Child Support Enforcement Investigator

Job Summary:

Performs a variety of tasks for the Child Support Enforcement office relating to establishment and enforcement of court orders for child support and medical support.

The duties and responsibilities in this Job Description are not a comprehensive list and Buchanan County reserves the right to assign, reassign or eliminate the duties and responsibilities of this job either orally or in writing. The scope of the job may be changed at any time due to reasonable accommodations or other reasons deemed appropriate by the County. This Job Description does not constitute an Employment Agreement between the employer and employee and is subject to change, according to the business needs of Buchanan County.

At the discretion of Buchanan County, a Background Check may be completed. Employment is contingent upon satisfactory completion of the Background Check. 

Passing of a drug screening required prior to appointment

Passing of a background check prior to appointment 

Buchanan County is an

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Establish Paternity 
• Conducts appropriate research through confidential investigations for location of absent parents, use of legal evidence from interviews and correspondence and by search of available computer databases
• Required to interpret and explain child support court orders
• Calculates financial adjustments, financial reports, and maintains payment records 
• Prepare the necessary paperwork for Prosecuting Attorney to initiate appropriate legal action
• Perform case reviews to take necessary enforcement actions 
• Handle administrative hearings on establishment, modification and enforcement issues
• Accurate entry of court orders in State wide database
• Contact with parents, witnesses, employers, social services agencies, other child support offices and government agencies as needed 
• Maintains accurate case file record 
• Demonstrates a positive attitude toward working with the public

Other Duties and Responsibilities:

• Operate office equipment. Including but not limited to: copy machine, computer, phone, and all other basic office equipment 
• May assist in the training and establishment of new employees, if needed 
• May need to travel for off-site training
• Perform all other duties as assigned

• Education/Experience:

  High School diploma required.  

  Education equivalent to graduation from a two-year college or university, required. 

  Any equivalent combination of related education and legal experience, preferred. 

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Must be able to work independently without supervision
• Must be able to demonstrate multi-cultural competence with awareness, knowledge, and the skills to work well with others who are different from self in a meaningful and productive way 
• Must have the ability to professionally handle large amounts of confidential personal and financial information
• Must work well under pressure when handling unusual and difficult cases
• Must be organized, able to multi-task and detail-oriented
• Must possess good spelling, grammar, communication and decision-making skills
• Must have the ability to read, comprehend, and utilize information obtained, applying it to data entry
• Some knowledge of legal terms, relevant laws, regulations, and criminal process guidelines, preferred
• Knowledge of court orders, child support payment distribution, financial statements, and budgeting, preferred 
• Must have excellent communication skills both written and oral for sensitive situations
• Knowledge of working with computer systems and standard software applications related to support work, including Microsoft Word and Excel  
• Must be able to type at least 50 wpm with 0 errors
• Must be able to lift up to 20 lbs

Working Environment/Physical Requirements:

The majority of work is performed in a professional office setting and is generally sedentary. Must possess vision to read printed materials and computer screen and to correspond via email. Must possess hearing and speech to communicate in person and over the telephone. Ability to operate a motor vehicle. Cognitive ability to understand and convey complex information is a must. 

Employee Behavior and Conduct:

County employees shall conduct themselves in a professional manner.    Employees should respect their colleagues, and extend courtesy to those with whom they come in contact both internally and externally during the performance of their job duties.