance
• Long-Term Disability Insurance
• Voluntary Benefits - Accident Insurance, Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity and Legal Services
• Employee Assistance Program

For your Financial Future

• Retirement Plan - (Defined Benefit Pension Plan)
• Deferred Compensation Plan (457 Plan or Roth Plan)

For your Work/Life Balance

• 12 paid holidays
• Floating Holidays
• Vacation and sick leave accrual
• Vacation purchase program
• Catastrophic Sick Leave
• Group Auto/Home Insurance
• Pet Insurance
• Commuter Benefits Program
• Guaranteed Ride Home
• Employee Wellness Program (e.g. At Work Fitness, Incentive Based Programs, Gym Membership Discounts)
• Employee Discount Program (e.g. theme parks, cell phone, etc.)
• Child Care Resources
• 1^st United Services Credit Union 

*Eligibility is determined by Alameda County and offerings may vary by collective bargaining agreement.  This provides a brief summary of the benefits offered and can be subject to change.

All notices related to County recruitments for which you have applied will be sent/delivered via email. Please add @jobaps.com, acgov.org and Noreply@jobaps.com as accepted addresses to any email blocking or spam filtering program you may use. If you do not do this, your email blocking or spam filtering program may block receipt of the notices regarding your application for recruitments. You are also strongly advised to regularly log into your County of Alameda online application account to check for notices that may have been sent to you. All email notices that will be sent to you will also be kept in your personal online application account. You will be able to view all of your notices in your online application account by clicking on the 'My applications' button on the Current Job Openings page.

Please take the steps recommended above to ensure you do not miss any notices about a recruitment for which you have applied. The County of Alameda is not responsible for notices that are not read, received or accessed by any applicant for a County recruitment.

NOTE: All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box Noreply@jobaps.com are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. If you have questions, please go to our website at www.acgov.org/hrs. You may also contact the Human Resources Analyst listed on the job announcement for the recruitment for which you have applied.

Monique Hill, Personnel Services Manager
Human Resource Services Division, County of Alameda
Email Address Link: Monique.hill@acgov.org | Phone (510) 208-4841
www.acgov.org/hrs

DISASTER SERVICE WORKER

All Alameda County employees are designated Disaster Service Workers through state and local law.  Employment with the County requires the affirmation of a loyalty oath to this effect.  Employees are required to report to work as ordered in the event of an emergency.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Alameda County has a diverse workforce, that is representative of the communities we serve and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.  All aspects of employment are based on merit, competence, performance and business need. Alameda County does not discriminate in employment on the basis of, race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factors protected under federal, state and local law. Alameda County celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive, and welcoming workplace environment.