The following counties currently have vacancies:

Mower County deadline to apply is 6/1/2023 (Promotional Posting)
Yellow Medicine deadline to apply is 6/13/2023

Merit System Job Summary: 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.

• Interviews mother and alleged father in paternity cases to explain related laws, responsibilities and rights and to secure acknowledgment 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 interstate/intrastate actions to establish orders or enforce existing child support orders from other jurisdictions in order to secure child support payments.
• Negotiates out of court child support related settlements for approval by appropriate authority.
• Initiates necessary legal action to establish a court order for support and/or reimbursement, or to enforce an existing court order.
• Selects and refers appropriate cases to the county attorney for legal action.
• Prepares legal documents for review and signature of the county attorney.
• Interviews witnesses for trial as necessary.
• Testifies in court on behalf of agency or client, prepares court documents, provides financial and current case status information.
• Gathers information, reviews finances and makes recommendations for the amount of child support to parents, attorneys and the court.
• Participates in modification of child support and appeals hearings.
• Processes cases to comply with court orders regarding income withholding, cost-of-living adjustments, liens and medical insurance provisions.
• Monitors billings and payments on accounts and contacts obligors to resolve delinquent payments expeditiously.
• Takes appropriate legal action to establish an order for medical support or to enforce an existing medical support order.
• Contacts clients who have received overpayment of public assistance money, sets up recovery payment plan and monitors compliance.
• Handles case correspondence and all necessary case maintenance.
• Retrieves, enters and changes information from paper and computer files (including use of the statewide child support and income maintenance computer systems) in order to obtain and correct case information, monitor case status and oversee the progress of enforcement actions.
• Responds to inquiries about the child support program from any inquiring party, including employers, attorneys and clients.
• Make referrals to other agencies such as social services, legal services, job service, etc., as appropriate.
• Provides data to supervisor regarding work processing/flow and problem cases.
• Implements program changes as mandated by the legislature and the Department of Human Services.
• May assist in the preliminary investigation of suspected fraud cases and preparation of those cases for fraud prosecution.

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 out part of child support collections (i.e., as a Support Enforcement Aide, Collections Officer), experience as an Eligibility Worker determining eligibility for public assistance programs, 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.

The examination will consist of a rating of training and experience based on the information you provide in your application and your responses to the supplemental questions included in the application process. You must read the questions carefully, answer truthfully, and include any experience claimed in your answers to the supplemental questions in the "work experience" section of your application. Any experience claimed in your answers to the supplemental questions but not included in the Work Experience section of you application will not be credited. You will be asked to verify your degree with official transcripts upon hire.

Once your application has been submitted changes cannot be made. If you have a change in location availability or your contact information changes please email dhs.merit.system@state.mn.us with the new information and include your applicant ID.