Child Support Specialist, Lead

Child Support Specialist Lead

This Statewide recruitment has been opened to establish a list of eligible candidates to be used to fill current and future vacancies occurring in our Local Departments of Social Services throughout the State. Please indicate the counties in which you are willing to accept employment on your application. We have vacancies in the following location(s): Anne Arundel County Child Support Administration 44 Calvert Street Annapolis, MD 21401

The main purpose of the job is to investigate and analyze child support cases and initiate appropriate actions to establish, maintain or enforce support payments for dependent children in accordance with applicable federal and State laws, rules and regulations. Employees in this classification perform duties related to establishing paternity and child support orders, negotiating agreements for child support payments and health insurance coverage and maintaining and enforcing the collection of current and past due amounts. Employees in this classification assign, review and approve the work of and train lower-level Child Support Specialists.

Position duties include:

• Assigns, reviews and approves the work of lower-level Child Support Specialists who investigate and analyze child support cases and initiate appropriate actions to establish, maintain and enforce support payments for dependent children
• Trains lower-level Child Support Specialists in investigating and analyzing child support cases and in initiating appropriate actions to establish, maintain and enforce support payments for dependent children
• Assists with coordinating the work of the unit with that of other units involved in child support programmatic work
• Obtains, verifies and analyzes information from custodial and non-custodial parents, employers, financial institutions, private and governmental resources, health insurance carriers and others and uses that information to locate non-custodial parents, establish paternity, verify income and assets and determine the ability of non-custodial parents to pay child support and provide health insurance
• Negotiates voluntary agreements for payment of child support and liquidation of arrears with custodial and non-custodial parents in accordance with State regulations and guidelines
• Initiates and prepares a variety of documents for administrative or court hearings, such as support payment modifications, wage withholdings, earnings assignments, interstate transmittals, subpoenas, bench warrants and show cause orders in order to collect current or past due child support payments
• Identifies circumstances that contribute to a problem in collecting child support or providing health insurance coverage, determines which private and governmental services and programs, such as mediation services, employment and job counseling services, visitation access program or young fathers program address the problem and refers parents to those services and programs
• Monitors the receipt of child support payments and reviews case records and payment activities to determine the need for and type of enforcement activities warranted
• Investigate and resolves disputes resulting from license suspensions, tax intercepts and other remedies used to enforce and collect child support
• Initiates and negotiates establishment and enforcement of new or existing child support orders in out-of-state cases
• Prepares and presents testimony for judicial and administrative hearings related to child support enforcement and collection
• Prepares and reviews case records to ensure the validity of information to be presented in court by the legal services attorney
• Maintains and updates case records by using automated systems and case folder documents
• Responds to inquiries from custodial and non-custodial parents, employers, courts, public officials, attorneys, other State agencies and out-of-state agencies in order to resolve issues related to child support cases
• Coordinates genetic testing arrangements with certified medical facilities
• Serves as liaison between Child Support Enforcement Administration and other State agencies, local agencies, the States Attorneys Office and the courts
• Places appropriate markers on case records in cases in which family violence or abuse has occurred, monitors the case to ensure that custodial and non-custodial parents, other caretakers and children are protected and refers abused caretakers and dependent children to family shelters or other protective services
• May assist at orientation sessions for new applicants or for non-custodial parents by presenting information about child support program services and related services that may be helpful
• May represent the State as complainant in order to obtain or enforce court orders for support

Minimum qualifications include:

• An Associate of Arts degree from an accredited college or university
• Four years of experience investigating and analyzing child support cases and initiating appropriate actions to establish, maintain or enforce support payments for dependent children in accordance with federal and State laws, rules and regulations

Candidates may substitute additional experience on a year-for-year basis for the required education. Candidates may substitute the possession of a Bachelors degree from an accredited college or university for two years of the required experience. Candidates may substitute experience determining eligibility for government assistance programs for one year of the required experience.

Employees in this classification may be assigned duties which require the operation of a motor vehicle. Employees assigned such duties will be required to possess a motor vehicle operators license valid in the State of Maryland.

Please make sure that you provide sufficient information on your application to show that you meet the qualifications for this recruitment. All information concerning your qualifications must be submitted by the closing date. We will not consider information submitted after this date. Successful candidates will be ranked as Best Qualified, Better Qualified, or Qualified and placed on the eligible (employment) list for at least one year. If you are in State service and are a promotional candidate, your salary will be