Child Support Specialist, Department of Child Support Services Series

California State Personnel Board Specification

Series established January 14, 2009

Scope

This series specification describes two classes which perform technical, analytical, and consultative tasks in order to resolve child support accounts in accordance with the provisions in statute, regulation, and policy governing child support enforcement programs.

Definition of Series

Incumbents in this series perform technical, analytical, and consultative work in the Department of Child Support Services. Incumbents perform collection activities to resolve child support arrearage accounts for those cases in which the automated systems� collection activities and processes have been unsuccessful; utilize various databases to assist them to locate noncustodial parents (NCP) and their assets; ensure collections are distributed to the appropriate county and custodial parent; evaluate payment arrangements and hardship recommendations to determine if they are appropriate; research and respond to questions and requests for policy clarification from local child support agencies (LCSAs), staff from welfare programs, and other state/federal programs; research and prepare response to public, legislative, and congressional inquiries; gather and analyze longitudinal data and statistical information provided by LCSAs, FTB, and other sources, and prepare reports discussing trends and make recommendations; perform central financial management work on both IV-D and non-IV-D cases and statewide collections of child support payments; assist in user development and maintenance of a statewide system for centralized payment processing; monitor and evaluate service provider contract provisions; evaluate and determine if operations, policies, and procedures are effective; make recommendations regarding operations enhancements regarding design, testing and conversion activities; research and develop automated system change requests; analyze interagency agreements and budget needs analysis; maintain and update system requirements, identifying enhancements and/or improvements; request statistics and reports to perform analysis for future business needs and forecasting; create and maintain spreadsheets, collecting and analyzing data to evaluate trends and report to management; work on policy development and evaluation and recommend policies and procedures to management; make recommendations regarding requirements, design, testing, and conversion of operational activities to be automated; write answers/decisions to staff account recommendations; and participate as a team member on various projects and statewide activities.

Factors Affecting Position Allocation

The variety, difficulty, and complexity of the work performed, independence of action; direction received; program and policy input role and implementation responsibilities; nature of contacts; and lead responsibility assigned.

Definition of Levels

Child Support Specialist, Department of Child Support Services

This is the recruiting, developmental, and first journey level in this series. Under supervision, work and maintain an inventory of manual child support collection/dishonored payments; locate, analyze, and validate NCP account information including all assets; write and submit case resolution summaries; document actions taken on accounts (e.g., skip tracing, phone contacts, and/or correspondence sent); review Child Support Technician, Department of Child Support Services, staff work and recommendations; research and resolve customer service financial inquiries; provide leadership and guidance by acting as a technical expert, reviewing the more complex work of Technicians within the team; recommend actions that may be taken to improve the quality of collection accounts and the timeliness of actions; assist in identifying the training and development needs of each member of the team; conduct formal and informal training; work with other leads to develop and maintain consistent guidelines for review and recommend improvements that will produce a more efficient flow of work within the program; represent the work unit at external and internal meetings; prepare reports discussing trends and make recommendations; and provide procedures to LCSA representatives regarding roles and responsibilities of LCSAs and State regarding nonsufficient fund (NSF) collections.

Senior Child Support Analyst, Department of Child Support Services

This is the advanced journey level in this series. Under general supervision, provide technical expertise to staff regarding child support debt collection issues; provide lead assistance to either Child Support Specialists, Department of Child Support Services, or Child Support Technicians, Department of Child Support Services; provide training to new staff, and ongoing training regarding the use of research tools for job effectiveness; work with other leads to develop and maintain consistent guidelines for review and recommend improvements that will produce a more efficient flow of work within the program; develop issue papers; prepare status reports and briefing documents and present oral briefings as requested; review completed staff work on child support accounts for resolution; recommend and document procedural guidelines; analyze and evaluate the more difficult issues which involve special handling and/or requests from LCSAs or other offices within the Department of Child Support Services; determine family violence concerns; coordinate inter-group activities and act as a liaison with other units; review and analyze documents for purposes of substantiation or rebuttal to staff recommendations; evaluate the progress of Specialist, Department of Child Support Services/Technician, Department of Child Support Services, and identify specific examples for input into the supervisor�s employee performance evaluations; review and resolve complex and sensitive compliance issues with county clients, debtors, and their representatives; analyze legislation and provide recommendations; provide direct customer service by responding to the more complex public inquiries and complaints escalated by the Service Provider Contractor (SP) customer service staff; delegate incoming services requests from Central Financial Workers-Local (CFW-Ls) to the Statewide Disbursement Unit (SDU) and escalated calls from Enterprise Customer Service Center (ECSS participates in, researches, and drafts such as SP and Business Partner (BP) contract change requests (CRs) and budget change proposal (BCP) analysis; develop interagency agreements and contracts and work cooperatively with other sections within the Department of Child Support Services, LCSAs, and other outside agencies; provide leadership and guidance to passport release program (PRP) staff; recommend actions that may be taken to accelerate the collection and compliance of each obligor not meeting criteria for passport release; request statistics/reports to perform analysis for future business needs and forecasting; maintain and update the Child Support Enforcement system (CSE) employer data file; provide oversight for the SP�s ongoing non-IV-D data gathering and data entry activities, including program evaluation and monitoring for compliance with contractual obligations; and serve as a subject-matter expert for SP non-IV-D data gathering/entry staff.

Minimum Qualifications

Child Support Specialist, Department of Child Support Services

Either I

Six months of experience in the California state service performing debt collection, child support collection or analysis, or related financial management duties equivalent to a Child Support Technician, Department of Child Support Services, Range B.

