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. Currently there are two vacancies and four anticipated vacancies at the Erie County Health Department.

Upon satisfactory completion of the one (1) year training term and the Basic Environmental Health course offered by the New York State Health Department, an appointee shall be entitled to advance permanent status as an Investigating Public Health Sanitarian.

Examples of Duties:

An Investigating Public Health Sanitarian Trainee assists sanitarians and engineers in carrying out various elements of prevention and control programs affecting the Public Health;

Trains to conduct environmental health investigations to determine compliance with Public Health Laws, New York State Sanitary Code, Erie County Sanitary Code, and applicable sections of the Social Services Law and regulations;

Trains to conduct housing-based inspections for conditions conducive to lead poisoning according to Public Health Laws, New York State Sanitary Code and Erie County Sanitary Code;

Trains to provide education, information and assistance to property owners and families with children to prevent lead poisoning;

Trains to make routine and follow-up inspections of sanitary and safety conditions of camps, hotels lodging and boarding houses, temporary residences, mobile home parks, swimming pools and other premises including various facilities such as public or individual water supplies and sewage disposal devices, public health nuisance complaints and general sanitation;

Trains to perform routine and follow-up inspections of restaurants and public eating places, including arrangements of food handling, food service, dishwashing and disinfection of dishes and utensils to determine compliance with State and local Sanitary Codes;

Collects samples for laboratory analysis;

Trains to make routine and follow-up inspections of nuisances, mosquito and fly breeding places, rodent harborage and related matters;

Trains to make routine and follow-up inspections of day care centers as requested by the Department of Children and Family Services;

Assists in assembling documentation in cases of non-compliance;

Assists in preparation and issuing of Notices of Violations for deficiencies;

Maintains records and completes inspection reports;

Performs other tasks related to inspections, including but not limited to, explaining violations and trying to obtain voluntary compliance;

Trains to perform surveys of neighborhoods and premises to determine potential health and safety risks, such as infestations, etc;

Contacts individuals and groups to provide information on environmental health programs and make referrals for additional community resources;

Trains to investigate complaints from the public, such as reports of animal bites or rodent infestations on premises;

Assists in community education material preparation and distribution;

Assists in the preparation of materials and devices for carrying out investigations of potential health and safety risks.

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 four (4) year college or university with a bachelor's degree, including or supplemented by 30 semester credit hours in the physical and biological sciences and/or relevant applied sciences (see Note 1.) Up to 12 credit hours in the applied sciences listed below may be credited toward the required 30 hours.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENT:

Candidates must possess a valid New York State Driver's License and have automotive transportation available for use at the time of appointment.

Notes:

1. Physical and biological sciences include courses in organic and inorganic chemistry, qualitative and quantitative analyses, biochemistry, astronomy, meteorology, geology, hydrology, earth science, physics, biology, microbiology, botany, zoology and other related courses concerning the study of living organisms. Relevant applied sciences include science-based courses in environmental technology, sanitation technology, medical technology, public health, infection control and food science.

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

3. 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. Arithmetic reasoning

These questions test for the ability to solve basic arithmetic problems presented in sentence or short paragraph form. The problems may require the use of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, determining percentages, and basic algebraic and geometric calculations.

2. Evaluating conclusions in light of known facts

These questions will consist of a set of factual statements and a conclusion. You must decide if the conclusion is proved by the facts, disproved by the facts or if the facts are not sufficient to prove or disprove the conclusion. The questions will not be specific to a particular field.

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. Basic principles of biology, chemistry, and general science

These questions test for knowledge of elementary concepts and principles in the fields of general science, biology, and chemistry.

NOTICE TO CANDIDATES:  It is recommended that candidates use a quiet, hand held, solar or battery powered calculator.  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.