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 present vacancy at the Erie County District Attorney's Office.

Examples of Duties:

A Homicide/Witness Protection Case Manager provides immediate interaction and crisis intervention with victims, victim’s family and/or witnesses of homicides and/or major violent crimes (attempted murder, rape, felony assault, shooting, stabbing, kidnapping, etc.);

Provides home visits when appropriate;

Assesses needs of clients and develops short and long-term service plans;

Assesses threat risk and develops witness protection/relocation plan when necessary;

Provides court preparation, accompaniment and explanation of procedures;

Maintains contact with clients during the prosecution of the case;

Provides on-going follow-up for emotional support and continuing needs assessment;

Assists families with the Victim Impact Statement;

Assists with the Office of Victim Services Claim Application;

Maintains case files and contact information;

Maintains contact relationship with state and federal agencies in the development of new initiatives for services in homicide/major cases;

Oversees and participates in the DA’s ECMC Violent Crime Intervention Project which includes periods of 24-hour on-call hospital response;

May interact or make presentations to community agencies and survivors groups.

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 NYS registered college or university with a Master’s degree in Social Work, Counseling, Criminal Justice or related field and two (2) years of social casework experience including one or more of the following: interviewing crime victims, court accompaniment and processing Office of Victim Services Claim Applications with survivors and/or witnesses of homicides and/or major violent crimes (attempted murder, rape, felony assault, shooting, stabbing, kidnapping, etc.). 

B.) Graduation from a regionally accredited or NYS registered four (4) year college or university with a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work, Counseling, Criminal Justice or related field and four (4) years of social casework experience including one or more of the following: interviewing crime victims, court accompaniment and processing Office of Victim Services Claim Applications with survivors and/or witnesses of homicides and/or major violent crimes (attempted murder, rape, felony assault, shooting, stabbing, kidnapping, etc.).

C.) Completion of 60 credit hours from a regionally accredited or NYS registered two (2) or four (4) year college or university in Social Work, Counseling, Criminal Justice or related field and six (6) years of social casework experience including one or more of the following: interviewing crime victims, court accompaniment and processing Office of Victim Services Claim Applications with survivors and/or witnesses of homicides and/or major violent crimes (attempted murder, rape, felony assault, shooting, stabbing, kidnapping, etc.).

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

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS: Candidates must possess a valid Class D New York State Driver's License and have automotive transportation available for use at the time of appointment and maintenance throughout employment

Notes:

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

2. Your degree and/or col1ege 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.

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.

Principles and practices of social casework

These questions test for knowledge of the principles and practices used to provide casework services to individuals and/or families of all ages, backgrounds, and circumstances. Questions will test for application of this knowledge in various settings and will include such topics as assessment, monitoring and evaluating services, counseling, referrals, and advocacy.

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.

Supervision

These questions test for knowledge of the principles and practices employed in planning, organizing, and controlling the activities of a work unit toward predetermined objectives. The concepts covered, usually in a situational question format, include such topics as assigning and reviewing work; evaluating performance; maintaining work standards; motivating and developing subordinates; implementing procedural change; increasing efficiency; and dealing with problems of absenteeism, morale, and discipline.

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.