Child Support Specialist

CHILD SUPPORT SERVICES
Child Support Services (CSS) is an award-winning, forward-thinking agency of over 325 professionals, dedicated to helping parents financially support their children. The core mission is assisting parents in establishing paternity, establishing financial and medical child support orders, and facilitating the payment of that support through various means, including court action. Under the direction of the Department Director, CSS delivers human services to the community based on a balanced approach emphasizing Customers, Staff, Business Efficiencies, and Performance. CSS also works in close partnership with the Orange County Superior Court, California Department of Child Support Services, and other local child support agencies throughout California.

Click here for more information of Child Support Services.

Click here for more information on the County of Orange.

THE OPPORTUNITY 
The Child Support Specialist (CSS) provides a variety of child support services to parents with a primary focus to establish paternity, health insurance, and/or child support orders and assisting parents in the collection of child support obligations. This work is performed under general supervision, and duties include assisting customers in person and over the telephone on a variety of child support-related issues. CSS's work in a fast-paced customer service focused/high performing office environment. They will proactively reach out to customers to establish rapport and build customer relations. They will seek out information from customers about their circumstances, assess a variety of case scenarios and offer solutions to customers regarding child support. They will provide education and resources to customers while expressing a true desire to help families with their child support matters. Duties include verifying and requesting information that would assist with the establishment and/or enforcement of child support, updating case records based on information received or actions taken, providing face-to-face and over the-phone assistance to customers in a live environment, managing a child support caseload, and securing payments over the phone.

The CSS will be expected to:

• Engage daily with multiple customers in person or over the phone to discuss important and/or sensitive information that relates to establishing/enforcing court orders for paternity, child support, and/or health insurance 
• Build a trusted partnership and relationship with parents keeping in mind the goal of securing financial stability for children 
• Educate, inform and serve customers with empathy and compassion 
• Obtain through customer contact, information that will assist in helping parents successfully navigate the child support program and processes 
• Evaluate customers' ability to pay, and establish and/or modify child support obligations 
• Contact business/community partners and other jurisdictions to obtain pertinent case information 
• Respond to customer inquiries via telephone, email, mail, and in person in a timely manner 
• Multi-task and have the ability to pivot to a new short-term or long-term assignment on short notice  
• Perform holistic case assessment and apply independent judgment to determine and initiate the next appropriate case action 
• Review and update child support systems with accurate case information to ensure data reliability and compliance 
• Maintain integrity of confidential and sensitive case information  

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATION AND CORE COMPETENCIES
The ideal candidate will have two (2) years or more of experience providing customer service and/or responding to customer inquiries, in a fast-paced office work environment that demonstrates the candidate's ability to perform multiple tasks or access information from a variety of sources at the same time. In addition, the successful candidate will demonstrate the following core competencies as well as being respectful, ethical, and reliable.

Technical

• Utilize computers to access, enter, edit, and maintain case data along with generation of forms 
• Analyze facts and make decisions based on prescribed guidelines through problem solving, independent judgement, critical thinking skills, and holistic case assessments
• Understand and follow oral and written directions and apply them in a variety of situations  
• Securing cooperation from customers of varying socio-economic and educational backgrounds
• Maintain accurate and complete case records by preparing comprehensive summaries to document interviews, conversations, and/or action taken on a case
• Remain up to date with new child support guidelines, processes and laws to determine appropriate action and ensure accurate information is provided to customers

Customer Service

• Promote and practice a customer service delivery that is genuine, empathetic, compassionate & understanding
• Assess customer needs in a thoughtful manner to quickly ascertain facts and use sound judgment to identify the most applicable solution
• Empathize with customers based on their unique circumstances and challenges they face, including barriers to paying child support
• Deliver high-quality customer service in a calm, courteous and professional manner during all interactions with internal and external customers
• Demonstrate tact, empathy and patience when interacting with customers and discussing sensitive topics
• Communicate with customers frequently over the telephone and face to face on a variety of child support matters with emphasis on resolving customer issues on-the-spot
• Demonstrate the ability to multitask and work in a fast-paced and changing environment
• Identify and connect customers to community resources based on individual needs 
• Utilize emotional intelligence and a positive attitude when serving internal and external customers
• Demonstrate effective time management by prioritizing tasks, organizing resources efficiently and successfully meeting deadlines

Effective Communication

• Demonstrate effective use of listening skills, attentiveness, openness and understanding to the customers' needs
• Respond quickly, courteously, and proficiently to customer service requests
• Communicate clearly and concisely, both verbally and in writing while using appropriate grammar, punctuation, word use and spelling
• Build and maintain a professional, interactive and positive relationship with customers

Leadership & Initiative

• Be creative and innovative in serving customers
• Demonstrate initiative by proactively educating customers throughout the child support process
• Operate under high ethical standards to meet the organization's vision, mission and goals
• Practice a holistic approach to customer service, including face-to-face interactions and phone calls while maintaining an assigned caseload
• Maintain self-awareness when interacting with customers, peers, leaders and partners

Minimum Qualifications
Click here for the complete classification description for Child Support Specialist including minimum qualifications.  

Special Requirements
Selected candidates must pass a background investigation to the satisfaction of the Department of Child Support Services.

RECRUITMENT PROCESS
Human Resource Services (HRS) screens all application materials for minimum qualification and/or desirable qualifications.  After screening, applicants who meet the minimum and/or desirable qualifications will be referred to the next step in the recruitment process.  All applicants will be notified via email of their status in the process.  

Multiple Choice Exam (Weighted 100%)
A multiple-choice exam consisting of job-related questions will be administered in-person in a proctored setting. Only the highest scoring candidates will be placed on the eligible list. Applicants will be allowed to self-schedule for their exam date and time approximately one-week prior.  

Based on the Department's needs, the recruitment procedures listed above may be modified.  All candidates will be notified of any changes in the selection process.  

Eligible List
Once the assessment has been completed, HRS will establish an eligible list of candidates.  Candidates placed on the eligible list may be referred to a selection interview to be considered for present and future vacancies.  

Veterans Employment Preference
The County is committed to providing a mechanism to give preferential consideration in the employment process to veterans and their eligible spouses and will provide eligible participants the opportunity to receive interviews in the selection process for employment and paid internship openings. Please click here to review the policy.EMAIL NOTIFICATION: Email is the primary form of notification during the recruitment process. Please ensure your correct email address is included in our application and use only one email account. 

NOTE: User accounts are established for one person only and should not be shared with another person. Multiple applications with multiple users may jeopardize your status in the recruitment process for any positions for which you apply.

Candidates will be notified regarding their status as the recruitment proceeds via email through the GovernmentJobs.com site. Please check your email folders, including spam/junk folders, and/or accept emails ending with "governmentjobs.com" and "ocgov.com." If your email address should change, please update your profile at www.governmentjobs.com. 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Click here for additional Frequently Asked Questions.

For specific information pertaining to this recruitment, contact Jennifer Ramirez at jramirez@css.ocgov.com or (714) 347-8385. 

Salary : $61,318 - $76,190