SOCIAL WORKER TRAINEE

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SOCIAL SERVICES

FILING DATES:
Applications will be accepted starting Wednesday, May 26, 2021, 8:00 a.m., PT through Wednesday, June 2, 2021, 5:00 p.m., PT.

EXAM NUMBER:
49050M

TYPE OF RECRUITMENT:
Open Competitive Opportunity

APPLICANTS MUST MEET THE SELECTION REQUIREMENTS BY THE LAST DATE OF FILING

DEFINITION:
Under close supervision and in a training capacity, assists in performing social casework.

CLASSIFICATION STANDARDS:
Positions allocable to this class are entry level social workers reporting to a Social Services Supervisor, and receives training and experience to prepare them for promotion to the journey-level class of Social Worker. Incumbents of the class are provided training on the department’s policies, regulations and procedures, and instructions in casework methodology. As experience is gained, incumbents are assigned caseloads with an increased level of complexity and work with a progressively increasing degree of independence.

Essential Job Functions

As a trainee, the incumbent receives information, instruction and practical experience in the following activities:

Identifies and analyzes clients’ needs for service; sets priorities, explores alternatives with clients to develop plans for resolving problems.

Assists clients in carrying out problem solving activities directed toward resolving housing, money management, health care, citizenship, residence, employment and other problems of a tangible nature.

Assesses client’s employment or training potential, and assists clients to overcome problems that would prevent or limit them from obtaining employment or participating in training programs.

Evaluates the needs of aged, blind and disabled clients and helps them use In-Home Supportive Services so they may remain safely in, or return to, their own homes and help maintain and strengthen their capabilities for self-care.

Provides information to clients about resources within the department and in the community; assists clients in selecting appropriate resources, contacting agencies, and in utilizing these resources.

Investigates situations involving adults reported to be endangered by abuse, neglect, exploitation or unsafe or hazardous living conditions, takes appropriate action and/or reports to appropriate agency to eliminate or reduce the possibility of endangerment.

Initiates requests for assistance from the appropriate legal authority to gain access to the client or obtain protection for clients in violent situations.

Acts as an advocate on behalf of the clients in situations where the clients are unable to act on their own, and when appropriate, refers clients for conservatorship.

Assists clients and their relatives in locating alternative living arrangements such as nursing homes, intermediate care facilities or board and care homes when in-home supportive services are not appropriate.

Takes appropriate action on referrals from public and private agencies and other jurisdictions.

Makes home visits as needed.

Requirements

SELECTION REQUIREMENTS:
A Bachelor’s degree in any related Behavioral or Social Science field from an accredited college or university.

LICENSE:
A valid California Class C Driver License or the ability to utilize an alternative method of transportation when needed to carry out job-related essential functions.

PHYSICAL CLASS:
Physical Class II – Light: Light physical effort which may include occasional light lifting to a 10 pound limit, and some bending, stooping or squatting. Considerable walking may be involved.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENT INFORMATION:
You MUST include one of the following: a legible copy of the official diploma, official transcripts, official letter, evaluation report of a transcript or certificate of completion with your application or within ten (10) calendar days from application submission. Official transcript and official letter are defined as transcript or letter that bears the college seal and states “official and/or copy” issued by the schools Registrar Office. A printout of the transcript from the school’s website is NOT considered official and will not be accepted which may result in your application being rejected. An evaluation report of a transcript is defined as a report issued by an academic credential evaluation agency recognized by the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) or the Association of International Credential Evaluators, Inc. (AICE) of the United States. A transcript submitted that is expressed in a language other than English will NOT be accepted and may result in your application being rejected.

Behavioral and Social Science related fields are, but are not limited to the following: Actuarial Science, Anthropology, Behavioral Finance, Child Development, Classical Studies, Cognitive Theory, Criminal Justice, Cultural Studies, Deaf Studies, Economics, Education, Environmental Studies, Ethology, Film, Fine Arts, all Foreign Languages, Gender Studies, Gerontology, History, Humanities, Human Services, International Relations, Linguistics, Literature, Management Science, Organizational Behavior, Philosophy, Political Science, Pre-Law, Psychobiology, Psychology, Public Administration, Rehabilitation Services, Sexuality Studies, Social Neuroscience, Social Psychology, Social Work Communications, Sociology, Urban Studies, and Women’s Studies, etc

Additional Information

EXAMINATION CONTENT:This examination will consist of two (2) parts:
Part 1: A multiple choice test weighted 70% covering the following:

Written Expression

Reading Comprehension

Data Analysis and Decision Making

Deciding and Initiating Action

Delivering Results and Meeting Customer Expectations

Persuading and Influencing

Planning and Organizing

Working with People

Only those candidates who achieve a passing score of 70% or higher on Part 1 will proceed to Part 2 of this examination.

Part 2:A Structured Video Interview weighted 30% covering the following dimensions:

Oral Communication

Fact Finding and Data Analysis

Decision Making

Adaptability/Flexibility

Interpersonal Skills

Candidates must meet the Selection Requirements and achieve a passing score of 70% or higher on each weighted part of the examination in order to be placed on the eligible list.

Many important notifications including invitation letters will be sent electronically to the email address provided on the application. It is important that you provide a valid email address. Please add [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] and the domains dpss.lacounty.gov, hr.lacounty.gov and governmentjobs.com to your list of approved email senders to prevent email notifications from being filtered as spam/junk/clutter mail.

Los Angeles County will not consider claims of not viewing or receiving notification to be a valid reason for late test administration or re-scheduling of a test component.

