Human Resource Services
Alameda Skyline

Child Support Attorney III

Recruitment #19-3152-01

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. Applications will only be accepted on-line.

Supplemental Questionnaire: A properly completed Supplemental Questionnaire must be submitted with each application. Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing. Applications will only be accepted on-line. Failure to submit the Application or Supplemental Questionnaire will result in disqualification.

DESCRIPTION

THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILD SUPPORT SERVICES (DCSS)
The Alameda County Department of Child Support Services believes that all parents should be fully engaged in supporting the wellbeing of their children. To meet this vision, the Department is committed to serving the children and families of Alameda County in ways that are innovative, responsive, efficient, compassionate and in tune with the rich diversity of our community. 

Our customers are mothers, fathers, caregivers, children, community partners and the residents of Alameda County. The Department’s core business is to encourage responsible parenting, family self-sufficiency and child wellbeing by locating parents, establishing paternity, obtaining and modifying support obligations and assisting with the collection of court ordered support. To carry out this mission, the Department employs approximately 188 dedicated and talented people who leverage their skills and passion for public service to meet customer needs.  By coordinating efforts and collaborating with community partners, the Department collects and distributes over $80 million to 33,000 families of Alameda County.

The Department’s culture and business operations are shaped by the following key principles contained in the strategic plan:

  • Family Focused: Partner with families to eliminate barriers to providing reliable child support to their children.
  • Dynamic Workforce: Attract, retain, and develop a highly skilled and engaged workforce.
  • Operational Excellence: Focus on the highest level of performance and efficiency in our service delivery.
  • Innovation: Meet the needs of families through creative solutions.
  • Collaboration: Partner with the community to create an ecosystem of support services.


THE POSITION

Child Support Attorney III is the full journey level class in the flexibly staffed Child Support Attorney Series. Incumbents are responsible for performing the full range of difficult litigation and other more challenging legal work in connection with the Child Support Program; providing legal advice and assistance related to child support program issues to departmental staff and other governmental agencies and the public and performs related work as required. 

The Department is located within the Hacienda Business Park in Pleasanton, CA and services the entire Alameda County area. Child Support Attorneys are required to appear at the Alameda County Superior Court—Hayward Hall of Justice on a regular basis for child support program related matters.  

IDEAL CANDIDATE
In addition to meeting the minimum qualifications stated below, the ideal candidate will be a motivated, self-starter with demonstrated expertise and knowledge of the law, regulations, codes and ordinances related to child support enforcement and the child support program, and will:

  • Display and promote high standards of ethical conduct and behaviors consistent with the agency and governmental standards;
  • Work cooperatively with others to accomplish objectives, build and maintain partnerships, leverage information, and achieve results;
  • Possess exceptional written, verbal and interpersonal communication skills, focused on conveying information clearly and in a manner that engages others and facilitates understanding;
  • Originate action to improve procedures and practices, identify improvement opportunities, generate ideas and implement solutions;
  • Develop and maintain effective relationships with individuals of diverse cultures and backgrounds, interpersonal styles, abilities, and motivations;
  • Demonstrate professionalism, understanding, courtesy, tact, and empathy;
  • Seek out ways to utilize and leverage technology to optimize performance;
  • Effectively manage time and resources to ensure work is completed efficiently;
  • Effectively explore alternatives and position to reach outcomes that gain the support and acceptance of others;
  • Obtain information, identify key issues, develop alternatives based on logical assumptions, facts, available resources, constraints, and organizational values when committing to long-range goals;
  • Understand and apply knowledge of, and promote compliance with, appropriate statutes, regulations, policies and procedures;
  • Seek, collect and synthesize information from a variety of stakeholders and sources in an objective, unbiased manner to reach a conclusion, goal or judgment; and
  • Keep pace with current developments and trends in areas of expertise related to the child support program.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

EITHER

The equivalent of one year of full-time satisfactory experience as a Child Support Attorney II in the Alameda County classified service.

OR

The equivalent of two years of full time experience as an attorney, preferably with experience in family law and current active membership and good standing with the State Bar of California.


License
:
Must possess and maintain a valid California Motor Vehicle Operator’s license. (Out of state valid motor Vehicle Operator’s license will be accepted during the application process.)

Special Requirements:

A thorough pre-employment background investigation, including fingerprinting will be conducted for 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.

Ability and willingness to travel to locations outside of the assigned office to perform necessary legal services or to participate in child support related activities.

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:
  • California civil and criminal codes related to child support.
  • Principles of civil, criminal, constitutional, and administrative law.
  • Trial and courtroom procedures and practices.
  • Administrative law procedures.
  • Legal research methods.
  • Rules of evidence.
  • Standard legal office practices and procedures.
  • Supervisory principles and practices.
  • Ethical and professional standards of conduct.
  • Negotiating techniques relative to child law, criminal law, and child support issues.
  • Current technology and trends in the profession.
  • Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).
Ability to:
  • Use with proficiency and efficiency a variety of proprietary and non-proprietary computer applications including Windows, MS Office, and those specifically related to the Child Support Program.
  • Communicate effectively and exercise a high degree of interpersonal sensitivity in interactions with others.
  • Research, analyze, and apply legal principles, facts, evidence, and precedents.
  • Prepare and present statements of fact, law, and argument clearly and logically orally and in writing.
  • Exercise appropriate judgement in answering questions and releasing information; analyze and project consequences of decisions and /or recommendations.
  • Analyze processes, procedures and policies and make recommendations to improve efficiency and performance.
  • Manage an assigned caseload and perform quality legal work under pressure of deadlines.
  • Provide prompt, efficient and responsive service.
  • Maintain confidentiality and objectivity.
  • Negotiate settlements.
  • Understand and analyze financial information pertinent to the calculation of child support and perform accurate mathematical calculations.
  • Understand and accept differences in human behavior, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds.
  • Prepare and maintain clear, concise, and comprehensive records, reports, and correspondence. 
  • Establish and maintain effective working relationships.

EXAMINATION COMPONENTS

The examination will consist of the following steps: 1) A review of candidates' applications to verify possession of minimum requirements. Those candidates who possess the minimum requirements for the class will move on to the next step in the examination process. 2) A review of candidates’ Supplemental Questionnaires to select the best qualified applicants to continue in the process. 3) An oral interview which will be weighted as 100% of the candidate's final examination score. The oral interview may contain situational exercises. 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 may 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:                                                                        5:00PM, Thursday, March 7, 2019
Review of Minimum Qualifications:                                                               Friday, March 22, 2019  
Review of SQ for Best Qualified:                                                                     Monday, April 1, 2019
Panel Interviews:                                                                 Thursday & Friday, April 18 & 19, 2019

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.

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 ensure 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.

Lindsay Christopher, Human Resources Analyst
Human Resource Services, County of Alameda
510-272-6393
Lindsay.christopher@acgov.org

Alameda County is an Equal Opportunity Employer