Assistant Public Guardian-Conservator

THE EXAMINATION: 

THIS IS A NEW CONTINUOUS EXAMINATION.  The eligible list resulting from this examination will cancel any existing list and may last approximately one year but can be extended.  This examination may be reopened as necessary and the names of additional candidates merged onto the existing list according to examination score.

Applications must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing.  Postmarks are not accepted.  Applications will only be accepted on-line.  

THE AGENCY

The Alameda County Social Services Agency is comprised of 2,400 men and women working collectively and in partnership with community-based organizations to serve the needs of the community. Services are provided through five departments: Agency Administration and Finance, Adult, Aging and Medical Services, Children and Family Services, Workforce and Benefit Administration and Policy Office.

The Agency assists approximately 11.3 percent of Alameda County's residents. Benefits programs contribute over $278 million to the local economy through cash assistance and CalFresh (formerly known as Food Stamps). Every month, more than 52,000 people receive CalWORKs (assistance for families with children), CalFresh and General Assistance. Every month health insurance is made available to more than 78,000 people through the Medi-Cal program. More than 11,000 frail, elderly and disabled individuals receive in-home care, adult protection and support managing their affairs monthly and 16,000 seniors will receive services through the Area Agency on Aging throughout the year. 3,700 children are in foster care. More than 1,600 reports of child abuse or neglect are filed with SSA each month. Emergency shelter is made available to 415 people nightly.    

THE POSITION

Under supervision, Assistant Public Guardians-Conservators are designated to act on behalf of the Public Guardian-Conservator for Alameda County and are responsible for conducting Lanterman-Petris-Short or Probate conservatorship intake and/or investigation, case management, estate management and personal and financial management services for minor wards, elderly and dependent adults who may need to be conserved; and perform other case related duties as assigned.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

The ideal candidate for this position possesses the following:

• Excellent oral and written communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to prepare written reports and records in a clear, concise manner.

• Outstanding analytical skills, with a demonstrated ability to think logically and arrive at sound conclusions. 

• Exceptional organizational skills, including the ability to prioritize tasks and accomplish multiple projects simultaneously, take prompt action to achieve objectives as well as identify issues as they arise and address them proactively.

• Integrity and social responsibility, ensuring that all conservatees receive the most appropriate level and highest quality of care.

• Ability to work well under pressure; maintaining a calm and professional performance while operating under time constraints.  

All applicants must meet the minimum qualifications of the position by qualifying through one of the following patterns:

Either I
Education:

Possession of a Master's degree in Social Work, Counseling, Clinical Psychology, Gerontology or related behavioral science, from an accredited college or university, which included a supervised field placement providing social casework and counseling services to elderly, or vulnerable or dependent adults and their families.
Or II
Experience:

The equivalent of two years full-time experience in the class of Social Worker III or an equivalent or higher level social services case management classification in the Alameda County classified service. (Non-classified includes District Attorney’s Office, Hospital Authority, and the Consolidated Courts.)
Or III
Education:

Possession of a Bachelor's Degree, from an accredited college or university including 120 semester or 180 quarter units in Social Work/Human Services, Counseling, Clinical Psychology, Gerontology, Sociology or related behavioral science.
AND
Experience:

The equivalent of three years full-time experience providing ongoing social casework, case management and/or counseling services to the mentally ill and/or elderly in a recognized public or non-profit social services agency, conservator program hospital or Skilled Nursing Facility social work department or mental health case management organization.

License: Possession of a valid California Motor Vehicle Operator's license is required.

NOTE: The Civil Service Commission may modify the above Minimum Qualifications in the announcement of an examination.

The most suitably qualified candidates will possess the following competencies:

Knowledge of:

· Principles of social work, sociology and psychology.
· Crisis intervention techniques and principles.
· Available community resources and their appropriate utilization for referral and placement of the elderly and mentally ill.
· Investigative techniques as they pertain to the requirements of Public Guardianship/ Conservatorship.
· Medical/mental health and estate management laws.
· Casework management methods, practices and skills.
· Alameda County Unified Rules of Superior Court procedures related to Public Guardianship/Conservatorship.
· Relevant state regulations and codes including, the Penal, Probate, and Welfare and Institutions, Health and Safety codes as they relate to Public Guardianship/Conservatorship, Social Security and Lanterman-Petris-Short Acts.
· Relevant Federal, State and local laws pertinent to public assistance programs.
· Personal Computer programs and word processing applications.

Ability to:

· Coordinate conservatorship/case management efforts with other public and/or non-profit agencies involved in conservatees cases and effectively interact with other professionals (doctors, lawyers, court investigators and social workers,.).
· Manage a conservatee caseload in an efficient and sensitive manner, organize and prioritize estate/case management tasks and assignments.
· Protect clients’ estates through timely investigation, identification and marshalling of assets.
· Work independently at a journey level with minimum supervision.
· Prepare clear, concise, written communications and comprehensive court reports.
· Maintain complete and accurate case dictation and trust/estate case records.
· Communicate effectively with clients who lack the mental capacity to manage their person or estates
· Provide accurate and effective testimony in Superior Court on specific assigned cases as required.
· Provide sound financial and estate management to ensure the most appropriate level and highest quality of care for all conservatees.
· Be flexible and work well under pressure on time sensitive tasks.
· Interpret and appropriately apply county, agency and departmental policies, procedures and rules.