Notice of Non-acceptance and Final Result letters will be sent via E-mail or USPS, depending on your chosen method of contact in the supplemental questionnaire. Test scores cannot be given over the phone.

Standardized and multiple-choice tests are not reviewable by candidates per Civil Service Rule 7.19

TRANSFER OF SCORES:
Applicants who have taken identical test part(s) for this or any other exams within the last twelve (12) months will have their test responses for the identical test part(s) automatically transferred to this examination. This examination contains test parts that may be used in the future for new examinations. Upon acceptance of your application, your test responses may be transferred to the new examination and you may not be allowed to retake any identical test part(s) for at least twelve (12) months. Depending on the new examination content, your transferred test responses may not result in the same score.

TEST PREPARATION:
Study guides and other test preparation resources are available to help candidates prepare for employment tests. While the guides will help in preparing for the test, we advise you to review all related materials that you deem necessary.

An interactive, Online Test Preparation System for taking practice tests may be accessed on the Department of Human Resources website at http://hr.lacounty.gov/. Please click on “Find a Job” and then “Job Search Toolkit.” Test preparation information is located under the “Employment Test Assistance” section.

Additional practice tests are available at https://www.shldirect.com/en/practice-tests.

ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION:
Candidates receiving a passing score in the examination will be placed on a list of eligible in order of their score group for a period of twelve (12) months following the date of promulgation.

SPECIAL INFORMATION:
The County of Los Angeles is a Fair Chance employer. Except for a very limited number of positions, you will not be asked to provide information about a conviction history unless you receive a contingent offer of employment. The County will make an individualized assessment of whether your conviction history has a direct or adverse relationship with the specific duties of the job, and consider potential mitigating factors, including, but not limited to, evidence and extent of rehabilitation, recency of the offense(s), and age at the time of the offense(s). If asked to provide information about a conviction history, any convictions or court records which are exempted by a valid court order do not have to be disclosed

SELECTIVE CERTIFICATION LISTS:
Selective certification lists may be prepared for the following language specialties: AMESLAN, Arabic, Armenian, Cambodian, Cantonese, Farsi, Korean, Lao, Mandarin, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. The Department may also prepare selective certification lists by service areas.

Candidates who wish to have their names placed on a selective language certification list must indicate their foreign language on the application and pass a qualifying language proficiency test on their ability to speak, read, and write English and the specialty language.

VACANCY INFORMATION:
The resulting eligible list will be used to fill vacancies in the Department of Public Social Services offices located throughout Los Angeles County.

PASSING THIS EXAMINATION AND BEING PLACED ON THE ELIGIBLE LIST DOES NOT GUARANTEE AN OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT

APPLICATION AND FILING INFORMATION:
Applications must be filed online only. We must receive your application by 5:00 p.m., PT, on the last day of filing. Applications submitted by U.S. mail, fax, or in person will not be accepted.

Plan to submit your online application well in advance to ensure you have sufficient time to verify your email address. You may be required to verify your email address before the application can be submitted by entering a six-digit code sent to your email address. This is to enhance the security of your online application and to ensure you do not enter an incorrect email address.

Apply online by clicking on the green “Apply” button at the top right of this posting. You can also track the status of your application using the website https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/lacounty.

Applicants must submit all applicable documents (diplomas, official transcripts, certificates, etc.) during application submission. All documents must be clear and legible. Although resumes can be uploaded as attachments to the application, resumes cannot be accepted in lieu of completing the online application.

Documents not submitted with the application may be emailed to [email protected] but must be received within ten (10) calendar days of filing. All emails must clearly identify the applicant’s name and the subject line must include the exam name Social Worker Trainee and exam number 49050M.

Acceptance of your application depends on whether you clearly show that you meet the Selection Requirements. Fill out the online application completely and correctly in order to receive full credit for any related education, training, and job experience. For each job held, give the name and address of your employer, your job title, beginning and ending dates, and description of work performed. Utilizing verbiage from the Class Specification and/or Selection Requirements will not be sufficient to demonstrate that you meet the requirements. Doing so may result in an incomplete application and disqualification. All information supplied is subject to verification. APPLICATIONS MAY BE REJECTED AT ANY STAGE OF THE SELECTION PROCESS. Falsification of any information may result in disqualification or rescission of appointment.

PLEASE REVIEW YOUR APPLICATION CAREFULLY AND COMPLETELY PRIOR TO CLICKING THE “SUBMIT” BUTTON

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER:
Please include your Social Security Number for record control purposes.

Federal law requires that all employed persons have a Social Security Number.

COMPUTER AND INTERNET ACCESS:
Some LA County public libraries have reopened with limited access hours and may require prior reservation to use their computers. This information can be located at https://lacountylibrary.org/reopening.

NO SHARING OF USER ID AND PASSWORD:
All applicants must file their application online using their own user ID and password. Using a family member or friend’s user ID and password may erase a candidate’s original application record and is subject to disqualification for this examination.

Questions regarding this posting may be emailed with the exam name Social Worker Trainee and exam number 49050M in the subject line to [email protected].

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Coordinator email: [email protected] for computer-based assessment and [email protected] or (562) 551-3384 for structured video interview.

Teletype Phone: (800) 897-0077

California Relay Services Phone: (800) 735-2922

Department Contact Name: Alex Javaherdashti and Debbie Island

Department Contact Phone: (562) 566-7537 and (562) 566-7541

Department Contact Email: [email protected]