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.  The eligible list resulting from this examination will be used to fill future vacancies in the  Erie County Probation Department.

Examples of Duties:

A Probation Assistant is responsible for assisting Probation Officers (including Probation Officer Trainees) in obtaining information used in determining a detainee's eligibility for probation;

Assists individuals serviced by Probation Department to complete questionnaires forms and other dockets requiring written information;

Acts as liaison and works cooperatively with the Courts to ensure program's requirements are maintained;

Communicates and delivers probation officer's recommendations to the Courts and retrieves the Court's written decisions and directives;

Assists in maintaining program's records and reports, and in compiling data and records for required reports;

Assists in the verification of information for probation department staff;

Assists in the collection and analysis of data used for planning purposes to update program designs and service delivery;

Confers with other local law enforcement agencies to inform them on probation requirements;

Corresponds with other probation departments regarding their completion of court ordered reports for defendants residing in their jurisdiction and advise them of subsequent dispositions;

Processes certificate of relief applications;

Performs drug testing of defendants and probationers, as requested by probation officers;

Assists victims in recovering restitution;

Enforces payment orders of the various courts for fines, restitution, or support;

Prepares financial statements, evaluations and reports for the courts on persons ordered to make payments for fines, restitution and support;

Appears in Court as the County's expert witness in certain cases;

Uses a computer workstation terminal to enter and retrieve data and information in maintaining program records and to extract information for required reports;

Greets individuals in reception area and directs them to appropriate staff or office;

Gathers information for investigations and reports;

Oversees and maintains an administrative caseload.

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 college or university with a Bachelor's degree; or:

B.     Completion of sixty semester credit hours at least fifteen of which are in Social Services, Criminal Justice, Psychology, Human Services or related field at a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university and two years of social work or criminal justice experience; or:

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

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. 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.

2. 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.

3. Preparing written material

These questions test for the ability to write the kinds of reports and correspondence required in criminal justice settings such as probation and parole. Some questions test for the ability to present information clearly and accurately. Others test for the ability to organize paragraphs logically and comprehensibly.

4. 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.