Review Vacancy
AgencyPeople With Developmental Disabilities, Office for
TitleSocial Work Assistant 3 RO
Occupational CategoryHealth Care, Human/Social Services
Bargaining UnitPS&T - Professional, Scientific, and Technical (PEF)
Salary RangeFrom $61516 to $81707 Annually
Workday
Street Address TBD Taconic DDRO Hudson Valley DDRO Capital DDRO
Minimum Qualifications Candidates must be on the current eligible list and be reachable for appointment.
OR
Transfer Opportunity - Candidates must have one year of permanent service in a title eligible for transfer
under § 70.1 of the Civil Service Law;
OR
Provisional Opportunity: Candidates must have taken the SWA 3 exam on 10/21/23.
Promotional: Candidates must possess a bachelor’s degree or higher in a human service area* and one year
of permanent competitive service as a Social Work Assistant 2 or parenthetic;
Open Competitive: Candidates must meet the following experience and education qualifications.
1. Two years of qualifying social work experience (indicated below) AND a bachelor's degree in either: social work,
applied psychology, art therapy, audiology, clinical mental health, clinical mental health counseling, clinical
psychology, communication disorders, community and human services, community mental health counseling,
counseling, counseling and community psychology, counseling education, creative art therapy, education,
experimental psychology, expressive art therapy, forensic mental health, forensic psychology, gerontology, health
administration, health and human services, human development, human services, mental health counseling,
marriage and family therapy, music therapy, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, psychology,
psychoanalysis, recreation therapy, rehabilitation counseling, social welfare, sociology, special education, speech
communication, speech/language pathology, or vocational rehabilitation counseling,
Or 2. One year of social work experience (indicated below) AND a master's degree in in either: social work, applied
psychology, art therapy, audiology, clinical mental health, clinical mental health counseling, clinical psychology,
communication disorders, community and human services, community mental health counseling, counseling,
counseling and community psychology, counseling education, creative art therapy, education, experimental
psychology, expressive art therapy, forensic mental health, forensic psychology, gerontology, health administration,
health and human services, human development, human services, mental health counseling, marriage and family
therapy, music therapy, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, psychology, psychoanalysis, recreation
therapy, rehabilitation counseling, social welfare, sociology, special education, speech communication,
speech/language pathology, or vocational rehabilitation counseling.
Qualifying experience: For the purposes of this examination, qualifying social work experience involves activities
such as assessing individual and family needs, strengths and limitations; assisting in the development of treatment
plans; providing counseling to promote mental, emotional, physical and social functioning; helping individuals and
families access supportive services; coordinating and evaluating services, programs and support systems; and providing
support, advocacy and referral as appropriate.
Examples of non-qualifying experience include but are not limited to: providing direct hands-on care to
patients/consumers by assisting with bathing, dressing, mobility, eating, and other activities of daily living;
transporting/accompanying patients/consumers to appointments or activities; planning, organizing and participating in
recreational activities for patients/consumers, such as sports, games, creative arts, and/or clubs; and performing safety
and/or security related functions for a facility.
Note: If you are appointed provisionally, you must take the next scheduled Civil Service examination for this title and
your score must be reachable on the resulting eligible list before you can be permanently appointed. If you do not pass
the examination or achieve a reachable score, you may not be retained.
Duties Description The function of the Housing Liaison position provides essential services in the Housing Unit and coincides with the
expectations of the core mission of OPWDD to provide necessary services to individuals with disabilities. Specifically,
this position is critical to residential placement efforts as the housing unit is responsible for confirming individuals’ needs
for certified OPWDD residential opportunities and for non-certified housing opportunities. This position provides services
for the Housing Unit within the 18 counties of OPWDD Region 3. OPWDD has developed a vacancy management
strategy for certified OPWDD residential programs to reflect the expectations of the Front Door program. This is the
Certified Residential Opportunity (CRO) process. As part of the CRO process, all residential opportunities in the
OPWDD sites, both voluntary and state operated, are filled by the Housing Unit. This position is essential to coordinate
residential services in more than 1900 certified homes in the 18 counties within the Hudson Valley, Taconic, and Capital
districts. Additionally, non-certified sites and opportunities will be identified and followed by the Housing Unit.
PRIMARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
As a Housing Liaison, and part of the housing unit, the functions performed are unique to this position and are essential
in addressing the following work activities:
• Identifying and maintaining records of all available vacancies region-wide
• Coordinating weekly CRO meeting to review requests and discuss needs.
• Providing ongoing training to providers to ensure understanding and compliance with the CRO
process/protocol.
• Developing relationships with agency representatives to increase CRO opportunities for individuals in need of
housing.
• Maintaining statewide database and local spreadsheets to identify individuals requiring services.
• Processing admissions/removals/transfers in TABS/CHOICES
• Acting as district transfer liaison
• Providing active outreach to community and stakeholders regarding CRO process
• Other regional office activities as needed and assigned.
Additional Comments 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 believes that
they need a reasonable accommodation, they should contact the NYS OPWDD Reasonable Accommodation Unit at (518) 486-
7222 or e-mail at accommodationrequests@opwdd.ny.gov to obtain information and RA forms.
• Preference will be given to OPWDD employees impacted by closures. If you are being impacted by closure, please indicate this
on your resume/cover letter.
• Pursuant to Executive Order 161, no State entity, as defined by the Executive Order, is permitted to ask, or mandate, in any
form, that an applicant for employment provide his or her current compensation, or any prior compensation history, until
such time as the applicant is extended a conditional offer of employment with compensation. If such information has been
requested from you before such time, please contact the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations at (518) 474-6988 or via
email at info@goer.ny.gov.
• In order to be eligible for appointment and to maintain employment, you cannot be listed as an excluded individual or entity
on any of the Federal and/or State Medicaid and Medicare exclusion lists (or excluded from any other Federal or Federally
assisted program). If you are appointed and subsequently listed as an excluded individual or entity on any of these lists (or
excluded from any other Federal or Federally assisted program), you may be terminated from your employment.
• 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 www.studentAid.gov/publicservice.
• OPWDD IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER
• OPWDD is committed 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.
Some positions may require additional credentials or a background check to verify your identity.
Telephone 845-877-6821 ext. 3367
Email Address opwdd.sm.Taconic.Human.Resources@opwdd.ny.gov
Address
Street Office of Human Resources Taconic DDSOO
25 Center Circle
Notes on ApplyingInterested candidates should submit a cover letter detailing how you meet the minimum qualifications and a current resume to the
DDSO Human Resources Office. Please provide your social security number for service certification and transfer eligibility
determination process. Also be sure to include the vacancy number and position title on this announcement on your resume.
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