AMENDMENT TO EXAMINATION ANNOUNCEMENT:

ADDITION TO MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

MINIMUM COLLEGE EDUCATION REQUIREMENT STATEMENT:

1. Applicants may be approved conditionally to take civil services examinations if the minimum college educational requirement is met within 12 months from the examination date.

2. As proof of satisfactory completion of the minimum college educational requirement, conditionally approved candidates are responsible for submitting an official copy of their college transcript within 12 months of taking the exam (12/6/25).

3. Names of conditionally approved candidates will be restricted on the eligible list and will not be certified for appointment(s), until an official copy of their college transcripts is received.

Note: If you have previously filed an application for examination #60006470, it is not necessary to re-file at this time.

A $12.50 PROCESSING FEE OR WAIVER OF THIS FEE MUST ACCOMPANY YOUR APPLICATION

FEE: There is a $12.50 non-refundable examination fee. When filing an application by mail, include a cashiers check or money order, payable to the Fulton County Treasurer. Do not send cash or a personal check. When filing in person with cash, the exact amount must be submitted. If the fee or fee waiver documentation proof does not accompany the application, the application will be rejected and returned to the applicant. There will be NO REFUNDS to applicants who fail to appear for the exam or fail to meet the minimum qualifications required for admittance to the exam, therefore, applicants are cautioned to review this announcement carefully.

WAIVER OF EXAMINATION FEE FOR UNEMPLOYED AND FOR PUBLIC ASSISTANCE RECIPIENTS: 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 for Medicaid, or receiving Supplemental Security Income payments, or Public Assistance (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families/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. If you can verify eligibility for application fee waiver, complete a “Request for Examination Application Fee Waiver and Certification” form and submit it with your application by the close of business on the Last Filing Date as listed on the Examination Announcement. (The Request for Examination Application Fee Waiver and Certification form can be obtained from the Fulton County Personnel Department, Fort Johnstown Building, 1 E. Montgomery Street, Johnstown, New York 12095, telephone number 518-736-5574.)

APPLICATIONS: Applications are available at the Fulton County Personnel Department or on the Fulton County website www.fultoncountyny.gov. Examination applications must be obtained and filed with the Fulton County Personnel Department. The Department recommends that you do not wait until the last day to file your application. When received in our office after 5:00 PM, on the last filing date, the application will be rejected and returned to the applicant. The correct examination number and title must appear on the application form. EVERY question on the application should be answered and complete in all aspects. Under “Duties” you must describe the nature of the work personally performed by you, with estimated percentages of time spent on each type of work. This department does not acknowledge receipt of applications or take responsibility for non-delivery or postal delay.

Failure to notify this office of a change of address may result in disqualification for examination or certification for appointment following examination.

Any application you may have previously filed will not gain you admittance to this exam and will not be used to obtain additional information. You must refile a separate Application for Examination during the official filing period as set forth in this announcement.

DISQUALIFICATION OF EXAMINATION APPLICATIONS:

When an application for an examination is disapproved by the Director of Personnel, the candidate will be given ten (10) calendar days to appeal this determination. Your appeal must clearly demonstrate that you meet or exceed the minimum qualifications as set forth on the examination announcement. Additional information must be pertinent, detailed and accurate. Your appeal must be in writing, addressed to the Personnel Department, 1 East Montgomery Street, Johnstown NY 12095, and received in this department no later than 5:00pm of the tenth calendar day. If the tenth calendar day falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the candidate will have until 5:00pm that following Monday to submit their appeal.

LOCATION OF POSITIONS/VACANCY: This position exists in the Fulton County Department of Social Services.

PLEASE POST CONSPICUOUSLY AT A HEIGHT REACHABLE BY PEOPLE IN WHEELCHAIRS

AND WITH OTHER MOBILITY IMPAIRMENTS - REMOVE AFTER LAST FILING DATE

ELIGIBLE LIST: A Promotion examination will be held at the same time as this Open Competitive examination. The Promotion examination will be given preference. The eligible list will remain in existence for a period of one (1) year, unless extended by the Director of Personnel to a maximum of four (4) years. When a list has existed for more than one year, it may terminate upon the establishment of a new list. This list will be used to fill this vacancy and any other appropriate full-time or part-time competitive vacancy occurring in an agency under the jurisdiction of the Fulton County Director of Personnel, anytime during the life of the eligible list.

SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS: May be made if you require a religious accommodation, are a disabled person, or deprived of participation on the scheduled date due to active military service. Specific information must be requested when filing your application.

APPLYING FOR CIVIL SERVICE EXAMINATIONS IN MULTIPLE JURISDICTIONS WHEN EXAMINATIONS ARE SCHEDULED ON SAME DATE: If you have applied for any other civil service examinations to be given on the same test date for employment with New York State or any other local government jurisdiction excluding New York City, you must make arrangements to take all the examinations at one test site.

If you have applied for both State and local government examinations, you must notify Fulton County of your intent to take both a State and a local government examination. When taking both a State and a local government examination you will be requirement to take all your examinations at a State examination center. You will be advised by letter when and where to report for your examination.

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 this 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 site. All examinations for positions in State government will be held at a State examination center. For this examination call (518) 736-5574 or write to the Fulton County Personnel Department, Fort Johnstown Building, 1 E. Montgomery Street, Johnstown, New York 12095.

2024 SALARY: $22.78

RESIDENCY: Candidates must, at the time of examination and at least four (4) months prior thereto, be a resident of Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Montgomery or Saratoga County. 

Preference in appointment from open-competitive lists may be given to candidates who have been residents of the locality in which appointment is to be made for four (4) months prior to the date of the written test. For appointment in some jurisdictions you may be required to become a resident thereof in accordance with law or resolution.

TYPICAL WORK ACTIVITIES (Illustrative but not exhaustive):

Collects data relevant to eligibility determinations and employability plans;

Prepares documents for data entry and utilizes computer systems as related to job;

Prepares payments associated with eligibility programs and reviews vouchers for accuracy;

Determines eligibility for financial management and employability programs;

Prepares payments, monitors status and evaluates continued availability for service;

Interviews clients eliciting complete and accurate information through verbal inquiry that takes place either in the office, the applicant’s home or by telephone;

Completes eligibility worksheet;

Reviews the application forms and accompanying documentation for completeness, accuracy and adherence to mandates;

Determines and monitors client participation in employment activities;

Conducts collateral contacts with outside agency sources to verify questionable or inconsistent information initially provided by the client;

Explains program requirements to the client and advises them of their entitlements, obligations and rights;

Determines eligibility for social service program(s) and computes the benefits/services the client is entitled to;

Maintains complete, accurate and properly organized case records;

Keeps case information current by processing known changes in client circumstance and re-evaluates eligibility on a periodic or as-needed basis;

Modifies employability plans as case circumstances warrant;

Informs client about the range of services available in the agency, makes referrals to appropriate service providers which include outside agencies;

When assigned to Third Party Resource duties, reviews and processes forms related to third-party health insurance and determines the cost effectiveness of agency payment of applicant recipient medical insurance premiums as compared to the costs of Medicaid coverage;

Collaborates with partner agencies to provide services and monitor applicant/recipient compliance;

Provides outreach in the community to provide program information and promote public awareness as assigned.

The above examples of duties are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related or a logical assignment to the position.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Graduation from high school, possession of a high school equivalency diploma, or a high school individual education plan diploma and completion of 60 semester credit hours from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENT: Certain assignments made to employees in this class will require access to transportation to meet field requirements made in the ordinary course of business in a timely and efficient manner.

A copy or photocopy of your official academic transcript showing courses taken and degree conferred (if a degree is required) must accompany your application. If submitting a photocopy, this office must be able to verify it is an official transcript. Your transcript does not have to be submitted in a sealed envelope from the Registrar’s Office. If your transcript, as previously described, does not accompany your application, your application will be disqualified and you will be given ten (10) days to submit documentation to substantiate your qualifications. If you fail to provide a copy or photocopy of your official transcript within the ten (10) day period, you will not be allowed to participate in the examination.

Your degree and/or college credit must have been awarded by a regionally accredited college or university or one recognized by the NYS Education Department as following acceptable educational practices. If your degree and/or college credit was awarded by an educational institution outside the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency from a member company of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services, Inc. (NACES). You can write to the Examination Information Desk of this Department for a list of NACES members who provide this service. You must pay the required evaluation fee.

SUBJECTS OF EXAMINATION: The written, multiple-choice test will be designed to measure knowledges, 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: 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 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

The NYS Department of Civil Service has published a test guide intended for candidate preparation use for this particular examination. This test guide contains important test-related information as well as sample test questions similar to the questions that will be used in this written test. The NYS Department of Civil Service is making a copy of this test guide, Social Welfare Examiner, and other related information available on its web site at https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.cfm.

CALCULATOR POLICY: Quiet, hand-held, solar or battery-powered calculators are ALLOWED.

Devices with typewriter keyboards, “Spell Checkers”, “Personal Digital Assistants”, “Address Books”, “Language Translators”, “Dictionaries”, or any similar devices are prohibited.

AT THE EXAM THE USE OF CELLULAR PHONES, BEEPERS, ETC. IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.

VETERANS’ CREDITS: Veterans, Disabled Veterans, or candidates currently in the armed forces claiming the additional credit allowed veterans in competitive examination, must apply for such credit while filing their examination application or at any time between the date of the application but prior to the date of the establishment of the resulting eligible list. The time periods, for which veterans’ credit is permitted, are defined in Question 12 on the examination application. To receive additional veterans’ credit you must file a separate Veterans’ Credit Application including acceptable supporting documentation for each examination. Veterans’ Credit is added only to the score of the examination when the candidate’s passing grade is 70 or higher.

CHILDREN AND SIBLINGS OF FIREFIGHTERS AND POLICE OFFICERS KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY CREDIT: In conformance with sections 85-a and 85-b of the Civil Service Law, children and siblings of firefighters and police officers killed in the line of duty shall be entitled to receive an additional ten points in a competitive examination for original appointment in the same municipality in which his or her parent, sister or brother has served. If you are qualified to participate in this examination and are a child or sibling of a firefighter or police officer killed in the line of duty in this municipality, please inform this office of this matter when you submit your application for examination. 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. Children and siblings of firefighters and police officers killed in the line of duty credit is added only to the score of the examination when the candidate's passing grade is 70 or higher.

RATING AND REVIEW: This written 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 and Section 7.1 of the State’s Civil Service Rules and Regulations. 

NOTICE TO APPEAR: Approved applicants will receive a Notice to Appear for the written examination providing the location and time. Late arrivals will not be admitted into the exam room under any circumstance. Please contact this office if you have not received a notice to appear for the written examination by November 30, 2024. 

ANY LAST-MINUTE CHANGE OR CANCELLATION WILL BE BROADCAST OVER RADIO STATION WENT (AM 1340) BETWEEN 6 AND 8 AM ON THE DATE OF THE EXAMINATION.

FULTON COUNTY DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF RACE, CREED, COLOR, NATIONAL ORIGIN, MARITAL STATUS, SEX, RELIGION, AGE OR DISABILITY IN EMPLOYMENT OR THE PROVISIONS OF SERVICES.

ISSUED: 10/8/24

PDF : Social Welfare Examiner 60006470 12 7 24 pdf
Social Welfare Examiner 60006470 12 7 24 amend pdf