Social Services Investigator, PROM #72-742

GENESEE COUNTY HUMAN RESOURCES

COUNTY BUILDING I, BATAVIA, NEW YORK

ANNOUNCES

 A PROMOTIONAL EXAMINATION FOR:

SOCIAL SERVICES INVESTIGATOR, PROM #72-742

SALARY:  $20.51 - $24.37 per hour (2019) Genesee County.

VACANCY:  This examination is being held to establish an eligible list to fill future vacancies as they occur. An eligible may receive only one permanent appointment from this list. Once appointed, there will be a Probationary Period of 8-26 weeks based on performance of duties. During this probationary period the Department Head has the ability to terminate employment, without cause.

LAST FILING DATE----------APRIL 3, 2019

EXAMINATION DATE----------MAY 11, 2019

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

Applicants must have two (2) years of full-time, permanent, competitive status as a Senior Social Welfare Examiner or Caseworker with Genesee County Social Services OR four (4) years of full-time, permanent, competitive status as a Social Welfare Examiner with Genesee County Social Services, having served continuously in such capacity prior to the date of the written examination, and must continue such employment through the period leading to the date of appointment from this Eligible List, [PLEASE INDICATE ALL RELEVANT EXPERIENCE ON YOUR APPLICATION].

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:

Interviews public assistance recipients and applicants and their relatives, friends, employers and others to obtain information and gather evidence concerning possible violation of public assistance laws and regulations;

Investigates reports of missing persons and alleged neglect of children;

May conduct inspections of temporary housing locations throughout the county;

Recommends arrest and prosecution of violators of public assistance laws and regulations, working closely with law enforcement agencies, lawyers, hearing officers, and agency supervisors/administrators; appears in various courts as necessary;

Contacts banks, insurance companies and other financial organizations to determine available assets and funds of applicants and recipients in cases where alleged fraud is suspected;

Secures and interprets evidence in the form of statements, documents, records and exhibits; performs internet searches on a variety of official state/national databases.

Contacts and interviews all parties thought to possess information on cases under investigation; makes e-mail and phone contacts.

Makes field visits to obtain evidence or information, and performs surveillance of individuals’ activities within or outside of the community;

Verifies information by checking with local, state and federal law enforcement authorities;

Writes detailed reports on all activities;

Attends training and meetings as required; serves as back-up to lower level titles in the agency.

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

1.   Evaluating Information and Evidence

2.   Preparing Written Material

3.   Understanding and Interpreting Written Material

CANDIDATES ARE ALLOWED TO USE QUIET, HAND-HELD, SOLAR OR BATTERY POWERED CALCULATORS.  CELL PHONES OR DEVICES WITH TYPEWRITER KEYBOARDS ARE PROHIBITED.

EXPANDED SUB-TEST DESCRIPTION: Evaluating Information and Evidence-These questions test for the ability to evaluate and draw conclusions from information and evidence. Each question consists of a set of facts and a conclusion based on the facts. The candidate must decide if the conclusion is warranted by the facts.

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.

Understanding and Interpreting Written Material-These questions test for the ability to understand and interpret written material. You will be presented with brief reading passages and will be asked questions about the passages. You should base your answers to the questions only on what is presented in the passages and not on what you may happen to know about the topic.

A Guide for the Written Test for Investigators is available at the New York State website: https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.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, Persons with Disabilities or Active Military: 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.

PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS: College graduates with student loans may be eligible to have part of their loan paid for after being employed in a full-time position at Genesee County. Additional information is available at https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/sites/default/files/public-service-loan-forgiveness.pdf.