Job Description

Posting number: 937-39

Department: Lake of the Woods Social Services Department

Job classification: Child Support Officer

Posting type: Open

Categories: Social Services, Human Services

Summary

Applications are being accepted for the position of Child Support Officer in the Lake of the Woods County Social Services Department, Baudette, MN. This position 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.

Examples of duties

• 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.

Qualifications

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.

A candidate may substitute experience for education and education for experience in order to meet the qualifications.

Supplemental information

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.

Two applications are required:

1. On this Web site, apply for Job 937-OC
2. Submit a Lake of the Woods County application directly to Lake of the Woods County https://lotwcounty.gov/job-postings/

A detailed job description and Lake of the Woods County application can be obtained by contacting, Savanna Slick, Human Resources Director, Lake of the Woods County, 206 8th Ave. SE, Baudette, MN 56623, (218) 634-2430 or on the County website https://lotwcounty.gov/job-postings/

Applications must be postmarked or received no later than­ ­­­­­­­­December 2nd, 2026