Caseworker – Continuous Recruitment
September 14th, 2024
ISSUED: February 28, 2023
ANNOUNCES OPEN-COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION FOR:
CASEWORKER
CONTINUOUS RECRUITMENT
EXAM NO. CR01-023
DATE OF EXAMINATION: This exam is scheduled periodically. The next exam is scheduled for September 14, 2024.
LAST DAY FOR FILING: Applications must be received no later than close of business August 16, 2024.
EXAM FILING FEE: $15.00
SALARY: $26.13 hr. – $30.88 hr.
VACANCIES: This list will be used to fill vacancies in the Lewis County Department of Social Services.
DUTIES: Involves the responsibility for providing social work services to individuals including children, families, and/or caregivers. The incumbent assists clients with economic, emotional, social, and environmental difficulties by making the necessary service referrals to address the social problems identified throughout the course of a case.
NOTE: Applicants that may be assigned to the Child Support Unit are required to undergo a criminal history investigation including fingerprinting to determine suitability for employment.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Candidates must meet one of the following requirements. Either:
- Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university with a bachelor’s degree; or
- Licensure as a Registered Professional Nurse with one year of satisfactory full-time paid experience in that profession.
COPY OF COLLEGE TRANSCRIPT OR LICENSURE MUST ACCOMPANY COMPLETED APPLICATION.
SPECIAL REQUIREMENT: Possession of a valid New York State driver’s license at time of appointment. License must remain valid throughout appointment.
SUBJECT OF EXAMINATION: Written test designed to test for knowledge, skills, and/or abilities in such areas as:
- Establishing and 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 productive client-worker 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.
- 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.
- 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 and then asked to choose from four suggestions the best order for the sentences.
NOTE: 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 conditions:
1.) A candidate is permitted to take a Caseworker examination prepared by the NYS Dept. of Civil Service only once during each of the following defined periods: January 1-June 30 or July 1–December 31.
2.) 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.
3.) The candidate must inform the civil service agency if he/she has previously taken a Caseworker exam in any other civil service agency and provide the location and date the examination was taken.
4.) A candidate must pay application fees for each examination requiring such fees.
5.) 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).
STUDY GUIDE: A Guide to Taking the Examination for Caseworker Series is available on the New York State Department of Civil Service website at www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.cfm or in the Lewis County Civil Service office. Call or write to obtain a copy.
ELIGIBILE LISTS: Candidates who meet the qualifications and pass the examination, will have their names placed on the Eligible List, in the order of final scores, regardless of the date on which they filed or took the test. The names of qualified candidates will remain on the Eligible List for one year. Appeal of ratings will not be allowed. Appointment from an eligible list must be made from the top 3 candidates willing to accept appointment.
TERMINATION OF THE PROGRAM: Lewis County Department of Human Resources and Civil Service Administration reserves the right to terminate this special recruitment program at any time and re-establish a program of periodic testing for this title.
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
APPLICATIONS: Unless otherwise indicated on this announcement, the candidate will complete one “Application for Examination or Employment” for each exam he/she wishes to take. No copies will be accepted. Applicants must answer every question on the application form and make sure that the application is complete in all respects. Incomplete applications will be disapproved. All statements made by candidates are subject to verification.
FILING FEE: The fee must accompany the application. Applicants whose forms are not accompanied by the appropriate fee or whose personal checks are returned for insufficient funds will not be considered as candidates. Payment must be in the form of check or money order made payable to the Lewis County Treasurer. Refunds of fees will not be issued to applicants who are disqualified for not meeting the minimum qualifications, or a candidate’s failure to appear for testing on the scheduled test date.
WORK EXPERIENCE: Unless otherwise noted, experience credited towards meeting the minimum qualifications must be full-time paid work experience. Part-time paid work experience will be accepted based on its full-time equivalent.
APPLICATION FEE WAIVER: A waiver of application fee will be allowed if you are unemployed and primarily responsible for the support of a household. In addition, a waiver of application fee will be allowed if you are determined eligible Medicaid, or receiving Supplemental Security Income payments, or Public Assistance (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Family Assistance, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program 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. If you can verify eligibility for application fee waiver, complete a “Request for Application Fee Waiver and Certification” form and submit it with your application. Fee waiver forms are available at the Lewis County Civil Service office or online at lewiscountyny.gov .
