Human Resource Services
Alameda Skyline

Child Support Caseworker I

Recruitment #15-1401-01

Introduction

THIS IS A NEW ASSEMBLED EXAMINATION.  The eligible list resulting from this examination will cancel any existing list and may last approximately one year, but can be extended.  

Applications must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing.  Postmarks are not accepted.  Applications will only be accepted on-line.  

QUALIFIED BILINGUAL PERSONS WHO SPEAK ENGLISH AND ARE ALSO FLUENT IN SPANISH, CHINESE, VIETNAMESE, CAMBODIAN, LAOTIAN, KOREAN, MIEN, TAGALOG, AMHARIC, FARSI, DARI, TIGRIGNA, RUSSIAN, ROMANIAN OR SIGN LANGUAGE ARE ESPECIALLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY.  THERE IS AN ADDITIONAL BI WEEKLY COMPENSATION FOR PERSONS IN POSITIONS DESIGNATED BILINGUAL.  Qualified candidates may be tested to demonstrate language proficiency.  

 

 

DESCRIPTION

THE AGENCY

The Mission of the Alameda County Department of Child Support Services is to establish paternity, and medical and child support orders and to collect child and spousal support payments in an efficient and cost effective manner while maintaining the respect and dignity of the public we serve.

Any custodial or non-custodial party may request that the Alameda County Department of Child Support Services aid in collecting their court ordered support. Members of the public are eligible for services regardless of whether or not they are receiving public assistance. The Department maintains court calendars at the Hayward and Alameda Court locations.    

The Department has approximately 220 employees consisting of clerical support, call center support, paraprofessional, legal professional, technical, management and administrative staff.  The Department is organized into functional silos: Administration and IT, Court Support, Attorney Team, Pre Order Services, Post Order Services, Client Services, and Office Support.

The Department is located within the Hacienda Business Park (www.hacienda.org/) in Pleasanton, CA and services the entire Alameda County area.  

 

THE POSITION

Child Support Caseworkers, under close supervision at the lower level and general supervision at the higher level, perform a wide variety of child support duties; maintain a caseload; locate and interview custodial and non-custodial parents and others to elicit factual information for the purpose of establishing child support obligations and enforcing child support laws; arrange for support payments when possible and prepare cases for court hearings and attend hearings as necessary; and perform related work as required.  This is the trainee level class in the Child Support Caseworker series. Positions in this class learn child support laws, regulations and procedures, and acquire the skills to perform a broad range of child support casework activities. As incumbents acquire knowledge and skills, they carry out their assignments with greater independence. Incumbents are expected to promote to the full journey level of Child Support Caseworker II after one year of satisfactory performance at the I level.  

 

IDEAL CANDIDATE

In addition to meeting the minimum qualifications listed below, the ideal candidate will have demonstrated a successful track record as:

-Someone capable of self direction who possesses the ability to effectively manage one’s time and resources to ensure that work is completed in an efficient manner and on time.  

-A continuous learner with the capacity to quickly assimilate and apply new job-related information in a timely manner.

-Someone who stays focused and has ability to maintain stable performance while handling pressure/stress.

-An effective communicator who clearly conveys information and ideas and interacts with others by relating well to people from varied backgrounds and in different situations; and who exemplifies understanding, courtesy, tact, empathy, concern, and politeness.

-Someone who can identify problems and use logic, judgment and data to evaluate alternatives and recommend solutions.

-Someone who provides exceptional customer service to meet customers' and organization's needs. 

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

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 Pattern I
Experience:

Minimum of six months of full-time experience as a Child Support Assistant II, or in an equivalent or higher level class in the Alameda County classified service. (Non-classified includes District Attorney’s Office, Hospital Authority, and the Consolidated Courts.)

Or Pattern II
Experience:

Minimum of one year experience as a Call Center Representative, Lead Call Center Representative, or in an equivalent or higher level class in the Alameda County classified service. (Non-classified includes District Attorney’s Office, Hospital Authority, and the Consolidated Courts.)

Or Pattern III
Experience:

The equivalent of two years of full-time experience in clerical support work with responsibility for interviewing, document processing and follow up. (The equivalent of the completion of 90 quarter units or 60 semester units of college education may be substituted for one year of full-time experience.)

Special Requirements:

1. Type with speed and accuracy at no less than 40 net words per minute from clear copy.

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

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

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

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

The most suitably qualified candidates will possess the following competencies: 

Knowledge of:

-General principles of casework, child support establishment, enforcement and collection procedures.
-Federal and California laws and regulations pertaining to child support.
-Interviewing techniques.
-Information systems and use of desktop computers.
-Basic arithmetic to perform calculations and understand financial records.
-Customer service techniques.
-Office procedures and decorum.

