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 present vacancy and four anticipated vacancies in the Department of Social Services.

A promotional 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 promotional examination.

Examples of Duties:

A Caseworker performs social case work in connection with such social services as child and family welfare and protective services for adults; or health department clinical and home-based programs. 

If assigned to Social Services: interviews applicants and referrals for child care, foster care, adoption, adult services, preventive services, in-home health care, nursing home or other services of the department and makes field investigations to verify intake information and to ascertain needs; prepares case assessments for review by supervisor, including recommendations as to services required to attain defined goals; assesses risk/safety of children; recommends referrals to other agencies; makes plans for services and assistance to meet individual problems of the cases assigned and after approval, puts plans into effect; makes collateral contacts with other interested agencies and/or individuals to gather information coordinate services and guard against duplication of services; reviews assigned cases periodically to determine changes affecting client circumstances and need for service, including follow-up field investigations; gives advice and counsel to applicants and clients to assist in solving personal, family, domestic and financial problems;  determines categorical edibility to assure appropriate Federal reimbursement for services provided; utilizes information supplied by supportive services such as Resource Division and Home Economist’s Office, as applied to specific units of assigned caseload; dictates case records, composes letters and reports as required; maintains case records on computer system; locates, studies and reports on family or foster homes and adoptive homes; investigates and makes recommendations on boarding homes regarding certification; investigates through inspection and interviews, as to whether child’s needs can best be met in natural home, foster home or institution; plans with parents and relatives for care of children and re-establishment of the home, and promotes permanency planning for children, including adoption services; attends in-service training programs and meetings; investigates, through assessment and interviews as to whether client’s needs can best be met in client’s home or institution; plans with client and client’s relatives for care of client and promotes optimum support from relatives and other interested parties;  assists in locating appropriate placement of clients deemed in need of protective environment; makes court appearance as required; inputs and retrieves information on computer systems relevant program assignment; convenes and/or participates in case conferences; manages client financial affairs in some adult service cases; transports children; prepares Family Court reports and related court work; may review cases for falsification and investigates to determine if there is overpayment of funds; may conduct field investigations as required and may assist in establishing accounts and arrangement of repayment schedules.

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 college or university with a bachelor’s degree.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

Eligibility for a New York State driver license at the time of application. Possession of the license and use of a private automobile required at time of appointment.

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.

Persons who are currently employed under Section 55a, New York State Civil Service Law, and who meet all the above eligibility requirements in the non-competitive rather than competitive class may compete in this examination.

Notes:

NOTES:  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 is making a copy of A Guide to the Written Test for the Caseworker Series available on its web site at www.cs.state.ny.us/testing/localtestguides.cfm. In addition, a copy of this test guide can also be obtained at our local civil service office and our website.  You may obtain a copy by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope (size required to accommodate the guide – manila 10” x 13”) to the Erie County Personnel Department, 95 Franklin Street, Buffalo, NY 14202 or by picking one up in person at Room 604.

Subjects of Examination:

SUBJECTS OF EXAMINATION: A written test designed to evaluate knowledge, skills and /or abilities in the following areas:

1. ESTABLISHING & MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE HELPING RELATIONSHIPS IN A SOCIAL CASEWORK SETTING: These questions test for an understanding of the factors contributing to the development and maintenance of positive and productive client-worker relationships. You will be provided with descriptions of specific client-worker interactions and asked to select the appropriate responses. The questions cover such topics as confidentiality, time management, professional ethics and referral techniques.
2. INTERVIEWING (CASEWORKER): These questions test for an understanding of the principles and techniques of interviewing and their application to specific client-worker situations. You will be provided with a series of concrete interviewing situations for which you will be required to select an appropriate course of action based on an analysis of the situation, the application of the information provided and the ramifications of various interviewing principles and strategies. You will also be asked questions about the interviewing process and various interviewing techniques.
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.

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.

Candidates who file for Caseworker examinations with more than one civil service agency will be required to use the score received in this examination subject to the following terms and conditions:

1.) A candidate is permitted to take a Caseworker examination prepared by the New York State Department of Civil Service only once during each of the following defined periods: January 1 – June 30 & July 1 – December 31.

2.) A candidate who applies and is approved for more than one Caseworker examination during the same six-month period (January 1 - June 30 or July 1 – December 31) is required to use the score resulting from a single test administration for all examinations held during the same six-month period.

3.) The candidate must inform the civil service agency if he/she has previously taken a Caseworker examination in any other civil service agency and provide the location and date the examination was taken.

4.) A candidate must pay application fees for each examination requiring such fees.

5.) A candidate’s placement on resultant eligible list(s) and duration of eligibility for appointment will be determined by the civil service agency conducting the examination(s)

**IMPORTANT APPLICATION FEE - READ CAREFULLY**

A $15.00 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.