Residence Requirements:

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

Examples of Duties:

A Paralegal Collections performing paralegal duties at the Erie County Medical Center Corporation;

Gathers documents for governmental entitlement certification for long term care reimbursement;

Conducts interviews with patient and/or legally-designated representatives to verify patient demographic information, income, resources and related documentation required for the submission of the application for New YorkState Medicaid, certification and recertification of long-term care/chronic care Medicaid;

Monitors a substantial number of files in which the legal process or long term Medicaid application has commenced;

Searches legal reference files and other sources for information and data required in conducting interviews and answering correspondence;

Documents case progression and updates facility information system and other required systems or reports;

Assembles documents for the use of attorneys in the preparation for litigation or administrative fair hearings and collects additional information as requested;

Verifies citations and statutory references contained in legal documents against original sources such as legal texts, reports, etc. making certain that they are correct and in complete conformance with the source material;

Investigates collectable accounts and assembles pertinent information including legal identity of debtor and liable third party;

Reviews settlement offers on legal collection matters and recommends best fiscal recovery to attorney or Senior Paralegal Collections;

Skip-traces whereabouts of debtors and liable third parties using various research tools and techniques;

Prepares and provides documentation in support of recommended write-offs;

Reviews cases scheduled for court and ensures quality of case preparation;

Accompanies counsel to court and administrative proceedings and assists as necessary;

Maintains statistical data and prepares reports.

Qualifications:

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

A.) Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university with a Bachelor’s degree and completion of a course in Paralegal studies which resulted in a certificate from a regionally accredited or New York State registered institution and approved by the American Bar Association; or

B.) Completion of a minimum of 60 semester credit hours from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university with a major in paralegal studies; or

C.) Completion of 30 semester credit hours from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university and possession of a Certificate of Completion in Paralegal Studies and one (1) year of experience in paralegal or collection work; or

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

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
Possession of New York State Notary Public license as issued by the New York State Department of State before completion of the probationary term and maintenance throughout duration 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. Ensuring effective inter/intra agency communications

These questions test for understanding of techniques for interacting effectively with individuals and agencies, to educate and inform them about topics of concern, to clarify agency programs or policies, to negotiate conflicts or resolve complaints, and to represent one's agency or program in a manner in keeping with good public relations practices. Questions may also cover interacting with the staff of one's own agency and/or that of other agencies in cooperative efforts of public outreach or service.

2. Legal terminology, documents and forms

These questions test for the ability to recognize definitions of specific common legal terms or the term which fits a certain description. The questions are presented in various forms such as simple definitions, examples of terminology, and the use of this terminology within documents and forms related to the legal field.

3. Office record keeping

These questions test your ability to perform common office record keeping tasks. The test consists of two or more "sets" of questions, each set concerning a different problem. Typical record keeping problems might involve the organization or collation of data from several sources; scheduling; maintaining a record system using running balances; or completion of a table summarizing data using totals, subtotals, averages and percents. You should bring with you a hand-held battery- or solar-powered calculator for use on this test. You will not be permitted to use the calculator function of your cell phone.

4. 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.

5. Understanding and interpreting written material

These questions test for the ability to understand and interpret written material. You will be presented with brief reading passages and will be asked questions about the passages. You should base your answers to the questions only on what is presented in the passages and not on what you may happen to know about the topic.

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.