Eligibility Caseworker; ECW – Community Support

GENERAL STATEMENT OF DUTIES

Performs detailed work determining eligibility for the financial, medical, special assistance and food stamp programs.

Work involves interviewing applicants for one or more of the above programs, verifying and evaluating data obtained from the applicant in order to make a correct eligibility determination. Work includes completion of various standardized forms, verifying information gathered, and computation of budgets. The job may also include occasional home visits. Cases must be reviewed periodically to determine continued eligibility for assistance.

Programs have a substantial amount of policy and procedural changes and have stringent deadlines. Employees assigned to some programs work under court-ordered deadlines and penalties for non-compliance. Reports to an Eligibility Supervisor I or Eligibility Supervisor II. Supervision is received through individual conferences and unit meetings and by review and evaluation of cases.

• Determines eligibility for one or more of the above programs based on constantly changing Federal, State, and County policies.
• Must adhere to strict policy deadlines for each assistance program.
• Interviews to obtain necessary factual information and verifies information received from applicants.
• Explains and interprets policy and application procedures to clients, and individuals in the community, and assists individuals in completing the application form.
• Maintains complete and accurate records on client eligibility.
• Responds to complaints of clients, advocates, professionals, and community members.
• Assesses clients’ needs and, when appropriate, makes referrals to other Social Service areas or appropriate community resources.
• May make visits to community facilities or client’s home to gather information.
• Presents pertinent information at agency conferences, appeals or state hearings.
• Required to attend introductory training and ongoing training in assigned area.
• Responsible for keeping all manuals and policy materials up to date and organized.
• Other duties as assigned

• Knowledge of the English language sufficient to interview clients, communicate and interpret programs to people of various socio-economic backgrounds.
• Ability to document complex situations in a comprehensive and legible manner.
• Writing skills used to correspond with clients and members of the community.
• Reasoning skills used to follow directions and procedures; arrive at logical conclusions; objective analysis of facts.
• Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide whole numbers and fractions, including use of decimals and computation of percentages.
• Ability to plan and organize work and time in an efficient manner which will result in applications, reviews, desk revisions, etc. being processed by program deadlines.
• Make constructive use of supervision.
• Ability to take initiative and work independently when appropriate.
• Ability to work with hostile or emotionally distraught individuals. The skill to pacify an individual in an agitated or highly emotional state is a plus.

• Graduation from high-school or equivalency and three years of paraprofessional, clerical or other public contact experience which included negotiating, interviewing, explaining information, gathering and compiling of data, analysis of data and/or the performance of mathematical or legal tasks
• One year of experience in an income maintenance caseworker may substitute for two of the three years of relevant experience. A higher education level may be considered as a substitution for all or part of the experience requirement

A Bachelor’s degree or higher in a related field.

• Must be able to physically perform the basic life operational functions of fingering, grasping, talking, hearing, and repetitive motion.
• Must be able to perform sedentary work exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull,…