Job description

JEFFERSON COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES

County Office Building - 175 Arsenal Street

Watertown, NY 13601

www.co.jefferson.ny.us

Valerie M. Nugent

Director of Human Resources

*A NON-REFUNDABLE APPLICATION FEE OF $15 MUST ACCOMPANY YOUR APPLICATION

PLEASE COMPLETE APPLICATION IN ITS' ENTIRETY - DO NOT SEND RESUME.

OPEN COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION

FOR

NO.65-918 SOCIAL WELFARE EXAMINER

VACANCIES: This list will be used to fill vacancies as they occur in the Jefferson County Department of Social Services

SALARY: $ 20.42 - $25.23/hr.

CANDIDATES MUST HAVE BEEN LEGAL RESIDENTS OF NEW YORK STATE FOR AT LEAST ONE MONTH IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE DATE OF THE WRITTEN TEST.

LAST FILING DATE: May 5, 2023

EXAMINATION DATE: June 24, 2023

Disabled Persons and Persons needing Religious Accommodation: If special arrangements for testing are required, indicate this on your application form.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Candidates must meet the following requirements on or before the date of the written test:

(A) Completion of two years (60 semester credit hours) of study in a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university; or

ALL CANDIDATES MUST SUBMIT A COPY OF THEIR COLLEGE TRANSCRIPT AT TIME OF APPLICATION.

(B) Graduation from high school or possession of a high school equivalency diploma and two years of experience in examining, investigating, or evaluating claims for assistance, veterans or unemployment benefits, insurance or similar program operating under established criteria for eligibility; or

(C) An equivalent combination of training and experience as defined by the limits of (A) and (B) above.

NOTE: Finger printing may be required for this position. Any fee will be paid by the applicant.

EXAMPLES OF WORK: (illustrative only)

Interviews clients and applicants for assistance, going to clients' homes, hospitals, or institutions when necessary;

Reviews and evaluates certification forms, examining and verifying supporting documents;

Evaluates and confirms income and resources to determine categorical and financial eligibility;

Codes client information for data entry;

Prepares and computes client needs statements or budgets according to State and federal guidelines;

Completes a variety of forms and records related to eligibility determinations;

Advises applicants of eligibility determinations;

Recommends emergency grants as needed;

Explains all aspects of client responsibility and eligibility to clients in person, over the phone, or through letters;

Acts as liaison with other agencies, landlords, utility and fuel companies, and inter-agency units;

Identifies problems presented by clients and acts as an information and referral resource;

Makes referral to other DSS units or other social service agencies;

Provides services around basic needs, such as food, shelter, fuel, clothing, and furnishings when necessary for the immediate well-being or safety of the client or dependent children.

SCOPE OF EXAMINATION: Written test will cover knowledge, skills, and/or abilities in such areas as:

Interpreting and applying written Social Welfare program materials, and using basic arithmetic in determining eligibility for assistance

You will be presented with written passages related to Social Services policies and procedures and be asked to interpret their meaning and/or apply this material to hypothetical case situations. Secondly, you will be given sets of written instructions and regulations regarding such Social Services programs as cash assistance, medical assistance, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

You must read and understand the instructions given, including schedules of arithmetic figures, and apply these instructions to hypothetical case problems. Some questions require using arithmetic to compute the correct amount of assistance.

Previous knowledge of Social Services programs or the eligibility process is not required.

Recording case notes

You will be given several sentences from a typical case report paragraph and one additional sentence. You must determine the best place in the paragraph to put the additional sentence in order to make the report coherent and meaningful.

Interviewing

You must apply principles and techniques of interviewing to such problems as asking and answering questions, explaining requirements and helping the client understand his or her responsibilities, helping the client feel at ease, structuring and controlling the interview, reacting appropriately to inconsistencies, dealing with a variety of feelings of clients, maintaining confidentiality, and identifying the need for and making appropriate referrals. In addition, some questions may deal with contacting or interacting with other community organizations and agencies to benefit the client or the general public.

Test guide:

A Guide for the Written Test for Social Welfare Examiner is available at the New York State website:https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.cfm. Candidates not having access to a computer or the internet may request copy of the test guide from the municipal civil service office conducting this examination using the contact information found elsewhere on this announcement.

This examination is being prepared and rated by the New York State Department of Civil Service in accordance with Section 23-2 of the Civil Service Law. The provisions of the New York State Civil Service Rules and Regulations dealing with the rating of examinations will apply to this written test.

JEFFERSON COUNTY IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.

NOTE: Candidates are permitted to use quiet, hand-held, solar or battery powered calculators. Devices with typewriter keyboards, Spell Checkers, Personal Digital Assistants, Address Books, Language Translators, Dictionaries, or any similar devices are prohibited. You may not bring books, reference materials, devices, or calculators which provide assistance beyond simple numerical computation.

MULTIPLE EXAMINATIONS SCHEDULED FOR THE SAME DAY: With the exception of written tests announced by New York City, if you have applied to take a written test announced by New York State or any local jurisdiction (county, town, city) scheduled to be held on the same test date as this written test, you must indicate all pertinent examination (exam number, title, and location/jurisdiction) information on a separate piece of paper and submit it with your application.

CANDIDATES WILL BE NOTIFIED OF THE PLACE OF THE EXAMINATION.

*A NON-REFUNDABLE fee of $15 is required for each separately-numbered examination for which you apply. The required fee must accompany your application. Send check or money order payable to the Jefferson County Treasurer and write the examination title(s) and number(s) on your check or money order. DO NOT SEND CASH. File only for those examinations for which you are clearly qualified. An exception to the fee requirement will be made only for persons who provide proof that they are unemployed and are primarily responsible for the support of the household; or who are receiving Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments, or Public Assistance (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families/Family Assistance or Safety Net Assistance) or are certified Job Training Partnership Act/Workforce Investment Act eligible through a State or local social service agency. Individuals wishing to claim this waiver of fee must complete an Application Fee Waiver Request and Certification Form. This form is available at the Jefferson County Department of Human Resources office. Such claims are subject to later verification and, if not supported by appropriate documentation are grounds for barring appointment.

Issued: 4-5-23

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $20.42 - $25.23 per hour

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday

Work Location: In person

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