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

Residence Requirements:

THERE ARE NO RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION IN THIS EXAMINATION. There are four vacancies at the Erie County Medical Center Corporation. 

Examples of Duties:

A Psychiatric Case Manager performs skilled tasks in the care of inpatient or outpatient behavioral health patients at the Erie County Medical Center Corporation; 

Performs behavioral health assessments and develops treatment plans using established methodologies;

Participates as a primary counselor to individuals, in groups and for families;

Participates as a team member in the treatment planning process;

Participates in the intake and screening of new patients;

Collects and maintains appropriate data from various sources such as professional staff and patient's families to establish an overall approach to the solution of the patient's mental and social problems;

Provides a psychosocial history for patients;

Provides counseling services to help patients adjust to their disabilities and social environment;

Provides individual treatment and/or crisis intervention under clinical supervision;

Provides support and guidance to the patient's family in order to accomplish treatment goals;

Observes and records patients' behavioral and psychiatric status, activities, responses to treatment and overall physical, behavioral and mental health condition and reports to the team;

Modifies treatment plans as needed;

Plans with the treatment team and with community agencies in order to relate the patient's treatment and rehabilitation program to the social situation prior to discharge;

Coordinates outpatient services with appropriate community resources;

Coordinates the discharge and planning for patients as assigned;

Participates in the development and implementation of the daily program activities;

Participates in the process of transferring patients to other levels of treatment as appropriate;

Refers clients to other governmental and non-governmental agencies;

Participates as a member of the team to provide quality assurance and peer-review of the treatment delivered;

Assists in the orientation of new staff and in staff development programs and in-service training.

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 Master's Degree in Social Work, Counseling, or a Master’s Degree considered substantially equivalent to Social Work or Counseling as determined by the New York State Education Department.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

1) Possession of a license and current registration as a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) as issued by the New York State Education Department at time of appointment and maintenance throughout duration of appointment; OR:

2) Possession of a Limited Permit to practice as a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) as issued by the New York State Education Department at time of appointment and licensure and registration within one (1) year of appointment and maintenance throughout duration of appointment; OR:

3) Possession of a license and current registration to practice as a Mental Health Counselor as issued by the New York State Education Department at the time of appointment and maintenance throughout duration of appointment; OR:

4) Possession of a Limited Permit to practice as a Mental Health Counselor as issued by the New York State Education Department at the time of appointment and licensure and registration with two (2) years of appointment* (see Note 3) and maintenance throughout duration of appointment.

ADDITIONAL SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

5) Possession of Basic Life Support (BLS) Certification prior to the end of the orientation period and maintenance throughout duration of appointment.

ADDITIONAL SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS – IF ASSIGNED TO AN INPATIENT CARE SETTING:

6) Completion of initial and participation in annual re-training of New York State Office of Mental Health-certified Preventing and Managing Crisis Situation (PMCS) Training prior to the end of the orientation period and maintenance throughout duration of appointment

Notes:

1. Section 424-A of the Social Services Law requires that local social services district to inquire whether the applicant is the subject of an indicated child abuse or maltreatment report on file 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 automatic non-selection.

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

3. *Mental Health Counselor Limited Permit holders are required to have 3,000 hours of supervised experience after completion of master’s degree when applying for Mental Health Counselor license. Master Social Worker license applicants have no experience requirement when applying for license, hence the difference in allowance of length of time to achieve full licensure.

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.

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.

Developing & implementing treatment in a social work program

These questions test for knowledge, understanding, and ability to apply social work concepts, theories, standards, principles, and practices in various settings. Questions may cover such topics as assessment, development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of treatment for individuals and families; coordination of services; advocacy and counseling for individuals and families of all backgrounds; and crisis intervention.

Working with individuals to promote mental health

These questions test for knowledge of characteristics, causes and treatment methods associated with working with individuals who may have mental, developmental, physical, social and substance abuse disorders and/or disabilities. Questions cover such topics as establishing, maintaining and terminating client relationships; recognizing, interpreting, and responding to individual and group behaviors, as well as crisis situations; and facilitating access to essential services such as financial, housing, medical, educational, legal, vocational, and recreational.

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.

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.