Child Support Officer

Come join the public service team at
Goodhue County Health & Human Services!

You will be a part of skilled, caring and knowledgeable HHS professionals whose talents and contributions promote, strengthen and protect the health of individuals, families and communities in Goodhue County every single day!

 

Kinds of Work:
Under general supervision, performs paralegal functions related to the establishment and enforcement of child support orders for public assistance and non-public assistance clients; locates absent parents; interviews mothers and alleged fathers to establish paternity, explains rights and obligations and negotiates settlements; initiates necessary legal actions; works closely with the county attorney, judges, court administrators, child support magistrates, local attorneys, income maintenance and social service staff, employers, and a variety of other resource personnel; testifies in court proceedings; and maintains all necessary and legal documentation.

Examples of Work:

• Interviews mother and alleged father in paternity cases to explain related laws, responsibilities and rights and to secure acknowledgement of paternity.
• Arranges interviews and appointments for genetic testing of alleged fathers, mother and child to establish paternity.
• Locates absent parents through cooperative efforts with law enforcement agencies, Department of Human Services, the post office, employers, custodial parents, relatives and other information sources.
• Interviews parents to obtain case information, employment status and to determine their ability to pay child support.
• Initiates necessary legal action to establish a court order for support and/or reimbursement, or to enforce an existing court order.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Knowledge of interviewing techniques and skills.
• Knowledge of human behavior.
• Knowledge of agency programs, operations, policies and procedures.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with clients, public, co-workers and agency administration.
• Ability to organize and coordinate job activities.
• Ability to interpret legal documents, complex rules and manual materials.

Minimum Qualifications:

• An associate of arts in criminal justice, law enforcement, paralegal, social work, psychology, human services, or business administration or completion of a technical or community college child support AAS or diploma program or
• A high school diploma, or GED, AND one of the following:
• Two years of experience working in child support programs and having responsibility for carrying our part of child support collections (i.e. as a Support Enforcement Aide, Collections Officer) or experience in a government agency with responsibility for collection of fees or
• Three years of experience providing clerical or other support services to child support staff, or experience as a legal secretary or paralegal (performing research on cases, gathering necessary documents for trials, preparing documents and pleadings, assisting attorneys in court, etc) or
• Four years of experience in collections work in the private sector.
   

Rate of Pay:
Compensation: The pay range is $23.01/hour. Full time 40 hours/week. The County's comprehensive benefit package includes medical and dental insurance, health savings account, employer paid life insurance, short and long-term disability insurance, pre-tax flexible spending accounts, retirement plan, tax-deferred compensation, generous vacation and sick leave and 12 paid holidays per year. County employees are eligible for the Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.

 

Completion of a Minnesota Merit System application is required. Applications can be accessed and submitted online by clicking on "Apply" by 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 20, 2019

GOODHUE COUNTY HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES is an
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER