GENESEE COUNTY HUMAN RESOURCES

COUNTY BUILDING I, BATAVIA, NEW YORK

 

ANNOUNCES

 

AN OPEN COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION FOR:

 

SOCIAL WELFARE EXAMINER, O.C. #64-337

 

SALARY:  $17.36 - $20.16 per hour, (2017) Genesee County.

 

VACANCY:  The Genesee County Department of Social Services has five (5) positions currently held by provisionally appointed employees, who may be appointed on a permanent basis if found reachable on a civil service list established as a result of this exam.  This examination is also being held to establish an eligible list to fill future vacancies, which may occur during the life of the eligible list.

An eligible may receive only one permanent appointment from this list. Once appointed, there will be a Probationary Period of 8 to 52-weeks based on performance of duties. During this probationary period the Department Head has the ability to terminate employment, without cause.

 

CANDIDATES MUST HAVE BEEN LEGAL RESIDENTS OF GENESEE COUNTY OR OF A COUNTY CONTIGUOUS TO GENESEE COUNTY FOR AT LEAST TWO (2) MONTHS IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE DATE OF THE WRITTEN EXAMINATION, AND MUST HAVE CONTINUED THEIR RESIDENCY THROUGH THE PERIOD LEADING TO THEIR INTITAL APPOINTMENT. ELIGIBLE RESIDENTS OF A CIVIL DIVISION MAY BE GIVEN PREFERENCE IN APPOINTMENT TO VACANCIES IN THEIR AREA OF RESIDENCY.

 

 

                                    LAST FILING DATE----------MAY 17, 2017

 

                                    EXAMINATION DATE----------JUNE 24, 2017

 

 

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Candidates must meet one of the following requirements on or before the last filing date:

Graduation from high school or possession of an appropriate equivalency diploma recognized by the NYS Department of Education, AND:

Two (2) years of full-time, paid experience in examining, investigating or evaluating claims for assistance, veterans or unemployment benefits, insurance or a similar program operating under established criteria for eligibility, [IF CLAIMED, PLEASE INDICATE ALL RELEVANT EXPERIENCE ON YOUR APPLICATION].

 

NOTE: Study in a regionally accredited college or university or one registered by New York State or a business school registered by New York State may be substituted for the experience on a year for year basis.  CANDIDATES CLAIMING CREDIT UNDER THIS EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION MUST SUBMIT COPIES OF OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS OR OTHER APPROPRIATE DOCUMENTATION.

 

A copy of an official transcript is acceptable for the purpose of taking this examination, however, at such time a candidate is offered an appointment, an official sealed transcript with a raised college seal must be on file with Genesee County Human Resources prior to the appointment.

 

NOTE: You may file for this examination if you expect to complete the educational requirement by June 30, 2017.  If successful on the examination, however, you will not be certified for appointment until you have submitted proof of completion of the educational requirements to Genesee County Human Resources. Proof must be submitted no later than 2 months after the completion date. Failure to do so will result in removal of your name from the eligible list.

 

NOTE: PHOTO ID WILL BE REQUIRED ON THE DAY OF THE EXAMINATION.

 

CANDIDATES PLEASE NOTE: It is vital that you submit, with your application, all information necessary to show your qualification for examination.  APPLICATIONS WHICH DO NOT SHOW TRAINING AND/OR EXPERIENCE TO MEET MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS WILL BE DISAPPROVED, AND WE WILL NOT REFER TO OTHER APPLICATIONS ON FILE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.

 

NOTE – FILING FEES: (The acceptance of your application is dependent upon your following these instructions accurately):

A fee of $20.00 is required for each separately-numbered examination for which you apply.  The required fee must accompany your application.  The fee may be submitted in the form of either CASH or CREDIT CARD (if delivered in person), PERSONAL CHECK or MONEY ORDER, (if by mail).  Personal Checks and Money Orders must be payable to the GENESEE COUNTY TREASURER.  Please write the examination number(s) on your personal check or money order.  YOUR APPLICATION FEE WILL NOT BE REFUNDED if you do not meet the requirements for admission to the examination. Compare your qualifications carefully to the requirements stated on the announcement and file only for those examinations for which you are clearly qualified. A waiver of application fee will be allowed if you are receiving unemployment and are primarily responsible for the support of a household.  In addition, a waiver of application fee will be allowed if you are determined eligible for Medicaid, or are receiving Supplemental Security Income payments, or Temporary Assistance for Needy Family assistance or Safety Net Assistance, or are certified Job Training Partnership Act/Workforce Investment Act eligible through a State or local social service agency.  All claims for application fee waiver are subject to verification.  In order for us to verify your eligibility for an application fee waiver, you must complete a “Request for Fee Waiver” form and submit it with your application by the close of business on the Last Filing Date as indicated on the Examination Announcement. The “Request for Fee Waiver” form can be obtained at Genesee County Human Resources, 15 Main Street, Batavia, NY 14020 or from our website, www.co.genesee.ny.us.