THE EXAMINATION WILL CONSIST OF the following steps:

1) A review of candidates' applications to verify possession of minimum requirements. Those candidates who possess the minimum requirements for the class will move on to the next step in the examination process;

2) A review of the Supplemental Questionnaire to determine the best qualified; only the most suitably best qualified candidates will be invited to the oral interview process;

3) An oral interview which will be weighted as 100% of the candidate's final examination score. The oral interview may contain situational exercises. 

CANDIDATES MUST ATTAIN A QUALIFYING RATING ON EACH PORTION OF THIS EXAMINATION.  We reserve the right to make changes to the announced examination components.

Alameda County utilizes a Civil Service Selection System founded on merit.  Such a system is competitive and based on broad recruitment efforts and equal opportunity for qualified applicants to test in an examination process designed to determine the qualifications, fitness and ability of competitors to perform duties of the vacant position.  Many of our recruitments are targeted and specific to the needs of a current vacant position, in which case, the eligible list may be exclusively used for that current vacant position.  Other recruitments many be more broadly used for both current and future vacancies, or for other alternate jobs with comparable scopes of work.

To learn more about our recruitment and selection process, please visit the “What You Need to Know” section of our website, www.acgov.org/hrs.

Applicants will be informed via email with reasonable notice in advance of any examination process which will require their attendance.  The following dates are tentative and subject to change based on the needs of the Agency:

TENTATIVE SELECTION PLAN
Deadline for Filing:                                                                                 5:00PM, Friday, January 17, 2017
Review of Minimum Qualifications:                                                                       Friday, February 3, 2017

Screening for Best Qualified                                                                               Friday, February 10, 2017
Panel Interviews:                                                                                              Week of February 27, 2017 

Alameda County and the Human Resource Services Department will make reasonable efforts in the examination and/or selection process to accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities and/or medical conditions in accordance/compliance with the State Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Alameda County’s Reasonable Accommodation Policy and applicable statutes.  To request an accommodation due to a disability/medical condition during this or other phases of the examination/selection process, please contact the assigned Human Resources Representative listed on the job announcement before the last date of filing.   Alameda County requires applicants to provide supporting documentation to substantiate a request for reasonable accommodation. In order to qualify for a reasonable accommodation, applicants must have a disability/medical condition pursuant to the ADA, FEHA and applicable statutes.

For more information regarding our Reasonable Accommodation procedures, please visit our website, www.acgov.org/hrs

Alameda County offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that affords wide-ranging health care options to meet the different needs of a diverse workforce and their families. We also sponsor many different employee discount, fitness and health screening programs focused on overall well being.  These benefits include but are not limited to*:

For your Health & Welfare Benefits

• Medical – HMO & PPO Insurance
• Dental – PPO & DHMO Insurance  
• Vision
• Basic Life Insurance 
• Supplemental Life Insurance (with optional dependent coverage) 
• County Allowance
• Health Flexible Spending Account
• Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
• Accident, Critical Illness & Hospital Indemnity
• Long Term Care Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program

For your Financial Future

• Short-term Disability Insurance
• Long-Term Disability Insurance
• Retirement Plan – (Defined Benefit Pension Plan)
• Deferred Compensation Plan

For your Work/Life Balance

• 11 paid holidays
• Vacation and sick leave accrual
• Vacation purchase program
• Management Paid Leave**
• Group Auto/Home
• Commuter Benefits Program
• Guaranteed Ride Home
• Employee Wellness Program (e.g. At Work Fitness, Incentive Based Programs, Gym Membership Discounts)
• Employee Discount Program (e.g. theme parks, cell phone, etc.)
• Child Care Resources
• 1^st United Services Credit Union 

*Eligibility is determined by Alameda County and offerings may vary by collective bargaining agreement.  This provides a brief summary of the benefits offered and can be subject to change.

** Non-exempt management employees are entitled to up to three days of management paid leave. Exempt management employees are entitled to up to seven days of management paid leave.

All notices related to County recruitments for which you have applied will be sent/delivered via email. Please add @acgov.org and alamedacountyHR@acgov.org as accepted addresses to any email blocking or spam filtering program you may use. If you do not do this, your email blocking or spam filtering program may block receipt of the notices regarding your application for recruitments. You are also strongly advised to regularly log into your County of Alameda online application account to check for notices that may have been sent to you. All email notices that will be sent to you will also be kept in your personal online application account. You will be able to view all of your notices in your online application account by clicking on the "My applications" button on the Current Job Openings page.

Please take the steps recommended above to insure you do not miss any notices about a recruitment for which you have applied. The County of Alameda is not responsible for notices that are not read, received or accessed by any applicant for a County recruitment.

NOTE: All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box alamedacountyHR@acgov.org are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. If you have questions please go to our website at www.acgov.org/hrs. You may also contact the Human Resources Analyst listed on the bulletin for the recruitment for which you have applied.

Ione Bell

Human Resource Analyst
Human Resource Services Division-County of Alameda
510-272-6456
www.acgov.org

Alameda County is an Equal Opportunity Employer