Or II

One year of experience in the California state service performing debt collection, child support information, or financial processing duties in a class equivalent in level to a Program Technician II.

Or III

Experience: One year of county child support caseload management and/or county child support fiscal/financial management experience that includes the collection, disbursement, and tracking of county child support accounting functions comparable in responsibility to a Child Support Technician, Department of Child Support Services, Range�B. and Education: Equivalent to completion of 60 semester or 90 quarter units of college, which must include at least one course each in basic accounting or Federal or State business or commercial law. Students who have completed at least 30 semester or 45 quarter units of college will be admitted to the examination, but must produce evidence of completion of the 60 or 90 units before they can be considered eligible for appointment. (Applicants must indicate the following regarding the required courses: title, number of units, name of institution, and completion date.) Additional experience may be substituted for the required general education on the basis of one year of experience being equal to 30 semester or 45-quarter units. No substitution is permitted for the specific course work required.

Or IV

Experience: One year of experience, or the equivalent, in one or a combination of the following:

1. Management activities, as owner or manager of a business, in the marketing, distribution, and sale of merchandise, which requires broad public or customer contacts. or

2. Activities as a credit manager, loan officer, or collector with responsibilities involving the approval of loans or credit or the collection of delinquent accounts. and Education: Equivalent to completion of 60 semester or 90 quarter units of college, which must include at least one course each in basic accounting or Federal or State business or commercial law. Students who have completed at least 30 semester or 45 quarter units of college will be admitted to the examination, but must produce evidence of completion of the 60 or 90 units before they can be considered eligible for appointment. (Applicants must indicate the following regarding the required courses: title, number of units, name of institution, and completion date.) Additional experience may be substituted for the required general education on the basis of one year of experience being equal to 30 semester or 45-quarter units. No substitution is permitted for the specific course work required.

Or V

Equivalent to graduation from college, which must include at least one course each in basic accounting or Federal or State business or commercial law; and one course in either economics, business administration, or public administration. (Registration as a senior in a recognized institution will admit applicants to the examination, but they must produce evidence of graduation or its equivalent before they can be considered eligible for appointment.) (Applicants must indicate the following regarding the required courses: title, number of units, name of institution, and completion date.)

Persons who will complete course work requirements outlined under Patterns III, IV, and V above during the current quarter or semester will be admitted to the examination, but they must produce evidence of successful completion of the curriculum and the prescribed courses before they may be considered eligible for appointment.

Senior Child Support Analyst, Department of Child Support Services

Either I

One year of experience in the California state service performing the duties equivalent to a Child Support Specialist, Department of Child Support Services, Range C.

Or II

One year of experience performing the duties of a Staff Services Analyst, Range C; or performing duties involving evaluating child support program situations/issues and developing recommendations on program planning and evaluation, analyzing child support legislation, and/or technology research or methods.

Or III

Experience: One year of county child support caseload management or collection and/or county child support fiscal/financial management experience that includes the collection, disbursement, and tracking of county child support accounting functions comparable in responsibility to a Child Support Specialist, Department of Child Support Services. and Education: Equivalent to completion of 60 semester or 90 quarter units of college, which must include at least one course each in basic accounting or Federal or State business or commercial law. Students who have completed at least 30 semester or 45 quarter units of college will be admitted to the examination, but must produce evidence of completion of the 60 or 90 units before they can be considered eligible for appointment. (Applicants must indicate the following regarding the required courses: title, number of units, name of institution, and completion date.) Additional experience may be substituted for the required general education on the basis of one year of experience being equal to 30 semester or 45-quarter units. No substitution is permitted for the specific course work required.

Persons who will complete course work requirements outlined above during the current quarter or semester will be admitted to the examination, but they must produce evidence of successful completion of the curriculum and the prescribed courses before they may be considered eligible for appointment.

Knowledge and Abilities

Child Support Specialist, Department of Child Support Services

Knowledge of: Basic accounting practices; types of business organizations; basic business practices and management; programs, policies and Federal and State laws governing DCSS; the functions, applications, or processes administered and performed by the department; effective and assertive interviewing techniques; compliance and enforcement techniques and procedures; and the information technology systems relevant to work, including automated and nonautomated databases and sources of information used to locate individuals and assets.

Ability to: Communicate effectively; reason logically and creatively and utilize a variety of analytical techniques to evaluate situations, resolve problems, and develop solutions; analyze child support case and account history and patterns of payments; link and unlink child support participants; exercise good judgment; provide excellent customer service using good communication skills; provide good resolutions to problems; prepare complete and concise reports; maintain confidentiality; utilize automated tools to communicate with customers; establish and maintain effective working relationships with others in a team environment.

Senior Child Support Analyst, Department of Child Support Services

Knowledge of: All of the above, and principles and practices of State administrative and legislative processes; functions and organization of various agencies involved in child support programs; child support case management knowledge; suspended collections knowledge; and methods to resolve suspended and misallocated child support collections.

Ability to: All of the above, and exercise independent judgment; utilize a variety of analytical techniques to resolve problems; apply program knowledge in analyzing, evaluating, and resolving complex problems; analyze data and present ideas and information effectively; consult, advise, and represent the Department on a wide variety of subject-matter areas; provide technical assistance to staff; train and develop staff; provide input to supervisors regarding staff performance.

Special Personal Characteristics

Both Levels:

Employees should have a demonstrated ability to act independently with initiative, flexibility, and tact; demonstrate the capacity for assertiveness, firmness, and discretion in communications with the public, while maintaining courtesy, and efficiency, and effectiveness.

Class History