INVESTIGATION SPECIALIST II - 60025069

State of Florida•Tallahassee, FL

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) is the state of Florida’s social services agency. The agency oversees services for child safety, fostering, adoption, domestic violence, adult protective services, refugees, homelessness, mental health, substance abuse, childcare providers, human trafficking and government assistance. The agency’s mission is to work in partnership with local communities to protect the vulnerable, promote strong and economically self-sufficient families, and advance personal and family recovery and resiliency. Within DCF, the Economic Self Sufficiency (ESS) Program helps to promote strong and economically self-sufficient communities by determining eligibility for food, cash and medical assistance for individuals and families on the road to economic recovery. Under the ESS Program, the Office of Public Benefits Integrity (OPBI) is responsible for investigating government assistance fraud or misuse regarding the SNAP (Food Assistance), D-SNAP (Disaster Food Assistance), TANF (Cash Assistance), and Medicaid programs by individuals or merchants. INVESTIGATION SPECIALIST II – ESS OFFICE OF PUBLIC BENEFITS INTEGRITY – BENEFIT RECOVERY THIS IS NOT A TELEWORK POSITION. The selected candidate will be required to work at the closest available office location. This position is a statewide vacancy and the position’s location will be determined by the selected candidate’s location. Some travel may be required. This is a full-time position working 40 hours per week. Business hours are 8:00 am - 5:00 pm EST, Monday - Friday. The incumbent is a member of the DCF D-SNAP Disaster Response team and, in that capacity, may be required on short notice to perform duties and travel in support of disaster relief. During such events, incumbent may be required to work more than 8 hours per day. This is a team lead Investigator position that reports directly to the Benefit Recovery (BR) Supervisor. It is classified as a Career Service position, working 40 hours per week, Monday through Friday. Travel and use of your personal vehicle may be required. The incumbent will ensure the job duties and responsibilities are completed in a timely manner and with a high accuracy rate. It is important for the applicant to display a professional attitude and strong work ethic. Duties include assisting in fraud investigations and provides support in the recovery of funds lost due to waste, fraud, or abuse. Incumbent is qualified to have specified personal information exempt from public record inspection per Florida Statute. Incumbent is a member of the DCF D-SNAP Disaster Response team and, in that capacity, may be required on short notice to perform duties and travel in support of disaster relief. During such events, incumbent may be required to work more than 8 hours a day.

Requirements

Must be a current Investigator with the Office of Public Benefits Integrity
Two years of Economic Self Sufficiency experience determining eligibility for government assistance programs (Temporary Cash Assistance, Food Assistance, Medicaid and Refugee Assistance)
Two years of Office of Public Benefits Integrity experience
Must have a valid State-issued Driver’s License and access to reliable transportation
A willingness to travel extensively, including overnight travel
Knowledge of government assistance program objectives and policies
Problem-solving techniques
Training principles and practices
Goal setting techniques
Arithmetic
Skill in operating a personal computer
Ability to conduct fact-finding interviews
Accurately prepare and maintain records and reports
Work with a diverse range of people; adapt to change
Deal calmly and effectively in high stress situations
Compose documents or correspondence involving technical information
Complex arithmetic operations
Interpret and apply regulatory materials
Prioritize and meet deadlines
Establish and maintain effective working relationships
Communicate effectively orally
Apply ethical business practices.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with State Attorney overpayment claims
Experience with problem-solving techniques within a work group
Three (3) or more years working in the Office of Public Benefits Integrity as an Investigation Specialist I (previously Economic Self Sufficiency II) or higher-level position

Responsibilities

Performs quality management system reviews as assigned.
Reviews case reading errors with the staff; ensures corrections are completed accurately and timely.
Reviews and analyzes data from all monitoring sources and provides training in the areas in which problems are identified.
Conducts mentoring sessions with staff to support performance improvement.
Assists the supervisor in handling and resolving internal and external customer inquires and complaints.
Provides policy interpretations as requested or assigned.
Follows established office procedures which may include updating and maintaining tracking mechanisms
Timely investigates referrals for potential overpayment(s) as a result of fraud, inadvertent household error or agency error.
Analyzes cases and investigative findings by using specific program policies and procedures to determine who is responsible/liable and reason for the overpayment.
Accurately establishes overpayment claims and the dollar amount of overpayments eligible for recoupment, based on current and past Federal and State laws and Public Assistance policies.
Completes referral reviews and claims in accordance with current program requirements.
Takes timely and appropriate corrective action on identified errors through the Quality Management System, management evaluation reviews, and quality control reviews.
Reviews existing information when available, initiates telephone contacts when necessary to validate information or respond to customer inquiries.
Answers general telephone inquiries and exchanges information with other agencies and Department staff.
Assists customers and providers with questions or concerns pertaining to overpayments.
Represents the Department in Fair Hearings or State Attorney cases as assigned.
Attends and participates in supervisory conferences, meetings, trainings, work groups and quality initiatives, as appropriate. Is the acting Supervisor when the Supervisor is unavailable.
Completes other related duties as assigned.