Social Work Assistant 1

Social Work Assistant 1

The tasks and activities performed by a Social Work Assistant 1 vary based on the agency, facility, program, and/or setting to which a position is assigned. Therefore, a Social Work Assistant 1 may perform duties including but not limited to the following:

• Manages an assigned caseload to link individuals with agencies, programs, and services that meet their psychosocial needs.
• Conducts individual assessments with questionnaires, observations, and interviews with individuals, families, friends, and community service agencies to obtain background information and prepare case histories.
• Serves as a member of a multidisciplinary treatment team; presents case management information and observations; and participates in the development of individualized service plans and the revision of individual treatment programs.
• Assists and participates in individual, group, and family counseling sessions.
• Coordinates with county, municipal, and voluntary human service agencies regarding available services and assists in developing new or required services for individuals.
• Assists individuals in applying for services and completing paperwork; and conducts follow-up visits to ensure services meet individuals' needs.
• Advocates for the needs of individuals and ensures that they receive appropriate services, and their legal and human rights are protected; and promotes the effective and consistent utilization of services and resources.
• Prepares written assessments, progress notes, reports, letters, and other communications with individuals and service providers; and maintains a wide variety of individual records.
• Schedules medical, dental, and other clinical services for individuals.

May perform the full range of supervisory duties over lower-level direct care staff.

Open Competitive: A bachelor's degree in a human services field and one year of social work experience.

Substitution: Master's degree in a human services field can substitute for one year of specialized experience.

Transfer: Candidates must have one year of permanent competitive or 55-b/c status in the posted title and be eligible for lateral transfer; OR be eligible to transfer via Section 70.1, 70.4, or 52.6 of Civil Service Law. The transfer cannot be a second consecutive transfer resulting in an advancement of more than two salary grades.

To determine if your current Civil Service title is eligible for transfer to this title, visit the Career Mobility GOT-IT website: careermobilityoffice.cs.ny.gov/cmo/gotit/index.cfm.

This title is part of the New York Hiring for Emergency Limited Placement Statewide Program (NY HELPS). HELPS Program titles may be filled via a non-competitive appointment. This means that you do not need to take an exam to qualify, but you do need to meet the minimum qualifications of the title.

At a future date (within one year of permanent appointment), employees hired under NY HELPS are expected to have their permanent non-competitive employment status converted to permanent competitive status. You will not have to take an exam to gain permanent competitive status.

Please note that starting salary for this title reflects the Downstate adjustment. Posted Hiring Salary includes the sum of the statutory hiring rate for PS&T Grade 14 ($53,764) and Downstate Adjustment ($4,000). Downstate Adjustment is added to the job rate ($68,630).

If you are currently a New York State employee serving in a permanent competitive qualifying title and eligible for a transfer via Section 70.1 of the Civil Service Law, you may be appointed to this title as a permanent competitive employee.

The assignment of PS&T employees will be made in accordance with any agreed upon Memorandum of Understanding between PEF and the local DDSO regarding the posting of job vacancies.

Preference will be given to OPWDD employees impacted by closures. If you are being impacted by closure, please indicate this on your resume.

All OPWDD employees must be eligible and maintain eligibility for full and unconditional participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Continued employment will depend on maintaining eligibility.

If you are employed by state government you may be able to receive loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF). The PSLF Program forgives the remaining balance on Direct Loans after 120 qualifying monthly payments have been made under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time for a qualifying employer. For more information on PSLF, please visit

Employees on long term leave can bid on positions but must be able to report to work within fourteen (14) days and be able to perform the essential functions of their positions with or without reasonable accommodation (RA).

If an employee or job applicant believes that they need a reasonable accommodation, they should contact the Reasonable Accommodation Unit at View phone number on click.appcast.io or email View email address on click.appcast.io to obtain information and RA forms.

Savings programs such as the U.S. Savings Bond and the College Savings Plan.

Voluntary pre-tax savings programs such as Health Care Spending Account and the Dependent Care Advantage Account offer employees options to pay for uncovered health care expenses or dependent care expenses.

Access to the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) an assessment and referral service that connects employees with local service providers and support services to address their personal needs.

Life insurance and Disability insurance.

The New York State Deferred Compensation Plan is a voluntary retirement plan that offers employees the option to invest a part of their salaries for retirement on a tax-deferred basis.

Paid Holidays and Leave:

• Thirteen (13) paid holidays each year.
• Thirteen (13) days of paid vacation leave initially.
• Five (5) days paid personal leave each year.
• Thirteen (13) days of paid sick leave each year (PEF/CSEA), which may carry over from year to year.
• Up to three (3) days professional leave each year to participate in professional development events.

Health Care Coverage:

• Employees and their eligible dependents can choose from a variety of affordable health insurance programs. Employees are provided family dental and vision plans at no extra cost.

Paid Parental Leave:

• Paid Parental Leave allows eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave at full pay for each qualifying event. A qualifying event is defined as the birth of a child or placement of a child for adoption or foster care.

Retirement Program:

• Participate in The NYS Employees' Retirement System (ERS), which is recognized as one of the best-managed and best-funded public retirement systems in the nation.

Professional Development and Education and Training:

• NYS offers training programs and tuition assistance to eligible employees to maintain and increase their professional skills and prepare them for promotional opportunities. For more information, please visit oer.ny.gov/training-and-professional-development.

Additionally, the Public Service Workshops Program (PSWP) offers certain professional training opportunities for PEF represented and M/C designated employees that may grant continuing education credits towards maintaining professional licensure. For more information, please visit oer.ny.gov/public-service-workshops-program-pswp.

OPWDD is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer dedicated to creating and sustaining a culture of inclusion. We believe that we are most effective in managing and improving our service system with a diverse team of employees. With such a large workforce, we rely on the collective individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, self-expression, ideas and talent that our employees bring to their work. This speaks to our culture and is a key part of our successes. As we continuously recruit people for our team, we welcome the unique contributions that applicants bring in terms of their education, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veteran's status, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation and beliefs.

***All people with disabilities are encouraged to apply.***