The road to the State Attorney’s Office Child Support Program is different for everyone. But for Dr. Scotty Izevbigie, the road began in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. He was born into a very large family and has 22 siblings. The importance of education and social responsibility was instilled in all of them from a very young age. “As a child I was ambitious. My father had a PhD and was in politics and
held many government positions. My mother was a high school principal. We were all expected to do well in school and pursue higher education.”

He attended the University of Benin in Benin City, Nigeria and graduated with a Bachelor of science in Zoology with a concentration in parasitology. This led to his work as a histologist in the lab at the Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital, Kano, Nigeria.

In 1997 His father sent him to continue his studies in the United States. Expecting to stay in the sciences, Izevbigie enrolled in the National School of Technology and earned his diploma as a medical assistant. He enjoyed his internship at a doctor’s office. Then he got his first job in the US at Quest Diagnostics being a phlebotomist. “I was assigned to go to patients’ houses to draw their blood.
The only issue is that they sent me to Hialeah. I spoke no Spanish, and the patients didn’t speak English. I only lasted a week,” he laughs. Fortunately, he had a side job as a security guard. So then on his days off he went looking for work. “I was married, and my wife and I wanted to have a family, so I needed a stable job with benefits.”

One day he went to the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to apply for a job and then he went to the building where he worked as security which was close by. “One of the people that worked there let me know that there was going to be a job fair in about two hours and that I should go. So, I attended the job fair. I approached the State Attorney’s Office (SAO) table and Richard Clifford from Human Resources was there. He spoke about the work the office did and I found it so engaging! I was fascinated and took application and completed it right then and there. I even had copies of my degrees with me, and I handed him all the paperwork that same day. After going through the background check that lasted about a month, I was hired. My first day was January 4th, 1999, and my first daughter was born January 7, 1999.”

Izevbigie began as a case analyst in the defunct Seals Unit and is now, 27 years later, Administrator III overseeing the Payment Processing and Fund Distribution (PPFD), Court Order Processing (COP), and the Legal Court Secretary (LCS) Units of Child Support program. Under his leadership, the Miami Dade CSP consistently led the state in the resolution of payment exceptions and remittance and
distributions issues.

Among his duties are:

• Supervising; motivating; planning; and coordinating the activities of three Supervisors and thirty-nine support staff members. These staff are responsible for auditing cases, handling financial issues and troubleshooting payments on child support cases, the updating of court orders to the system for enforcement activities, and handling of post court activities as prescribed by the court, and preparing court orders for the attorney’s, general magistrates, and judges to sign.

• Evaluating current operational systems and procedures for efficiency

• Recommending and implementing changes to improve the overall success of the Child Support Program.

Izevbigie believes in the mission and vision of the Child Support Program and how State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle makes this a priority as it provides children the financial support they deserve while hopefully deterring youth from becoming involved in the criminal justice system.

“I always believe that when you bring a child into the world you should be responsible for that child. If you have problems with your partner the children should not be affected,” he explains. “All of these children’s lives would be very different if the CSP program did not exist and if we were not doing our jobs. We represent the interest of the children. We are fair and help the non-custodial parent as much
as we do the custodial parent to meet their legal responsibility. What we do is a service to humanity, and I believe that I am making a difference with what I do.”

“The gifts that Dr. Izevbigie’ s parents passed on to him, a gift of determination, a gift of focus and drive, a gift of believing in in the power of education, these are gifts that Scotty has not only passed on to his daughters but are also gifts that have helped so many of the children of Miami-Dade County have the chance of a better life,” said State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. “All who meet and work with Dr. Izevbigie are charmed by his manner and inevitably impressed by his skills. We, in the State Attorney’s Office Child Support Program, owe an inescapable debt of gratitude to Scotty’s parents since we are the faraway beneficiaries of their hopes for their son and for his direct and positive impact on so many lives.”

“When my father sent me to study in America, he wanted me to be a medical doctor. After I began working at CSP, I told him that I would get a PhD but not in medicine. I was an already an administrator when I decided to get my Master’s degree at Florida International University (FIU) in Public Policy and Administration. I concentrated on management and leadership. When I graduated, I called my dad to tell him and he didn’t even congratulate me,” he laughs. “Instead, he asked me what was next!”

In 2019, Izevbigie earned his PhD in Public Policy and Administration with a concentration in leadership and organizational management from Walden University in Minnesota. His doctoral dissertation was Cultural Integration in Newly Formed Public-Private Partnership Organizations.

He and his wife have also instilled the importance of education in their six daughters. “I am proud to say that they are all good students.” Three of them are graduates now with the oldest doing her master’s program.

Dr. Izevbigie is also very active in various organizations that allow him to continue to experience and share his culture and customs within his family, the Nigerian community here and the community at large. He is an “organizational member” of the Nigerian American Foundation (NAF), member of the Edo Association of Florida, Inc. (EAF), and the Edo National Association Worldwide (ENAW).

Though his professional and academic achievements are impressive, what strikes on the most about him is his humanity, his sense of humor and his love for his family. He is beloved and respected by his colleagues and supervisors. So, it is only fitting that we ask him for some words of wisdom:

“Take life as it comes. Be patient with yourself and never give up. If you put your mind and heart into something you can achieve it. All those who came before us didn’t have two heads and they achieved it so we can too. All you need is curiosity, commitment and the desire to make a difference!"