Requisition No: 830654 

Agency: Children and Families

Working Title: ACCOUNTANT I-LW - 60060435

 Pay Plan: Career Service

Position Number: 60060435 

Salary:  TBD, in accordance with DCF salary policy 

Posting Closing Date: 06/18/2024 

Total Compensation Estimator Tool

INTERNAL AGENCY

Accountant I

Department of Children and Families

  THIS IS A STATEWIDE VACANCY – POSITION LOCATION WILL BE DETERMINED BY SELECTED CANDIDATE LOCATION

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 public 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 public assistance fraud or misuse regarding the SNAP (Food Assistance), TANF (Cash Assistance), and Medicaid programs by individuals or merchants.

TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THIS POSITION RESPONSES TO THE QUALIFYING QUESTIONS ARE REQUIRED AND MUST BE VERIFIABLE BASED ON YOUR SUBMITTED APPLICATION.

*The requested information must be disclosed on the State of Florida Candidate Profile. It is not acceptable to write "see resume" on the Candidate Profile (application). *

Applicants must meet the minimum requirements to be hired for this position.

ACCOUNTANT I – POSITION # 60053568 - ESS OPBI Benefit Recovery Program

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

• Must be a current DCF employee
• A minimum of one year (12 months) of account experience

PREFERENCE WILL BE GIVEN TO CANDIDATES WITH THE FOLLOWING:

• Experience in DCF Economic Self-Sufficiency determining eligibility for public assistance benefits.

ACCOUNTANT I

This is a professional position within the Benefit Recovery Program.

The position is classified as Career Service, working 40 hours per week, Monday-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 providing support in the recovery of funds lost due to waste, fraud, or abuse. This position is qualified to be exempt from public record. 

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.

JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITES

This is a professional postion in the Benefit Recovery (BR) Program of the Office of Public Benefits Integrity (OPBI) located within the Economic Self Sufficiency (ESS) Program. The individual in this position must have detailed knowledge of the application of accounting techniques to a variety of fiscal transactions related to the receipt and posting, reporting and analyzing, as well as continued maintenance of accounts receivable for the BR program to include Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF),  Refugee Assistance, Food Assistance (FA), and other programs.  The person occupying this position works to ensure the BR Program is administered in conformity with federal, state and regional policies. Assigned duties include, but are not limited to the following:

• Researches and prepares accounting entries for reconciliation of accounts, posts accounting entries in the appropriate system to reflect miscellaneous payments, refunds, and a variety of other accounting functions. Complete accounting reports and other BR reports as needed (which may include the Treasury Offset Program [TOP] and Collections reports using SQL). Receives, processes, and forwards payments to the contractor, Office of Revenue Management (ORM), or other entities in accordance with internal security procedures established by ORM.
• Assists with TOP related phone calls, correspondences, and inquiries.
• Prepare and process Payroll Deduction agreements for newly hired State employees on a monthly basis.
• Other related duties as assigned which include but is not limited to:  Responding to inquiries from clients and other Department personnel in regard to client accounts. Works closely with Headquarters, other BR Units, and the collections contractor to accomplish the objectives of the program. Attends training, workshops, unit meetings, staff meetings, and conferences.
• Maintains a centralized filing system for accounting and TOP on the dedicated server to electronically store reports used to perform job related functions ensuring all files are readily accessible to other personnel.
• Process all required documents for BR Return Mail on the ACCESS Document Imaging(ADI) system. Acts as back up for the Fraud Waiver and Agreements work group in ADI as needed.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• Experience with Microsoft Windows Operating System (Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat Professional),
• Accounting principles, practices and procedures,
• Methods of data collection,
• Prepare financial statements and reports,
• Design and implement accounting systems,
• Prepare and maintain a variety of accounting records,
• Analyze and interpret accounting data,
• Understand and apply applicable rules, regulations, policies and procedures relating to an accounting program, plan, organize and coordinate work assignments, communicate.
• Effectively, establish and maintain effective working relationships with others, utilize problem-solving techniques.

TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THIS POSITION RESPONSES TO THE QUALIFYING QUESTIONS ARE REQUIRED AND MUST BE VERIFIABLE BASED ON YOUR SUBMITTED APPLICATION/ CANDIDATE PROFILE AND RESUME. 

**It is unacceptable to use the statement “See Resume” in place of entering work history information. **

Candidate Profile (application) must be completed in its entirety.

• Include supervisor names and phone numbers for all periods of employment.
• Account for and explain any gaps in employment so that the hiring process is not delayed.
• Experience, education, training, knowledge, skills and/or abilities as well as responses to pre-qualifying questions must be verifiable to meet the minimum qualifications. 
• It is unacceptable to use the statement “See Resume” in place of entering work history.

 
DCF EMPLOYMENT DISCLOSURES

The Department of Children and Families is a tobacco-free environment.

US CITIZEN REQUIREMENT Only US citizens and lawfully authorized alien workers will be hired.
SELECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEM REGISTRATION All selected male candidates born on or after October 1, 1962, will not be eligible for hire or promotion into an authorized position unless they are registered with the Selective Service System (SSS).  Verification of Selective Service registration will be conducted prior to hire.  For more information, please visit the SSS website: http://www.sss.gov.
RETIREE NOTICE If you are a retiree of the Florida Retirement System (FRS), please check with the FRS on how your current benefits will be affected if you are re-employed with the State of Florida. Your current retirement benefits may be suspended or voided, and you required to repay all benefits received depending upon the date of your retirement.

BACKGROUND SCREENING It is the policy of the Florida Department of Children and Families that any applicant being considered for employment must successfully complete a State and National criminal history check as a condition of employment before beginning employment, and, if applicable, also be screened in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 435, F.S., and Chapter 408, F.S.  No applicant may begin employment until the background screening results are received, reviewed for any disqualifying offenses, and approved by the Agency.  Background screening shall include, but not be limited to, fingerprinting for State and Federal criminal records checks through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and may include local criminal history checks through local law enforcement agencies.
BENEFIT RECOVERY SCREENING Candidates applying to positions in the Economic Self-Sufficiency Program may have a Benefit Recovery check completed to validate current or former public assistance case information before completing the hiring process.

 If you experience problems applying online, please call the People First Service Center at (877) 562-7287.

The State of Florida is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action Employer, and does not tolerate discrimination or violence in the workplace.

Candidates requiring a reasonable accommodation, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, must notify the agency hiring authority and/or People First Service Center (1-866-663-4735). Notification to the hiring authority must be made in advance to allow sufficient time to provide the accommodation.

The State of Florida supports a Drug-Free workplace. All employees are subject to reasonable suspicion drug testing in accordance with Section 112.0455, F.S., Drug-Free Workplace Act.

VETERANS’ PREFERENCE.  Pursuant to Chapter 295, Florida Statutes, candidates eligible for Veterans’ Preference will receive preference in employment for Career Service vacancies and are encouraged to apply.  Certain service members may be eligible to receive waivers for postsecondary educational requirements.  Candidates claiming Veterans’ Preference must attach supporting documentation with each submission that includes character of service (for example, DD Form 214 Member Copy #4) along with any other documentation as required by Rule 55A-7, Florida Administrative Code.  Veterans’ Preference documentation requirements are available by clicking here.  All documentation is due by the close of the vacancy announcement.