 

TYPICAL WORK ACTIVITIES:

Reviews the certification form to determine that all statements are complete and consistent with every other item of information provided;

Where necessary for clarification or completion of certification form, asks applicant appropriate questions and makes necessary additions or corrections on the form;

Verifies all information needed for eligibility determination including making collateral contacts as necessary;

Makes an evaluation of applicant's financial eligibility for assistance, may determine initial categorical eligibility, evaluates available resource details in relation to financial eligibility;

Prepares and computes budget for the applicant;

Advises the applicant about the program under which he is eligible for assistance and any documentation or additional information which is necessary for final program classification;

Records and maintains case notations;

Recommends emergency grants as needed;

Makes initial/predeterminations of financial eligibility;

Explains the validation process to the applicant;

Advises the applicant about his duty to keep the agency informed of any change in status which may affect his eligibility for assistance;

Informs applicants about the range of services in the agency.  If mandatory, or requested by applicant or client, or need for services is indicated, refers applicant to social services section, or to other specialists, such as resources, housing, employment, legal, medical, etc.

Makes referrals for full field investigation where presumption of fraud is indicated.

 

 

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

1.         Interpreting and Applying Written Social Welfare Program Materials, and using Basic Arithmetic in Determining Eligibility for Assistance;

2.         Recording Case Notes;

3.         Interviewing.

 


CANDIDATES ARE PERMITTED TO USE QUIET, HAND-HELD, SOLAR OR BATTERY POWERED CALCULATORS.  DEVICES WITH TYPEWRITER KEYBOARDS SUCH AS COMPUTERS, SPELL-CHECKERS, PERSONAL DIGITAL ASSISTANTS, ADDRESS BOOKS, LANGUAGE TRANSLATORS, DICTIONARIES AND ANY SIMILAR DEVICES ARE PROHIBITED.

 

EXPANDED SUB-TEST DESCRIPTION:

Interpreting and Applying Written Social Welfare Program Materials, and Using Basic Arithmetic in Determining Eligibility for Assistance-You will be presented with written passages related to Social Services policies and procedures and be asked to interpret their meaning and/or apply this material to hypothetical case situations. Secondly, you will be given sets of written instructions and regulations regarding such Social Services programs as cash assistance, medical assistance, and food stamps.

You must read and understand the instructions given, including schedules of arithmetic figures, and apply these instructions to hypothetical case problems. Some questions require using arithmetic to compute the correct amount of assistance.

Previous knowledge of Social Services programs or the eligibility process is not required.

Recording Case Notes-You will be given several sentences from a typical case report paragraph and one additional sentence. You must determine the best place in the paragraph to put the additional sentence in order to make the report coherent and meaningful.

Interviewing-You must apply principles and techniques of interviewing to such problems as asking and answering questions, explaining requirements and helping the client understand his or her responsibilities, helping the client feel at ease, structuring and controlling the interview, reacting appropriately to inconsistencies, dealing with a variety of feelings of clients, maintaining confidentiality, and identifying the need for and making appropriate referrals. In addition, some questions may deal with contacting or interacting with other community organizations and agencies to benefit the client or the general public.



A Guide for the Written Test for Social Welfare is available at the New York State website:www.cs.ny.gov/testing/localtestguides.cfm. Candidates not having access to a computer or the internet may request copy of the test guide from the municipal civil service office conducting this examination using the contact information found elsewhere on this announcement.



CROSS-FILING:
If you have applied for other local government or state examinations, call or write to each civil service agency to make arrangements no later than two weeks before the date of the examinations.  You must notify all local government civil service agencies with whom you have filed an application of the test site at which you wish to take your examinations.  The “Cross-filer Form” for Genesee County can be obtained at Genesee County Human Resources, 15 Main St., Batavia, NY 14020 or from our website, www.co.genesee.ny.us.

