Caseworker

Modified: March 19, 2021 2:09pm

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

Caseworker

#42-264 - Open Competitive (open to the public)

Salary: $44,081- $57,044 Annually
Opening Date: March 19, 2021
Closing Date: April 14, 2021
Application fee: $15.00

Residence Requirements:

***IMPORTANT CANDIDATE NOTICE***
Candidates who will take a Caseworker examination for a municipality other than Erie County after January 1, 2021 and before
May15, 2021 must submit a statement with the application clearly indicating where and when the examination will be taken.
(Please see page 2 for further information.)

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 Department of Social Services.

The eligible list resulting from this examination will not supersede currently existing promotional eligible lists for this title, if any.

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:

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 eligibility 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;

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* (see Note 1) and one (1) year of social case work experience** (see Note 2).

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.

Applicants for designated positions in the Department of Social Services that may have regular and substantial unsupervised or unrestricted contact with children shall be subject to background checks according to the New York State Justice Center's Staff Exclusion List (SEL) and New York State Office of Children and Family Services Statewide Central Register of Abuse and Maltreatment (SCR). Inquiries on current employees shall be made annually and prior to promotion but no more often than once in any six month period (N.Y. Social Services Law 424-A.) Candidates/applicants with conditional offers of employment may be required to submit the necessary fee(s) for background screening and inquiries shall be completed prior to employment hiring/start date. Refusal to sign the necessary clearance forms, submit the required associated fees and/or participate in the review process shall be cause for an automatic non-selection. In addition, inquiry responses are subject to evaluation and may result in disqualification pursuant to Section 50 of the New York State Civil Service Law.

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. The cost of the background check will be assumed by the Department of Social Services.

Notes:

1. *Candidates may be appointed as Caseworker Trainee (Job Grade VIII) with only the Bachelor's Degree qualification. Upon satisfactory completion of the one (1) year training term an appointee shall be entitled to advance permanent status as a Caseworker (Job Grade IX) without further examination.

2. **Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university with a Master's Degree in social work may be substituted for one year of the required experience above.

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

4. 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.

5. ***If you expect to meet the educational requirements by May 15, 2021, you may be admitted to the written test, but you cannot be considered for appointment until you submit proof of successful completion of the educational requirement to the Appointing Authority at the time of the employment interview. Failure to meet the educational requirements by May 15, 2021 may result in your removal from the eligible list.

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:

May 15, 2021

Applications Must Be Postmarked or Hand Delivered By:

April 14, 2021

A copy of A Guide to the Written Test For The Caseworker Series may be viewed and/or downloaded at the New York State Civil Service web site located at https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.cfm If you do not have Internet access, 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,New York 14202 or by picking one up in person at Room 604.

Subjects of Examination:

THE WRITTEN TEST is designed to test for knowledge, skills, and/or abilities in such areas as:

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 clientworker 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:

  • 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 and July 1 – December 31
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • A candidate must pay application fees for each examination requiring such fees.
  • 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.