88-521

SUFFOLK COUNTY

PROBATION OFFICER (SPANISH SPEAKING)

CIVIL SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

http://www.suffolkcountyny.gov/Departments/Civil-Service

· LAST FILING DATE: MAY 8, 2024

· WRITTEN TEST DATE: JUNE 15, 2024

· COUNTY ANNUAL SALARY $56,898

· GRADE 21 STEP 1 (Bargaining Unit 16)

SPECIFICATION # 6508

All statements made on the application may be verified and the backgrounds of successful candidates are subject to investigation by the appointing authority.

APPLICATION PROCESSING FEE and FEE WAIVER

The application processing fee is $125. Application may be made via the internet at www.suffolkcountyny.gov/Departments/Civil-Service. Payment must be made by VISA or MasterCard credit card and there will be an additional convenience fee of $1.95. An acknowledgement of receipt of application will be sent to all internet applicants via e-mail. A separate application and processing fee are required for each examination (identified by examination number) for which you are applying. The application processing fee is non-refundable and non-transferable.

The application processing fee may be waived for Suffolk County residents who are veterans, active duty military, members of the reserves or National Guard, auxiliary police, firefighters, members in good standing of a local fire district or ambulance company, members of a Volunteer Fire Department or Volunteer Emergency Medical Services Agency Explorers programs, volunteer CERT members and members of the Suffolk County Police Explorers program. The fee may also be waived if you are unemployed and primarily responsible for the support of a household and for recipients of Medicaid, SSI, Public Assistance or those in a training program under the Job Training Partnership Act/Workforce Investment Act administered by a state or local social service agency. Applicants should complete the “Request for Application Fee Waiver and Certification” form online. All claims for application fee waiver are subject to verification.

VACANCIES

The eligible list for this title will be used to fill future vacancies in the Suffolk County Probation Department.

DUTIES

This is the entry-level professional position in the Probation Department responsible for the control, supervision and care of adults and juveniles subject to probation supervision, investigation or intake services which require them to meet certain standards of conduct and whose primary language is the Spanish language thereby requiring the probation investigation, supervision or intake services to be conducted in Spanish. Incumbents are required to communicate with clients, probationers and their families in Spanish and proficiency is required in both Spanish and English. A Probation Officer (Spanish Speaking) performs all the duties and exercises all the responsibilities of a Probation Officer; however he/she does so in Spanish. The incumbent uses sound professional judgment and applies investigative techniques to evaluate the conduct of those subject to court ordered investigation, analyzes data, and makes recommendations regarding court dispositions. The incumbent counsels and coaches probationers and others receiving probation services to change patterns of thinking and behavior to help promote and sustain law-abiding relationships with society and to reduce the likelihood of becoming re-involved in criminal or delinquent behavior. The employee may arrange for medical, mental health or substance abuse treatment services. The employee may be assigned to a specialty unit as an assistant to a Senior Probation Officer, handling less complex assignments within the unit. Supervision is not a characteristic of this position. The incumbent is supervised by a higher-ranking probation professional. A Probation Officer is a Peace Officer pursuant to Criminal Procedure Law Section 2.10 and may be authorized to carry a firearm in the performance of his/her duties. Does related work as required.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Either:

(a) One (1) year of permanent competitive status as a Probation Officer Trainee (Spanish Speaking) in a New York State Probation Agency; or,

(b) Graduation from a college with federally authorized accreditation or registration by New York State with a Master’s Degree in Social Work, Social Sciences, Education, Administration, Law, Criminal Justice, or a related field, or;

(c) Graduation from a college with federally authorized accreditation or registration by New York State with a Bachelor’s Degree*, including at least thirty (30) credit hours in the social or behavioral sciences and two (2) years of experience in counseling, law enforcement, juvenile or criminal justice, education, or casework in a probation, law enforcement, juvenile or criminal justice, corrections, community corrections, parole, social sciences, mental health, social work or other public or private human services agency.

