Senior Enforcement Specialist

Under the supervision of the Enforcement Supervisor, serves as a team lead to the Child Support Enforcement Specialist position answering questions, providing direction, and conducting training.   Performs all functions of a Child Support Enforcement Specialist position as needed.

 Assists in ensuring compliance with court orders pertaining to child support, medical support, child care, and spousal support.   Conducts pre-show cause conferences and prepares Support Enforcement Orders in an effort to resolve support issues.   Reviews appropriateness of seeking a bench warrant when a payer fails to appear for a show cause hearing as well as when a payer fails to comply with a Support Enforcement Order.  Enforces health care coverage and responds to requests for medical reimbursement. 

1.  Serves as a team lead to the Child Support Enforcement Specialist position, which may include intergovernmental specialty duties.

 Answers questions, provides direction, and conducts team meetings.   Develops and conducts training for the Child Support Enforcement Specialist position.  Assists the Enforcement Supervisor in monitoring workflow to ensure timelines are met.  Issues that the Child Support Enforcement Specialists are unable to resolve are escalated to the Senior Enforcement Specialist for resolution.    

2.  Intercedes with difficult clients in person or by telephone and attempts to prevent and resolve issues.

3.  Conducts pre-show cause hearing conferences in an effort to enforce court orders pertaining to child support, medical support, child care, and spousal support.

  This entails conducting an ability to pay analysis and preparing Support Enforcement Orders based upon agreements reached during the conference.  Orders may include provisions for a specific payment plan, referring the matter for a support review, waiving arrears, waiving of fees, as well as adjourning or dismissing the hearing.  

4.  Conducts pre-bond hearing conferences in an effort to resolve pending bond money.   Prepares Support Enforcement Orders based upon agreements reached during the conference.  

5.  Prepares the list of cases set for compliance hearings to the Child Support Enforcement Specialists.

 Reviews the files set for compliance hearings in advance to ensure they are appropriately prepared.  Attends the compliance hearings to assist the Referee, provides any testimony as needed, and enters any updates into MiCSES.

6.  Reviews cases when a payer fails to appear for a show cause or compliance hearing as well as when a payer fails to comply with the terms of a Support Enforcement Order to determine whether seeking a bench warrant is appropriate.  Conducts an in-depth analysis reviewing areas such as proper service, payments or lack thereof, and locate work to determine ability to pay and/or employment.   

7.  Maintains enforcement statistical information necessary to comply with local, state, and federal reporting, including the Office of the Friend of the Court Statistical Report submitted annually to the State Court Administrative Office.  

8.  Interprets, investigates, and enforces court orders regarding medical coverage and reimbursement of uninsured medical expenses.

 Receives, reviews, and processes National Medical Support Notices from employers and addresses any areas of concern identified by the Office of Child Support.  Processes requests for uninsured medical expenses from clients, including reviewing all attached receipts and bills to ensure the requested amount is accurate and in compliance with the court order.  Monitors throughout the objection process.  

9.  Reviews and processes requests for abatements due to a child residing full-time with the payer of support or due to payer's incapacitation.

 If appropriate, prepares and files Notice of Abatement of Child Support.   Reviews and processes objections pertaining to abatements due to incapacitation or incarceration.  Routes the objection to the legal department for a Referee hearing, maintains the abate chain in MiCSES accordingly, and issues a Notice Following Abatement, as needed.

10. Prepares stipulations and proposed orders pertaining to the waiving of arrears, waiving of fees, and modifying health care coverage requirements.  This requires reviewing the current order, analyzing the balances on the account, and reviewing for any history of family violence.  

11. Reviews and processes requests for child support reviews from clients and Child Support Enforcement Specialists.

 Requests for support reviews are analyzed to determine if they meet the statutory criteria to be routed to the Investigations Department.  

12. Reviews and researches any necessary employer updates within MiCSES.  Completes and submits the Request for New Entry, Merge or Modification of Other Party Information (OTHP) to the Office of Child Support, as appropriate.   

