Program Specialist VI (Children's Courts Liaison)

About the role

The Office of Court Administration (OCA) is a unique state agency in the Judicial Branch that operates under the direction and supervision of the Supreme Court of Texas and the Chief Justice. Our mission is to provide resources and information for the efficient administration of the Judicial Branch of Texas. To learn more about the OCA, visit our website.

Responsibilities

• Assists with administration of the OCAs Childrens Courts Program.
• Facilitates communication and collaboration among agency staff, Regional Presiding Judges, program staff, and various partner agencies and organizations.
• Coordinates with Regional Presiding Judges and other OCA divisions on the offboarding and onboarding of judges and staff.
• Develops and implements training events for Childrens Courts staff sponsored by OCA or done in partnership with the Texas Center for the Judiciary and the Supreme Courts Permanent Judicial Commission for Children, Youth, and Families (Childrens Commission).
• Plans, develops, and facilitates program staff training, including identifying training topics for CPC judges and coordinators in collaboration with the Texas Center for the Judiciary and the Childrens Commission, coordinating with the State Bar of Texas for continuing legal education credits, booking speakers, and preparing training and operations manuals.
• Serves as hands-on liaison between the Regional Presiding Judges and local agency staff to coordinate timely processing of employee performance evaluations, including leading the online performance survey procedure, and other administrative functions.
• Conducts analysis of court caseloads and provides relevant recommendations including docket changes, realignment of existing courts, and the creation and implementation of new courts.
• Collects, analyzes, and reports on quantitative and qualitative performance data to inform program decisions.
• Ensures timely and accurate performance measures reporting and makes recommendations to improve reporting methodology and submission procedure.
• Attends the monthly and annual meetings of the Board of Regional Judges and Conference of Regional Presiding Judges to provide program updates and present on various program initiatives.
• Develops and updates program policies and procedures for the presiding judge reference manual.
• Represents OCA and the Childrens Courts at business meetings, stakeholder meetings, conferences and seminars, on various boards, panels, commissions, task forces, and committees related to Childrens Courts.
• Conducts on-site reviews of Childrens Courts and prepares reports detailing findings and recommendations for best practices.
• Evaluates program resource needs and monitors efficient distribution of program resources.
• Provides guidance and technical assistance to the CPCs and CSCs, and other specialty court programs.
• Serves as the point of contact for the Childrens Courts case management system.
• Works closely with the Information Services (IS) Division to facilitate the use of the case management system for the Childrens Courts.
• Manages and processes travel and other expenditure requests; ensures program budget compliance; facilitates budget adjustments; and oversees compliance with training expenditures.
• Manages and processes contracts and claims for visiting associate judges.
• Affords assistance to CPCs and CSCs with local and statewide stakeholder collaboration.
• Makes monitoring of proposed legislation related to child welfare, child support, and family law during legislative session.
• Affords assistance with legislative matters pertaining to child abuse and neglect and child support issues.
• Prepares detailed and comprehensive reports and memoranda.

Qualifications

• Graduation from an accredited college or university with major course work in business administration, court administration, public administration, or related field; may substitute closely related experience for the required education on a year-for-year basis;
• Three years of experience in program support, program management or program administration.