Notes: Coursework* at the Master’s degree level in social work, social sciences, education, administration, law, criminal justice, or a related field may be substituted for work experience for a maximum of one (1) year of experience.

Social science includes areas of study concerned with humans living in relation to other humans in a social environment such as anthropology, criminal justice, economics, geography, history, political science, psychology and sociology.

Behavioral science is a subset of social science characterized by observation of the behavior of living organisms and focused on human behavior such as psychology, sociology, anthropology, counseling, criminal justice, gerontology, human behavior, social work/social welfare and vocational rehabilitation.

Counseling experience involves individuals and/or families, discussing and evaluating their problems (e.g. drug and alcohol abuse, family conflicts, disabilities) and developing and carrying out plans to resolve problems. Those who perform counseling duties work directly with individuals and/or families on an ongoing basis in order to assist them and monitor and evaluate their progress.

Law enforcement experience involves providing for public safety by maintaining order, responding to emergencies, protecting people and property, enforcing motor vehicle and criminal laws and promoting good community relations as a member of a regional state park police or a police force, police department or other organization of a county, city, town, village, housing authority, transit authority or police district.

Education experience involves teaching a curriculum to students or supervising/administering such a curriculum and those teaching it or experience as a guidance counselor, school or educational counselor or instructional coordinator/curriculum coordinator in a criminal justice or juvenile justice setting.

Casework experience involves activities directed toward enhancing a client’s ability to cope with and solve problems and the referral of clients to supporting resources and services.

Necessary Special Requirements

At the time of appointment and during employment in this title employees must possess a valid license to operate a motor vehicle in New York State. Candidates must be a United States Citizen at the time of appointment. Candidates will be required to successful complete the State Requirements of Peace Officer Training and Firearms Training as per New York State Criminal Procedure Law Section 2.3

SCOPE OF THE EXAMINATION

This examination will consist of four parts:

I. The written test will cover knowledge, skills and/or abilities in such areas as:

1. Advising and interacting with others;

2. Preparing written material;

3. Evaluating conclusions in light of known facts;

4. Applying written information.

Note: The use of calculators is recommended for this examination.

Note: The New York State Department of Civil Service has not prepared a test guide for this examination. However, candidates may find information in the publication 'General Guide to Written Tests' helpful in preparing for this test. This publication is available on line at: https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.cfm.

II. Spanish language proficiency test – As the needs of the service require, candidates receiving passing scores on the written test will be invited to a qualifying (pass or fail) Spanish language proficiency test designed to evaluate the candidate’s ability to converse in the Spanish language at a level appropriate for the position(s) being filled. (A candidate may qualify for a waiver of the Spanish language proficiency test if he/she passes a comparable or higher level Spanish language proficiency test administered within the last four years by the Suffolk County Department of Human Resources, Personnel and Civil Service.)

III. Medical evaluation – As the needs of the service require, candidates who pass the written test will be called for a qualifying medical/physical evaluation. (Medical standards appear on page 5 of this announcement.)

IV. Psychological evaluation – As the needs of the service require, candidates who pass the written test will be called for a qualifying personality/psychological evaluation.

Note: The medical and psychological standards are subject to change without notice to candidates. Failure or failure to appear as scheduled for any of these tests or evaluations will result in the elimination of a candidate’s application from further consideration for purposes of this competition.

Candidates must pass all parts of this examination in order to be eligible for appointment. Rank on the eligible list will be determined by the written scores only, plus veterans’ credits if applicable.

NOTES

1. Should it become necessary to amend any part of this announcement, the Department of Civil Service reserves the right to make such amendment on the Department’s web page without notification to applicants. The most current copy of this announcement is available during the filing period at www.suffolkcountyny.gov/Departments/Civil-Service.

2. Expanded Description of the examination subtests.

3. Candidates who apply for this examination and who have not heard from the Suffolk County Department of Civil Service by June 12, 2024 are advised to contact the Department before the written test date at (631) 853-5500.