13. Reviews bankruptcy filings to determine type and impact on enforcement in compliance with bankruptcy code.   

14. Reviews cases marked as exempt from enforcement within MiCSES to determine if the exception should remain in place.  This entails reviewing the reason for the exemption and researching if conditions have changed that would warrant removing the exemption.  

15. Monitors cases in which spousal support is the only or primary remaining debt type in an effort to ensure compliance with ordered payments.  Serves in a similar capacity as a Child Support Enforcement Specialist in this regard, which includes implementing various enforcement methods, being the first point of contact for clients and employers, as well as reviewing any relevant incoming documents.  

16. Prepares cases for the Attorney/Supervisor of Investigations and/or the Assistant Friend of the Court to pursue enforcement via Tribal Court as needed to obtain an order that will provide enforcement and collection of support by garnishing the payer's tribal benefits and/or from employee wages earned from employment with a tribal entity.  Also prepares voluntary agreements with payers to set up garnishment with a tribal entity.      

17. Reviews and determines the appropriateness of implementing complex or non-routine enforcement measures including but not limited to license suspension, referral to a Court Services Officer for consideration of a felony action, credit reporting, as well as referral to Office of Child Support for consideration of placing a lien on a payer's bank account or possible garnishment from an insurance claim.

 Reviews the insurance levy report provided by the Office of Child Support Central Operations for any other enforcement remedy opportunities.  Also, prepares and implements the relevant orders and paperwork as it pertains to the reinstatement of licenses after a payer has complied with the court order.   

18. May testify in Court on matters relating to payment history, past enforcement efforts or other issues relating to a case.

19. Initiates contact with clients, employers, or insurance carriers to obtain information and ensure compliance with court orders.

 Initiates contact with local, county, state, and federal offices regarding matters relating to delinquent support cases.  Initiates contact on intergovernmental matters via the Child Support Enforcement Network and the Electronic Document Exchange systems.  

20. Performs all of the essential job functions as listed for the Child Support Enforcement Specialist position in a backup capacity due to absences or vacancies.

  Performs backup for the Bench Warrant Clerk position to recall bench warrants from LEIN, as needed.  Performs routine coverage for other Senior Enforcement Specialists due to absences or vacancies.

21. Consults with the Attorney/Supervisor of Investigations, the Assistant Friend of the Court, as well as the Referees regarding legal issues and interpretation of court orders. 

22. Participates with formulating policy and procedure changes to enhance enforcement efforts.

23. Attends various trainings as required by Ingham County Circuit Court, Friend of the Court, Office of Child Support, or State Court Administrative Office.  Complies with any continuing education requirements as well as ensures adherence with any developments or changes within the field.   

24. Must adhere to strict Office of Child Support and IRS rules of confidentiality.  

25. May assist in conducting community outreach as requested.

26. Performs other duties as assigned.

Other Functions:

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned this classification. They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of the job duties performed by personnel so classified.

Education: Two or more years of college level coursework in the human services, business, legal studies or related areas.  Bachelor's Degree preferred.

Experience:  Three to five years of experience in a capacity providing familiarity with family law and the legal system, accounting, domestic relations or a closely related area.  Friend of the Court experience is preferred.

Other Requirements: None listed.

The qualifications listed above are intended to represent the minimum skills and experience levels associated with performing the duties and responsibilities contained in this job description.  The qualifications should not be viewed as expressing absolute employment or promotional standards, but as general guidelines that should be considered along with other job-related selection or promotional criteria.

Working Conditions:

• Works in an office setting.

• Exposure to clients in various emotional states who may be verbally abusive, hostile, or prone to assault.

Physical Requirements:

Ability to access department files.

Ability to enter and retrieve information from computer systems.

• Ability to lift and carry folders and files.

• Ability to access all areas of the office and the court.

This job requires the ability to perform the essential functions contained in this description.  These include, but are not limited to, the following requirements.   Reasonable accommodations will be made for otherwise qualified applicants unable to fulfill one or more of these requirements.

2023

ICEA Court Pro 8