Definition
Reviews and determines initial and continuing financial eligibility for categorical public assistance programs; performs related work as required.
The work examples and competencies listed below are for illustrative purposes only and not intended to be the primary basis for position classification decisions.
Work Examples
- Conducts in-depth interviews with applicants in order to determine applicant eligibility for public assistance programs; interprets rules and regulations and explains rights and responsibilities of clients; gathers, organizes, analyzes and documents a large amount of information.
Elicits and verifies pertinent eligibility information such as income, residence, property ownership, rent, household expenses, other financial resources and physical and/or mental disabilities; assists applicants in obtaining additional information and in resolving discrepancies.
Determines initial and continues eligibility for public assistance programs in accordance with federal and state laws, and established departmental policies and procedures; computes grants or enters data into a computer system for grant computation; researches policies and rules to obtain answers to questions of applicant or client eligibility.
Maintains statistical documentation and records necessary to satisfy requirements and administration of Income Maintenance Programs; prepares written summaries, reports, responses to constituent concerns, Intentional Program Violations.
Establishes and maintains effective working relationships with applicants or recipients of public assistance, with co-workers and others.
Identifies potential services and refers to other social service resources within the office or community to assist in meeting immediate and long term client needs.
Confers with social workers and other persons in the community involved with the same client group for the purpose of coordinating services.
Enters and analyzes data on a personal computer.
Participates in continuous quality improvement work groups/teams.
Competencies Required
- Knowledge of current state and local socio-economic conditions and how they relate to public assistance programs.
Knowledge of state and federal rules, regulations, and goals related to public assistance programs.
Knowledge of a variety of federal, state and community programs designed to assist the client population.
Knowledge of the reporting requirements and documentation required by state and federal regulations.
Knowledge of the basic principles of human behavior.
Knowledge of the skills and techniques of interviewing.
Ability to read and understand instructions and underlying principles, as necessary, in the interpretation and application of rules and regulations pertaining to categorical public assistance programs.
Ability to accurately collect, verify, organize, analyze, and record information from applicants or current clients, and to make reasonable judgements in determining applicant or client eligibility for programs.
Ability to interview clients in such a way so as to obtain their cooperation and information from them.
Ability to assess needs of clients and match their individual and family needs with a wide variety of programs.
Ability to perform basic arithmetic quickly and accurately including addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of decimals and fractions.
Ability to understand written and verbal language and the ideas associated with it.
Ability to present client and program information and ideas clearly.
Ability to establish and maintain effective customer service oriented working relationships with employees, clients and the general public.
Ability to make logical and accurate customer service oriented decisions based on interpretations of program policies, rules and regulations and the information provided by clients.
Ability to input, analyze and retrieve information using a personal computer keyboard and assigned software applications such as Windows or Excel or on mainframe systems.
Ability to comprehend language and to understand the meanings of words, as well as to use them effectively.
Ability to understand the relationships between words and to understand the meanings of whole sentences and paragraphs.
Ability to communicate effectively in writing utilizing proper grammar and sentence structure.
Ability to input and retrieve data from computer terminal.
Displays high standards of ethical conduct. Refrains from dishonest behavior.
Works and communicates with all clients and customers providing quality professional service.
Displays a high level of initiative, effort and attention to detail and commitment by completing assignments efficiently with minimal supervision.
Follows policy, cooperates with supervisors and aligns behavior with the goals of the organization.
Fosters and facilitates cooperation, pride, trust, group identity and team spirit throughout the organization.
Exchanges information with individuals or groups effectively by listening and responding appropriately.
Education, Experience, and Special Requirements
Sixty semester hours (or equivalent academic units) from an accredited college or university;
OR
a combination of education and experience substituting the equivalent of one year of full-time public contact work experience obtaining, analyzing and/or evaluating data for each year of the required college education (on the basis that thirty semester hours is equal to one year of work experience);
OR
employees with current continuous experience in the state executive branch that includes experience equal to 18 months of full-time work at a Clerk Advanced level or above involving public contact experience on a regular basis in a service area.
Effective date: 09/12 CSH