TIME AND PLACE OF EXAM: Accepted candidates will be notified when and where to appear for an exam. No one will be admitted to an exam without the official admittance notice.
RESIDENCY: New York State Residence is not required for most positions. However, you must be eligible for employment in the United States. An appointing authority may exercise its rights under Section 23-4a of Civil Service Law to give preference to legal residents of their jurisdiction.
VETERAN CREDITS: If you are a War-Time Veteran, or if you are currently in the United States Armed Forces, you may be eligible to have extra credits added to your passing exam score. However, it is your responsibility to submit the appropriate Veterans’ Credit form(s) on or before the date of the examination. Forms are available in the Civil Service office or online at lewiscountyny.gov. In addition to the Veterans’ Credit Form, you must include a copy of your discharge papers (DD-214). The time periods for which veterans’ credit is permitted are listed on the Veterans’ Credit Application.
ADDITIONAL CREDIT ALLOWED CHILDREN OF FIREFIGHTERS AND POLICE OFFICERS KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY: In conformance with Section 85-a of the Civil Service Law, children of firefighters and police officers killed in the line of duty shall be entitled to receive an additional 10 points in a competitive exam for original appointment in the same municipality in which his or her parent has served. If you are qualified to participate in this exam and are a child of a firefighter or a police officer killed in the line of duty killed in this municipality, please inform this office of this matter when you submit your application for exam. A candidate claiming such credit has a minimum of two months from the application deadline to provide the necessary documentation to verify additional credit eligibility. However, no credit may be added after the eligible list has been established.
SABBATH OBSERVERS/DISABLED CANDIDATES/MILITARY MEMBERS: Applicants whose religious beliefs or military service prevent their taking exams on the scheduled date and disabled candidates who require special accommodations to take the test should indicate the need for special arrangements on their application.
MULTIPLE EXAMINATIONS SCHEDULED FOR THE SAME DAY: If you have applied to take a written test announced by either one or several local jurisdictions (county, town, city) scheduled to be held on the same test date as the written test, you must notify each of the local jurisdictions no later than two weeks before the test date, so they can make arrangements for taking all tests at one test site. All examinations for positions in State government will be held at a State examination center. The Cross-Filer form is available at the Lewis County Civil Service or online at lewiscountyny.gov
CALCULATORS: Unless otherwise notified, candidates are permitted to use quiet, hand-held solar or battery powered calculators. Devices with typewriter keyboards, Spellcheckers, Personal Digital Assistants, Address Books, Language Translators, Dictionaries, or any other similar devices are PROHIBITED.
CELL PHONES or ELECTRONIC/COMMUNICATION DEVICES AT THE TEST SITE: Do not bring cell phones, beepers, headphones, or any electronic or other communication devices to the test site. The use of such devices at the test site in the test room, hallways, restrooms, building, grounds, or other areas could result in your disqualification.
CHANGE OF ADDRESS: If you move, it is your responsibility to notify the Civil Service Office of your new address. The Civil Service Office makes no attempt to find candidates who have moved. Failure to notify the Civil Service Office could result in being passed over for appointment.
BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: Appointees from an eligible list are required to undergo a criminal history background investigation, which may include a fingerprint check to determine suitability for appointment. Failure to meet the standards for the background investigation may result in disqualification.
SPECIAL REQUIREMENT FOR APPOINTMENT IN SCHOOL DISTRICTS: Per Chapter 180 of the Laws of 2000, and by regulations of the Commissioner of Education, to be employed in a position designation by a school district as involving direct contact with students, a clearance for employment from the State Education Department is required.
This examination is prepared and rated by the New York State Department of Civil Service in accordance with Section 23-3 of the Civil Service Law. The provisions of the New York State Civil Service Rules and Regulations, which deal with the rating of examinations, will apply. Federal and State law prohibits discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, age, handicap or national origin.
APPLICATIONS AND FURTHER INFORMATION CAN BE OBTAINED AT WWW.LEWISCOUNTY.ORG THE LEWIS COUNTY CIVIL SERVICE OFFICE, 7660 N. STATE STREET, LOWVILLE, NY 13367. PHONE (315) 376-5349.
LEWIS COUNTY IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.