Erie County is an Equal Opportunity Employer and committed to workplace diversity.

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 anticipated vacancy at the Erie County Department of Social Services -Youth Services Division.

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 Senior Youth Detention Worker is responsible for overseeing the activities of children assigned to Secure and Specialized Secure Youth facilities, Department of Youth Services.

Plans and assists with planning of daily activities for the youth; Supervises youth during various daily activities;

Performs and/or assists in activities related to housekeeping, maintenance or child care as needed;

Provides training and mentorship to direct-line staff;

May function as a team lead on shift when necessary;

Follows policies, procedures and regulations of the Secure and Specialized Secure Youth Facilities;

Continually engage youth through active supervision including mentoring, teaching and coaching;

Prepares and maintains daily program activity written reports and all other required reports;

Confers with other departmental staff regarding the youth’s behavior, adjustments and needs;

Transports youth for court appearances, clinic appointments and other activities as required.

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 one (1) year of experience working with youths* in a public or private institution; or:

B.) Graduation from high school or possession of a high school equivalency diploma and three (3) years of experience working with youths* in a public or private institution; or:

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

*Youths – Persons who have reached their seventh birthday but have not yet reached their twenty-first birthday.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

Eligibility for New York State Driver’s License at the time of application. Possession of the License and use of a private automobile 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 required 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.

Subject to background investigation and fingerprinting for appointment. (Applicant may be required to submit the necessary fees for the fingerprint processing.)

As required by law or statute, subject to medical examination including tuberculin (TB) test, at time of appointment and throughout period of employment when assigned to Youth Services.

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 'General Guide to Written Tests' helpful in preparing for this test. This publication is available on line at:https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.cfm.

Subjects of Examination:

Scopes / Subjects of examination: A test designed to evaluate knowledge, skills and /or abilities in the following areas.

Advising and interacting with others

These questions test for the ability to interact with other people in order to gather and present information and to provide assistance and advice in a courteous and professional manner. 

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.

Working with youth

These questions test for the principles and practices of providing counseling, supervision and other services to youth.  Questions may cover such topics as adolescent development, counseling, crisis intervention, interviewing, supervising and guiding youth, and working with families and community service providers.

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.