********************Amendment Issued 9-26-18********************
see CORRECTED Salary

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 are 8 present vacancies and 8 anticipated vacancies at the Erie County Department of Social Services.

A promotion examination will be held at the same time as this examination. The list resulting from the promotion examination will be used first but appointments from this open competitive examination are anticipated. Use of the list may be suspended after it is one year old for any position which it is practical to fill through a new promotion examination.

Examples of Duties:

A Social Services Team Worker maintains an automated file of case specific information, which is a key tool to the performance of both the casework and administrative staff of the Services division and CASA; 

Contacts provider agencies to order personal services;

May serve as a resource specialist to staff for particular tasks such as budgeting, authorization processing and fiscal calculations relative to personal care;

Investigates and resolves personal care processing authorization problems such as billings and data entry for staff and provider agencies, when necessary;

Maintains an automated file of confidential case specific information which generates reports requested by management;

Reviews documents in Agency files to verify client's eligibility and/or to determine the additional action necessary to verify eligibility for services and provides applicants with notice of eligibility determination;

Composes and types correspondence;

Develops and implements at the request of Supervisor various projects;

Provides support to various supervisory staff as relates to the composition of cases in care;

Prepares management reports on operations;

Contacts cooperating Agencies to verify client's eligibility;

Responds to inquiries regarding validation process and the range of assistance offered by the Services Division;

Assists with preparation of petitions and a variety of legal documents for the courts;

Searches files and other sources for information and data for coding for the automated data system;

Maintains schedule of worker case activity due, updates respective files, and advises supervision and/or management staff;

Maintains and updates library of reference material used by professional staff.

Qualifications:

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

Graduation from high school or possession of a high school equivalency diploma and two (2) years clerical experience which included one (1) year of experience in the operation of an alpha-numeric keyboard.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

Ability to type 40 words per minute; and

Section 424-a of the Social Services Law requires the local social services district to inquire whether the applicant is the subject of an indicated child abuse or maltreatment report on file with the State Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment.

All potential employees for this position will be requested to sign the necessary clearance form prior to being advised that they will be hired. Refusal to sign will be cause for an automatic non-selection.

Applicants for designated positions in the Department of Social Services that may have access to federal tax information to perform his/her job duties shall be subject to a suitability background check investigation, including FBI fingerprinting, local law enforcement check, and verification check of citizenship/residency. A criminal record does not necessarily disqualify applicants from employment, rather an individualized determination will be made.

Notes:

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

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. Coding/decoding information

These questions test for the ability to follow a set of coding rules. Some questions will require you to code information by converting certain information into letters or numbers. Other questions will require you to decode information by determining if the information that has already been converted into letters or numbers is correct. Complete directions will be provided; no previous knowledge of or training in any coding system is required.

2. Name and number checking

These questions test for the ability to distinguish between sets of words, letters, and/or numbers that are almost exactly alike. Material is usually presented in two or three columns, and you will have to determine how the entry in the first column compares with the entry in the second column and possibly the third. You will be instructed to mark your answers according to a designated code provided in the directions.

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. Operations with Letters and Numbers

These questions test for skills and abilities in operations involving alphabetizing, comparing, checking and counting. The questions require you to follow the specific directions given for each question which may involve alphabetizing, comparing, checking and counting given groups of letters and/or numbers.

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.