N.Y.S.

DATE PREPARED: March 26, 2024

GENERAL CONDITIONS OPEN-COMPETITIVE ANNOUNCEMENT

1. Application may be made using the Suffolk County Application for Employment (Forms CS-205A and CS-205B).

2. Applicants may complete a “Request for Application Fee Waiver and Certification” form and submit it with Forms CS-205A and CS-205B.

3. Unless otherwise stated, candidates must meet the minimum qualifications by the date of the written test, or last filing date in the case of training and experience evaluations. Unless otherwise stated part-time experience will be pro-rated.

4. Candidates found ineligible to compete in the written examination may appeal to the Department of Civil Service for reconsideration prior to the written test date appearing on this announcement. Appeals received on or after the announced written test date will not be considered.

5. Candidates who fail the examination, or who fail to appear for the examination as scheduled, will be eliminated from further consideration for purposes of this competition. Unless otherwise specified, the final rank order of the eligible list will be determined on the basis of the score received on the written test, plus veterans’ credits where appropriate.

6. Eligible applicants will be notified when and where to appear for examination. If an application is rejected, due notice will be sent.

7. Unless specifically prohibited by the examination instructions, candidates are permitted to use quiet, hand-held, solar or battery-powered calculators. Devices with typewriter keyboards, spell-checker, personal digital assistant, address books, language translators, dictionaries and any similar devices are prohibited.

8. When the examination is prepared and rated by the Suffolk County Department of Civil Service, the provisions of the Suffolk County Civil Service Rules dealing with the rating of examination will apply.

9. When the written examination is prepared and rated by the New York State Department of Civil Service in accordance with Section 23-2 of the Civil Service Law, the provisions of the New York State Civil Service Rules and Regulations which deal with the rating of examination will apply.

10. The eligible list established as a result of this examination will remain in force for at least one year and may be extended by the Department of Civil Service for a maximum of four years. Changing conditions may make it necessary to certify to future vacancies at higher or lower salaries than those announced.

11. Information regarding eligibility for veterans’ credits appears on the open-competitive application form.

12. Pursuant to Section 85-a of the Civil Service Law, children of firefighters and police officers killed in the line of duty shall be entitled to receive an additional ten points added to a passing score attained in a competitive examination for original appointment in the same municipality in which his or her parent served. If you are qualified to participate in this examination, and you are the child of a firefighter or police officer killed in the line of duty, please so notify us in writing when you submit your application for examination. A candidate claiming such credit must submit appropriate documentation to verify eligibility to receive these additional credits before the eligible list is established. No additional credits will be granted after the eligible list is established.

13. Inquiries may be made as to character and ability and all statements made by candidates are subject to verification. Some employers may require the candidate to be fingerprinted and to pass a background investigation.

14. Candidates must be medically, physically and psychologically capable of performing the duties of the job. Candidates who are appointed to positions in the Suffolk County service may be required to pass qualifying medical and/or physical and/or psychological evaluations.

15. Residency is not required for taking any examinations. However, some jurisdictions, such as schools, libraries, etc., give hiring preference to residents. Some towns also require employees to establish residency within the township. For employment in a Suffolk County Department, with only limited exceptions set forth in Suffolk County Law, residency within Suffolk County is required within five years of employment with the county. In any case in which residency preference is given, the appointee(s) must meet a specific residency standard as defined in the Civil Service Rules.

16. Saturday Sabbath Observers and handicapped persons: If special arrangements for testing are required, indicate this on your application.

17. No smoking is permitted in the building or on the grounds of the examination site.

18. If you will be on active military duty with the armed forces of the United States on the date of this test, please contact the Suffolk County Department of Civil Service before the last filing date appearing on this announcement for alternate test date information.

19. Multiple Examinations Scheduled for the Same Day: 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 test site. All examinations for positions in State government will be held at a State examination center. If you have any questions, please call the Suffolk County Department of Civil Service at (631) 853-5500.

