Introduction
The recertification process begins after a participant becomes fully certified.
Note: Full certification means a participant has successfully completed all functional area assessments, applied for full certification, and is receiving a monthly pay differential.
If a participant wants to remain fully certified and keep the monthly pay differential, they must successfully complete the following within the subsequent two years and apply for recertification.
- Twenty (20) credit service hours which must be completed prior to taking the recertification assessment, and
- Recertification assessments, which has 200 question that encompasses all four functional knowledge areas
Recertification Process
Service Hours
When the certification participant becomes fully certified they must within 2 years successfully complete 20 credit services hours. The DHS Recertification Service Credit Hour Documentation Form (03GN553E) must be completed and sent with your recertification application.
There are three types of service a participant can use to complete their service hours.
- Develop certification test questions with source at the annual certification summit
- Develop approved CSQuest articles
- Subject Matter Expert activities, such as presenting a course, attending a meeting as the SME, and training staff from another office as the SME.
You may also want to review Service Credit Hours & How to Obtain Them.
Recertification Assessment
The Recertification Assessment can be taken up to 6 months prior to your recertification date. Recertification Pre-assessments are encouraged to be used to pre-test your continued knowledge of the four knowledge areas.
Pre-assessments for recertification can be found on the LMS Dashboard under CSS Certification and Recertification Pre-Assessment Resources, Recertification Pre-assessments.
Important Study Note: To see a list of approved Consistent Excellence business process documents, go to Consistent Excellence Business Process Documents where you will find access to the actual CE documents which are found on the Center for Business Excellence and Customer Service page on the InfoNet.
Recertification Knowledge Areas:
- Establishment Knowledge Areas:
- Legal Status & Jurisdiction
- Legal Process
- Genetic Testing and Voluntary Acknowledgement
- General Establishment Procedures
- Child Support Guidelines Calculations
- Enforcement Knowledge Areas:
- General Enforcement
- Review and Adjustment
- Enforcement Case Evaluation
- Annual Notice
- Income Assignment
- FIDM and QDRO
- Lien on Real Property
- Bonds
- Passport Denial
- Bankruptcy
- Federal Tax Offset
- State Tax Offset
- Income Withholding
- Case Closure Criteria
- Intergovernmental Knowledge Areas:
- Code of Federal Regulations and CSENet
- UIFSA and Oklahoma Statutes
- Interstate Jurisdiction and Controlling Order
- General Interstate
- Finance Knowledge Areas:
- Reading an Order
- Unreimbursed Assistance
- Undistributed
- Allocations and Payments
- Arrears Computations
- Cash and Fixed Medical
- Overpayments
Preparing for Recertification
The 2023 Recertification Study Guide was developed for use by recertification candidates in the CSS Certification Program.
The Recertification Study Guide provides:
- Links to certification definitions and frequently asked questions and answers
- Links to pre-assessment practice tests for recertification assessments
- Links to training, policy and legal materials that should be reviewed which are sources for the questions to be asked.
Recertification Application
When you are ready to apply for recertification, there are three documents that must be sent to the Certification Program Manager.
- CSS Certification Program Monthly Differential and Recertification Application – DHS Form 03GN552E (PDF) – Please be sure to check Recertification in the Application Type and to check Recertification and continued differential $200 in the Monthly Differential and Recertification Pay Plan.
- CSS Certification Program Recertification Service Credit Hour Documentation Form (DHS Form 03GN553E) (includes instructions) – See link above in Service Hours. If you are unsure whether your activity qualifies, please contact the Certification Program Manager.
Note: To ensure that no monthly differential is missed, it is recommended your recertification application with all required attachments be sent at least 3 months in advance of your recertification date. The Program Manager needs at least 45 days to obtain all required signatures as well as to meet all human resources and payroll deadlines. If you have questions, contact the certification program manager.
To find out more about the CSS Certification Program, please review the CSS Certification CSQuest articles.