 

NOTE: Religious Accommodations or Persons with Disabilities: If special arrangements for testing are required, please indicate this on your application. An explanation of your need for special testing accommodations must be attached to your application.  If due to disability – medical documentation must be provided.

 

ACTIVE MILITARY MEMBERS: Any member of the armed forces of the United States who has duly filed an application to compete in a scheduled competitive examination but was deprived of the opportunity to compete in the examination due to active military duty could be provided with a special military make-up examination.

Current members of the Armed Forces may apply for Veteran’s credits by filing an “Application for Veteran’s Credits” (Form VC-1).  The “Application for Veteran’s Credits” can be obtained at Genesee County Human Resources, 15 Main St., Batavia, NY 14020 or from our website at, www.co.genesee.ny.us. Proof of military status must also be presented and verified in order for consideration of granting of “conditional” Veteran’s credit.  Acceptable proof may include a military I.D. card, military orders, or other official military document that substantiates active military service at time of exam. This documentation and VC-1 Form must be received prior to the establishment of the Eligible List for this examination.  The “conditional” status of the additional credits will remain until proof is provided indicating that the service was in time of war and that the veteran received an honorable discharge, or was released under honorable circumstances.

 

VETERANS: Additional credits are available to veterans who meet certain established requirements.  Veterans who have not exhausted their credits should make application for their use, if desired.  A COMPLETED APPLICATION FOR VETERANS CREDITS (FORM VC-1) AND a COPY OF SEPARATION PAPERS (FORM DD-214) MUST BE RECEIVED BEFORE THE ELIGIBLE LIST FOR THIS EXAMINATION IS ESTABLISHED IN ORDER TO UTILIZE ADDITIONAL CREDITS.  DISABLED VETERANS MUST SUBMIT, IN ADDITION, A COPY OF FORM VC-3 (AUTHORIZATION FOR DISABILITY RECORD). The “Application for Veteran’s Credits” can be obtained at Genesee County Human Resources, 15 Main St., Batavia, NY 14020 or from our website at, www.co.genesee.ny.us.

 

ADDITIONAL CREDIT AUTHORIZED:  Additional credits shall be allowed for children of firefighters and police officers killed in the line of duty, as “child” in this section in competitive examinations for original appointment.  (a) On all eligible lists resulting from competitive examinations, the names of eligible persons shall be entered in the order of their respective final earned ratings on examinations, with the name of the eligible person with the highest final earned ratings at the head of such list, provided, however, that for the purpose of determining final earned ratings, children of firefighters and police officers killed in the line of duty shall be entitled to receive an additional ten (10) points in a competitive examination for original appointment in the same municipality in which his or her parent has served.  (b) Such additional credit shall be added to the final earned rating of such child, as the case may be, after he or she has qualified in the competitive examination and shall be granted only at the time of establishment of the resulting eligible list.

 

PLACE TO FILE: To get an application, come in or send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: Genesee County Human Resources, County Building I, 15 Main Street, Batavia, NY 14020 or download from website: www.co.genesee.ny.us. Phone 344-2550, Ext. 2221.

Applications mailed to us must be postmarked with a date no later than the last filing date indicated on this announcement.

All correspondence will be sent only to the address provided on the application for examination. It is your responsibility to inform the Genesee County Human Resources office of any change of address. Correspondence returned for incorrect address will not be forwarded.  All address changes must be submitted to the Genesee County Human Resources office in writing.

 

APPLICANTS: Please contact this office three days prior to examination if you have not been notified by us, as to your eligibility to participate in this examination.

This examination is being prepared and rated by the New York State Department of Civil Service in accordance with Section 23-2 of the Civil Service Law.  The provisions of the New York State Civil Service Rules and Regulations dealing with this rating of the examination will apply to this test.

 

THE COUNTY OF GENESEE DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF AGE, RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, GENDER, CREED, NATIONAL ORIGIN, PHYSICAL OR MENTAL DISABILITY, MARITAL STATUS, VETERANS STATUS, DISABLED VETERANS STATUS, OR STATUS AS A MEMBER OF ANY OTHER PROTECTED GROUP OR ACTIVILYT IN ALL ASPECTS OF EMPLOYMENT.