Residence Requirements:

CANDIDATES MUST HAVE BEEN LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ERIE COUNTY FOR AT LEAST ONE MONTH IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE DATE OF THE WRITTEN TEST AND MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ERIE COUNTY AT THE TIME OF APPOINTMENT. There is one vacancy at the Erie County Sheriff's Office. 

Examples of Duties:

A Domestic Violence Advocate assists victims of domestic violence in determining an appropriate course of action for their family, which may include legal, housing and/or child protection services;

Supports the Domestic Violence Unit's provision of crisis intervention with linkage to Legal Services, Children's Services, Child Protection Services and Adult and Family Services;

Supports victims of domestic violence by accompanying them to all court proceedings as well as explaining all hearing and trial procedures;

Provides legal and social service advocacy;

Provides home visits when necessary;

Escorts victims to service plan reviews and other meetings when necessary;

Provides advocacy to victims interdepartmentally, i.e. Food Stamps, Medicaid;

Provides support counseling for victims and their families;

Assesses the clients need and makes appropriate referrals;

Assists the clients in obtaining shelter, food and emergency care including linkage to TANF, FUP, and WIC, etc.;

Collaborates with various agencies in the community such as Crisis Services, Buffalo Police Department, Haven House, etc. to assure prompt, responsive services and coordination;

Conducts presentations regarding domestic violence to public, private and civic organizations;

Maintains records and prepares reports of all program activities.

Qualifications:

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

A)   Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered four year college or university with a Bachelor's degree and two years of experience in a position which included family and domestic violence assessment in a public or private agency adhering to acceptable standards; or:

B)    Graduation from high school or possession of a high school equivalency diploma and six years of experience in a position which included family and domestic violence assessment in a public or private agency adhering to acceptable standards; or:

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

SPECIAL REQUIREMENT:  Possession of a New York State Driver's License at time of appointment

Notes:

1. Verifiable part-time and/or volunteer experience will be pro-rated toward meeting full-time 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: https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.cfm

Subjects of Examination:

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

1. Advising and interacting with others

These questions test for the ability to interact with other people in order to gather and present information and to provide assistance and advice in a courteous and professional manner.

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. Principles and practices of social casework

These questions test for knowledge of the principles and practices used to provide casework services to individuals and/or families of all ages, backgrounds, and circumstances. Questions will test for application of this knowledge in various settings and will include such topics as assessment, monitoring and evaluating services, counseling, referrals, and advocacy. 

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.