How To Become A Child Support Officer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a child support officer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

A Child Support Officer is a person who evaluates child support cases for a court to recommend the amount of financial aid they need. Upon approval by the court, they monitor the payments to ensure enforcement and compliance with child support laws. Also, they initiate administrative action to enforce child support laws. As a Child Support Officer, you find absent parents, interview them about the case and collect information.

A Child Support Officer must be able to communicate effectively and conduct interviews. You'll have to have extensive knowledge on all things child support, including the laws, policies, procedures, etc. Entry-level positions typically only require a high school diploma. However, to build a career, you need at least a bachelor's degree in social welfare, psychology, or any related area. You must also have experience in social work. The job pays an average base salary of $36,439. The salary ranges from $31,713 to $41,434 a year.

ScoreChild Support OfficerUS Average

Salary

2.8

Avg. Salary $36,446

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.67%

Asian 2.83%

Black or African American 11.94%

Hispanic or Latino 17.03%

Unknown 5.00%

White 62.53%

Gender

female 66.43%

male 33.57%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.4

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.0

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a child support officer

Explore child support officer education requirements

Most common child support officer degrees

Bachelor's

60.4 %

Associate

15.9 %

Master's

9.6 %

Start to develop specific child support officer skills

Skills	Percentages
Child Support Cases	20.22%
Child Support Orders	9.33%
Paternity	8.33%
Court Orders	7.73%
Customer Service	7.39%

Complete relevant child support officer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New child support officers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a child support officer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real child support officer resumes.

Research child support officer duties and responsibilities

Answer eligibility and coverage questions from insurance agents pertaining to Medicare advantage plans and prescription drug plans.
Receive and review refer application to establish paternity and support obligations and enforce existing court orders for child support.
Perform investigations to locate non-custodial parents and their assets to initiate legal actions in establishing paternity, financial and medical support.
Prepare summons, subpoenas, and motions.

Prepare your child support officer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your child support officer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a child support officer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable child support officer resume templates

Build a professional child support officer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your child support officer resume.