State of Maryland

A Support Enforcement Aide I is the full performance level of clerical support work to units of the Child Support Enforcement Operations in the Department of Human Services.  Employees in this classification are responsible for interviewing clients who are receiving or could potentially receive public assistance under the program of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.  Employees in this classification, through use of the interviewing process, obtain information pertinent to developing leads to identify and subsequently locate absent parents and by using available in-office resource material such as cross-referenced telephone directories, MTA records, etc., and using telephone and other communication with employers, relatives, landlords, and other knowledgeable persons for the purpose of establishing a positive location or present financial situation of the absent parent. Employees in this classification conduct investigations from the office and may involve interviewing of absent parents to establish or refer to a law enforcement agency to establish support obligations for dependent children.  Employees in this classification may also monitor payment records of parents under support obligations and to contact, for collection purposes, those parents not meeting their support obligations. Employees in this classification do not supervise other positions.

Employees in this classification receive general supervision from a higher-level Child Support Enforcement worker, lead worker or supervisor.  The employee exercises some independent judgment within established guidelines, rules and regulations and laws of the Department of Human Services.  Work is evaluated by a review of reports and conferences in terms of the quality, completeness, and timeliness with assignments are completed.

Positions in this classification are evaluated by using the classification job evaluation methodology.  The use of this method involves comparing the assigned duties and responsibilities of a position to the job criteria found in the Nature of Work and Examples of Work sections of the class specification.

The Support Enforcement Aide I is differentiated from the Support Enforcement Aide II in that the Support Enforcement Aide I performs the work under close supervision while the Support Enforcement Aide II performs the full range of duties and responsibilities under general supervision.

Interviews clients to obtain personal information on absent parents;

Completes various forms with information obtained in interviews;

Maintains files and sets up case records;

Researches files, cross-reference telephone directories and other informational sources in offices;

Contacts employers, landlords, attorneys and other knowledgeable parties by telephone or correspondence to obtain information on location and/or the financial situation of the absent parent;

Verifies location of absent parent by telephone or correspondence;

Contacts for collection purposes, parents under obligation to pay child support;

Maintains records and activity logs;

Monitors payment records of parents under obligation to pay child support;

Performs other related duties.

Knowledge of the principles of interviewing to obtain factual information;

Knowledge of modern investigative techniques and dunning practices;

Ability to communicate;

Ability to record information completely and accurately;

Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with clients, co-workers, and supervisors;

Ability to maintain confidentiality of case material.

Education:   Graduation from an accredited high school or possession of a high school equivalency certificate.

Experience: One year of experience interviewing persons to develop leads necessary for the identification and location of absent parents.

Class specifications are broad descriptions covering groups of positions used by various State departments and agencies. Position descriptions maintained by the using department or agency specifically address the essential job functions of each position.

This is a Skilled Service classification in the State Personnel Management System.  All positions in this classification are Skilled Service positions.  Some positions in Skilled Service classifications may be designated Special Appointment in accordance with the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 6-405, Annotated Code of Maryland.

This classification is assigned to Bargaining Unit B- Administrative, Technical and Clerical classes.  As provided by State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 3-102, special appointment, temporary, contractual, supervisory, managerial and confidential employees are excluded from collective bargaining.  Additionally, certain executive branch agencies are exempt from collective bargaining and all positions in those agencies are excluded from collective bargaining.

Employees in this classification are eligible to receive overtime compensation.  An employee who works more than the normal workweek is entitled to be compensated for that overtime as provided by State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 8-305.

This classification is one level in a Non-Competitive Promotion (NCP) series.  NCP promotions are promotions by which employees may advance in grade and class level from trainee to full performance levels in a classification series.  In order to be non-competitively promoted to the next level in a NCP series an employee must: 1) perform the main purpose of the class as defined in the Nature of Work section of the class specification; 2) receive the type of supervision defined in the class specification, and 3) meet the minimum qualifications of the classification.