Victim Witness Case Aide

Modified: October 5, 2016 7:40am

COUNTY OF ERIE - DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL
invites applications for the position of:

Victim Witness Case Aide

68-962 - Open Competitive (open to the public)

Salary: $28,296 - $35,071 Annually
Opening Date: October 5, 2016
Closing Date: November 2, 2016
Application fee: $20.00

Residence Requirements:

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 District Attorney's Office. 

Examples of Duties:

A Victim/ Witness Case Aide is responsible for assisting in a grant sponsored program by the New York State Crime Victims Board; establishes case files on information related to the victim/witness;  escorts victim/witness to and from trial; attends case from pre-trial hearing through verdict and sentencing; answers calls and inquiries concerning case information; explains all hearing and trial procedures; answers inquiries concerning probation and parole status; sends follow-up letters and telephones when necessary; assists in recovering evidence from trial that should be returned to victim/witness;  performs general clerical activities such as light typing, filing, and telephone coverage;  assists in the coordination of volunteer activities and assignments; provides appropriate referrals for victim/witness including counseling, shelter, housing and others; provides assistance and information to the victim/witness regarding the Crime Victim  Compensation application process; provides transportation when necessary; utilizes enhanced computer systems and equipment in the completion of assigned clerical duties.

Qualifications:

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

A. Completion of 30 semester credit hours at a regionally accredited or New York State  registered college or university majoring in Criminal Justice; or:

B. Graduation from high school or possession of a high school equivalency diploma and one year of public contact experience (see Note 1) in a social agency or the criminal justice system; or:            

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

Notes:

NOTES:  1.  Public contact experience is defined as that which involved substantial face-to-face communications with adults involving persuasion, negotiation, explaining, counseling and similar activities in a social agency or the criminal justice system.   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 theUnited 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.

Examination date:

December 10, 2016

Applications Must Be Postmarked or Hand Delivered By:

November 2, 2016


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. Applying information

These questions test for the ability to apply simple information. You will be given a Resource Directory that describes community agencies, their purposes and the type of client each serves. Questions describe clients with a variety of problems and situations. You must determine the appropriate referral for clients based on the services which each agency provides.

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. Working with people in human services situations

These questions test for a knowledge of general techniques used to deal with common client behaviors such as fear, hostility, shyness, resistance, defensiveness, withdrawal, anxiety and confusion.

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.