The Hillsdale County Friend of the Court Office seeks a highly motivated, detailed orientated individual that has strong client relation skills to fulfill the role of Enforcement Officer.
The Hillsdale County Friend of the Court Office (FOC) is responsible for the enforcement of domestic relations orders of the 1st Judicial Circuit Court. Additionally, the FOC investigates parties and circumstances involved in domestic relations cases and makes recommendations to the Court regarding custody, parenting time and/or support. The Enforcement Officer is a key member of the FOC team in meeting these statutorily mandated duties. The primary duties of the Enforcement Officer, while managing in conjunction with a Financial Account Officer, a caseload of approximately eight hundred cases are:
- Meeting with all clients at the inception of a case to explain Friend of the Court procedures and help identify and facilitate areas of agreement relative to the terms of custody, parenting and support.
- Reviewing and approving as to form, initial and subsequent judgments of custody, parenting time and/or support.
- Facilitate parties’ interactions and draft stipulated domestic relations orders.
- Initiate and respond to Interstate Support actions under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA).
- Utilize the automated Michigan Child Support Enforcement System (MiCSES) to monitor and enforce support.
- Petition the Court to assist in the enforcement of delinquent payers of support and non- complying sources of income.
- Working independently, and in conjunction with the Friend of the Court, counsel with the individual parties of a case to enforce custody and parenting time provisions of a governing court order.
- Conduct home investigations and conference directly with the parties of individual cases to explain custody and parenting time parameters.
- Attempt to mitigate conflicts between parties through referral to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) processes or petition the Court directly for a hearing.
- Work, in conjunction with the Locate Specialist, to resolve difficult unknown location of case participants.
- Correspond and work with Law Enforcement, Prosecutors, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the Michigan Attorney General’s Office, the State and Federal Offices of Child Support and other governmental agencies in order to perform the above duties.
The position reports directly to the Supervising Enforcement Officer and, secondarily, to the Deputy Friend of the Court and the Friend of the Court Director. The position requires acumen in working with computers and the ability to independently formulate clear solutions to complex problems. The enforcement officer must demonstrate strong client relations skills as the officer works with individuals of diverse backgrounds often in high conflict relationships. These requirements can be demonstrated by:
- A High School Diploma and 3 years of relevant work experience in an office environment where strong client relationship skills are valued, or
- An Associates Degree or higher and one year of relevant work experience in an office environment where strong client relationship skills are valued.
The pay starts at $14.21 an hour and increases to $15.92 an hour after 90 days from the hire date. Additionally, Hillsdale County offers competitive benefits including paid Holidays, paid earned leave, paid sick time, Health Insurance Plans through Priority Health and a Defined Contribution Retirement Plan. The successful applicant must pass an extensive background investigation.