Ability to:

-Research and analyze legal, financial, and other records sufficiently to obtain data needed to secure and enforce child support cases.
-Communicate effectively in writing (including spelling, vocabulary, sentence and paragraph structure).
-Communicate effectively in face-to-face interviews and over the telephone with persons from a wide variety of ethnic and social backgrounds in order to sufficiently explain a variety of case related information, including but not limited to legal processes, child support obligations and/or penalties for nonpayment of support.
-Elicit information from hostile and/or uncooperative individuals.
-Organize work and establish priorities according to departmental operating requirements.
-Make appropriate decisions regarding case management that adhere to policies and procedures.
-Effectively manage time to perform multiple tasks.
-Maintain work area, procedures and other information in an accurate, well organized manner.
-Work cooperatively with other staff, outside agencies and the public to maximize child support collections in accordance with established policies and procedures.
-Operate standard office equipment, including a desk top computer.

EXAMINATION COMPONENTS

The examination will consist of the following steps:

1. A review of candidates' applications to verify possession of minimum education and/or experience requirements.  Candidates who meet those minimum requirements will be invited to the HR Typing Lab for an on-site typing test in order to determine who meets the special requirements of this class (the ability to type a minimum of 40 net words per minute from clear copy).  2. A written examination will be weighted as 40% of the candidate's final examination score.  3. The combined oral examination/hiring interview, which may contain situational exercises, will be weighted as 60% of the candidate's final examination score. In addition to establishing an eligibility list, this examination process may serve as the final selection interview for vacancies in this classification

CANDIDATES MUST ATTAIN A QUALIFYING RATING ON EACH PORTION OF THIS EXAMINATION.

We reserve the right to make changes to the announced examination components.  

 

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 many be more broadly used for both current and future vacancies, or for other alternate jobs with comparable scopes of work.

To learn more about our recruitment and selection process, please visit the “What You Need to Know” section of our website, www.acgov.org/hrs.  

Selection Plan

Applicants will be informed via email with reasonable notice in advance of any examination process which will require their attendance.

The following dates are tentative and subject to change based on the needs of the Agency.   

 

TENTATIVE SELECTION PLAN

 

Deadline for Filing

Monday, August 3, 2015

Review of Minimum Qualifications

Monday, August 17, 2015

Typing Test

                 Wednesday & Thursday, September 2 & 3, 2015

Written Examination

Tuesday & Wednesday, September 22 & 23, 2015

Panel Interviews

                Tuesday thru Thursday, October 13 thru 15, 2015

 

Alameda County and the Human Resource Services Department will make reasonable efforts in the examination and/or selection process to accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities and/or medical conditions in accordance/compliance with the State Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Alameda County’s Reasonable Accommodation Policy and applicable statutes.  To request an accommodation due to a disability/medical condition during this or other phases of the examination/selection process, please contact the assigned Human Resources Representative listed on the job announcement before the last date of filing. Alameda County requires applicants to provide supporting documentation to substantiate a request for reasonable accommodation. In order to qualify for a reasonable accommodation, applicants must have a disability/medical condition pursuant to the ADA, FEHA and applicable statutes.  For more information regarding our Reasonable Accommodation procedures, please visit our website, www.acgov.org/hrs  

BENEFITS

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 & Welfare Benefits

  • Medical – HMO & PPO Insurance
  • Dental – PPO & DHMO Insurance  
  • Vision
  • Basic Life Insurance 
  • Supplemental Life Insurance (with optional dependent coverage) 
  • County Allowance
  • Health Flexible Spending Account
  • Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
  • Accident, Critical Illness & Hospital Indemnity
  • Long Term Care Insurance
  • Employee Assistance Program

For your Financial Future

  • Short-term Disability Insurance
  • Long-Term Disability Insurance
  • Retirement Plan – (Defined Benefit Pension Plan)
  • Deferred Compensation Plan

For your Work/Life Balance

  • 11 paid holidays
  • Vacation and sick leave accrual
  • Vacation purchase program
  • Management Paid Leave**
  • Group Auto/Home
  • 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
  • 1st 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.

** Non-exempt management employees are entitled to up to three days of management paid leave. Exempt management employees are entitled to up to seven days of management paid leave.

Conclusion

All notices related to County recruitments for which you have applied will be sent/delivered via email. Please add @acgov.org and alamedacountyHR@acgov.org 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 insure 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 alamedacountyHR@acgov.org are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box 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.  

 

Debra Robinsonl,  Human Resources Analyst III

Human Resource Services, County of Alameda

510-272-6437

Alameda County is an Equal Opportunity Employer