Residence Requirements:

THERE ARE NO RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION IN THIS EXAMINATION. There are six vacancies at the Erie County Medical Center Corporation. 

Examples of Duties:

A Psychiatric Social Worker-Clinic provides social work services to patients in an outpatient mental health clinic at the Erie County Medical Center Corporation; 

Participates in the intake and screening of new patients;
Provides a social work assessment of the patient and problem;
Participates in history taking and treatment planning;
Participates as a team member in the treatment planning process;
Participates as a primary therapist providing psychotherapy to individuals, groups and families;
Provides social work services to help patients adjust to their disabilities and social environment;
Participates as a team member in the providing of a therapeutic milieu in the program of assignment;
Participates as a member of the team to provide quality assurance and utilization review of the treatment delivered;
Refers clients to other governmental and non-governmental agencies;
Coordinates the discharge and planning for patients, as assigned;
Compiles case studies recording pertinent information;
Plans with the treatment team and with community agencies in order to relate the patient’s treatment and rehabilitation program to the social situation prior to discharge;
Collects and maintains appropriate data from various sources such as professional staff and patient’s families to establish an overall approach to the solution of patient’s mental and social problems;
Participates in the process of transferring patients to other levels of treatment, as appropriate;
Assists in the training and supervision of students and paraprofessional staff.

Qualifications:

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

Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university with a Master’s Degree in Social Work.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
Possession of a license and current registration as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with R privilege (LCSW-R) as issued by the New York State Education Department at time of appointment.

Notes:

1. Verifiable part-time and/or volunteer experience will be pro-rated toward meeting the experience requirements.

2. Your degree and/or college credit must have been awarded by a regionally accredited college or university or one recognized by the New York State Education Department as following acceptable educational practices. A grade of "D" or better is necessary for a course to be credited as successfully completed. If your degree and/or college credit was awarded by an educational institution outside of the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. You can write to this Department for a list of acceptable companies providing this service; you must pay the required evaluation fee.

Notice to Candidates: Transcripts will now be accepted by the Department of Personnel ONLY at time of application.
All subsequent transcripts must be submitted at time of interview.

The New York State Department of Civil Service has not prepared a test guide for this examination. However,candidates may find information in the publication "How to take a written test" helpful in preparing for this test. This publication is available on line at: www.cs.ny.gov/testing/localtestguides.cfm

Subjects of Examination:

SUBJECTS OF EXAMINATION: A written test designed to evaluate knowledge, skills and /or abilities in the following areas:

1. Developing & implementing treatment in a social work program

These questions test for knowledge, understanding, and ability to apply social work concepts, theories, principles, and practices in a mental hygiene program which provides services to clients who have various mental hygiene conditions such as mental illness, developmental disabilities or addiction. Questions may cover such topics as assessment, development, and implementation of treatment; coordination of treatment; evaluation of treatment; coordination of services; social work standards; roles of treatment team members; individual, family, and group counseling; community services; behavior management; crisis intervention; and patient/client advocacy.

2. Interviewing

These questions test for knowledge of the principles and practices employed in obtaining information from individuals through structured conversations. These questions require you to apply the principles, practices, and techniques of effective interviewing to hypothetical interviewing situations. Included are questions that present a problem arising from an interviewing situation, and you must choose the most appropriate course of action to take.

3. Preparing written material

These questions test for the ability to present information clearly and accurately, and to organize paragraphs logically and comprehensibly. For some questions, you will be given information in two or three sentences followed by four restatements of the information. You must then choose the best version. For other questions, you will be given paragraphs with their sentences out of order. You must then choose, from four suggestions, the best order for the sentences.

4. Working with individuals to promote mental health

These questions test for knowledge of characteristics, causes and treatment methods associated with chronic mental illness and/or addiction. Questions cover such topics as establishing, maintaining and terminating client relationships; recognizing, interpreting, and responding to individual and group behaviors; providing access to essential services such as financial, housing, medical, educational, legal, vocational, and recreational; and eligibility criteria of programs and agencies offering such services. 

NOTICE TO CANDIDATES: Unless otherwise noted, 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 or other reference materials.

**IMPORTANT APPLICATION FEE - READ CAREFULLY**

A $20.00 filing fee is required for this exam. The required fee must accompany your application. Send or bring check or money order made payable to Erie County Personnel Department and write the examination number(s) on your check or money order. Do not send or bring cash, as the County cannot be responsible for cash payment. As no refund will be made, you are urged to compare your qualifications carefully with the requirements for admission and file only for those examinations for which you are clearly qualified.