20. For information regarding a weather-related cancellation of this examination, please refer to our website at www.suffolkcountyny.gov/Departments/Civil-Service and click on the “Weather Related Exam Cancellations” link. Civil Service Announcements are shown at the bottom of that page. Also check News 12 Long Island for notice of cancellation of this examination: NEWS 12 LONG ISLAND, TV CHANNEL 12 or at their website: www.news12.com.

Suffolk County Department of Civil Service

725 Veterans Memorial Hwy.,

William J. Lindsay County Complex, Bldg. # 158

P.O. Box 6100

Hauppauge, NY 11788-0099

Phone: (631) 853-5500

SUFFOLK COUNTY OFFICE OF EMPLOYEE MEDICAL REVIEW

MEDICAL REQUIREMENTS

PROBATION OFFICER (SPANISH SPEAKING)

Weight: Weight should not interfere with candidate’s ability to perform the duties of the position.

Vision: Candidates must have uncorrected vision of no worse than 20/100 in each eye, and must be correctable to 20/30 binocular. Binocular peripheral vision should not be less than 170 degrees.

Color Vision: Perception of color is deemed acceptable if the candidate correctly reads 9 or more of the first 13 plates of the 24-plate edition of the Ishihara Test. If the candidate’s color perception is deemed unacceptable through the use of said test and he/she believes the results to be incorrect, such an individual may at his/her own expense take the Farnsworth-Munsell 100-Hue Test under the supervision of an ophthalmologist having the proper equipment and utilizing the standards established by the Municipal Police Training Council.

Hearing: The average hearing level (HL) for the 3 test frequencies of 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz will not exceed 25 dB in either ear, and no single hearing level will exceed 30 dB at any of these 3 test frequencies in either ear. Hearing loss at 3000 will not exceed 40 dB HL in either ear. Use of hearing aid is permitted and should correct the deficiency so the binaural haring loss in the combined frequency level of 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz is no greater than 15%. Candidates with hearing aids, at their own expense, must provide evidence from a licensed audiologist, using functional gain or real ear measurements, that their aid(s) meet the stipulated manufacturer standards.

Speech: Significant speech pathology interfering with communications will be considered disqualifying. Speech must be clear and intelligible.

Cardiovascular Health: Candidates must be free of chronically disabling conditions that would interfere with the performance of required duties; uncontrolled high blood pressure will be restricted pending remediation.

Respiratory Health: The respiratory system must be free of chronically disabling conditions that would interfere with the candidate’s performance of required duties.

Endocrine & Metabolic: Candidates having a condition or disorder that may affect job performance will be evaluated on a case-by-case assessment including control of disorder, and the presence and severity of symptoms and/or complications. Ability to perform shift work and overtime will be assessed.

Neurological Health: Candidates must be free of neurological disorders that may affect job performance. Candidates with epilepsy seizure disorders must provide evidence of one-year seizure free history with or without drug control.

Musculoskeletal Health: Candidates must have no defects, deformities or disorders that will interfere with the candidate’s ability to perform the essential functions of the position. The use of prostheses or braces is allowed as long as the candidate can perform the full range of duties of the position and no security risk is posed.

Gastrointestinal Health: Candidates must be free of gastrointestinal disorders or deformities that would interfere with the performance of job duties.

Mental Health: Candidates must be free of mental illness, serious emotional disturbances or nervous disorders, drug dependence or abuse that would interfere with the performance of their duties.

General Medical Statement: Candidates must be free of any medical and/or mental health condition which would jeopardize safety and health of the public and/or other employees. Candidates with communicable disease will be disqualified until condition becomes corrected or controlled. Ability to perform shift work and overtime will be assessed.

Physical Fitness: Candidates will be asked to demonstrate physical fitness through tests of strength, flexibility and endurance. A limited agility test will be performed to evaluate physical fitness level.

* The medical requirements are subject to change.

4/2024