Department of Civil Service

Offender Rehabilitation Aide Trainee

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Due to current testing space limitations, candidates may need to travel to a test site to take this examination. Candidates will be notified of their test site location on their admission notice.

The eligible lists resulting from these transition examinations will be used to fill one-year traineeships leading to Offender Rehabilitation Aide G-13 or Offender Rehabilitation Aide (Spanish Language) G-13.

This TRANSITION EXAMINATION is one of several concepts included in a Memorandum of Intent agreed to by New York State and CSEA and is designed to provide opportunities for employees within state service.

Transition examination open to all qualified employees of the New York State
Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.

For advancement in State Departments, Facilities, and Agencies
1. Within Promotion Units 2. Within Entire Departments 3. To Other Departments

This examination is being held to fill vacancies in the New York State
Department of Corrections and Community Supervision only.

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Minimum Qualifications

On or before March 1, 2025, you must be a qualified employee of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision and have had 45 days of permanent competitive, non-competitive NY HELPS*, or 55-b/55-c service in a position allocated to Grade 6 or higher. If you have received a permanent appointment to a qualifying title listed and served provisionally** in that title immediately preceding your permanent appointment, such provisional service may be counted towards meeting the time in title required for this examination.

You must also meet one of the following requirements:

Either 1. an associate's degree or completion of 60 semester credit hours of undergraduate study;

Or 2. 30 semester credit hours of undergraduate study AND one year of full-time professional or paraprofessional experience working with clients in drug and/or alcohol counseling programs; mental hygiene programs; parole and probation programs; juvenile justice programs; or in programs dealing with incarcerated individuals or formerly incarcerated individuals.

If you were permanently appointed to a qualifying title on or before January 15, 2025, and have served continuously in this title since that date, you are eligible to file for this examination.

*If you were permanently appointed via the New York Hiring for Emergency Limited Placement Statewide (NY HELPS) program to a qualifying title in the non-competitive class on or before January 15, 2025, and have served continuously in this title since that date, you may apply for this examination.

**If you were permanently appointed to a qualifying title and had provisional service in the same title immediately preceding the permanent appointment, such provisional service may be counted towards meeting the time in title required to apply for this examination. Your provisional appointment must have been on or before January 15, 2025, to qualify for this examination.

If you expect to meet the educational requirements by September 30, 2025, you can take the test. You MUST submit proof of successful completion of the educational requirements to the hiring agency at the time of the employment interview or you will not be considered for appointment. Failure to meet the educational requirements by September 30, 2025, may result in your removal from the eligible list.

Your required educational credentials must have been awarded by an educational institution accredited by a regional, national, or specialized agency recognized as an accrediting agency by the United States (U.S.) Department of Education/Secretary of Education. If awarded by an institution outside of the U.S. and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. A list of companies that provide these services (fees must be paid to the company you choose) can be found at: http://www.cs.ny.gov/jobseeker/degrees.cfm. You will be required to provide this information to the hiring agency at the time of interview.

This examination has special minimum qualifications in addition to the usual "time in service requirement." If you are filing on the Internet, please list all pertinent information online. If you are applying on NYS-APP application form, you must list all pertinent information on the application. Attach additional sheets if needed.

Qualifying Experience For Appointment From The Eligible List: After one year of service described in the Minimum Qualifications, successful candidates will be qualified for appointment from the eligible list.

Employees appointed via the NY HELPS program to a qualifying title in the non-competitive class will have their names restricted from appointment from the eligible list until their position is covered-in to the competitive class by action of the New York State Civil Service Commission or otherwise obtain permanent competitive status in the position.

If you have received a permanent appointment to a qualifying title listed and served provisionally in that title immediately preceding your permanent appointment, such provisional service may be counted towards meeting the time in title required for appointment from the eligible list.

Traineeships: An appointee's performance in the trainee position and in the set training and development programs will be observed and evaluated. The training and development program will include extensive on-the-job training and carefully designed and monitored work experience. If an appointee does not meet the standard requirements, they may be terminated at any time after the initial eight weeks and before completion of the traineeship.

Additional Requirements for Appointment:

• Language Proficiency: If you pass the examination and apply to a title which requires language proficiency, you must demonstrate your language proficiency at a level that will ensure your ability to perform the duties of the position properly. The proficiency test will only be given to enough candidates to fill current vacancies.

The Positions: These positions exist in the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision and are located statewide.

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Duties

As an Offender Rehabilitation Aide Trainee, you would assist the Guidance and Counseling staff in their casework, including interviewing incarcerated individuals; assisting with incarcerated individuals' group sessions; maintaining case files; providing personal assistance to incarcerated individuals for the maintenance of family contacts via telephone and written correspondence; assisting incarcerated individuals with completing complex written forms; and explaining rules and procedures. After one year of satisfactory service as an Offender Rehabilitation Aide Trainee, you would advance without further examination, to the position of Offender Rehabilitation Aide.

As an Offender Rehabilitation Aide Trainee (Spanish Language), you would be required to perform the duties of an Offender Rehabilitation Aide Trainee (see above) for a caseload with a high concentration of Spanish-speaking incarcerated individuals. After one year of satisfactory service as an Offender Rehabilitation Aide Trainee (Spanish Language), you would advance without further examination, to the position of Offender Rehabilitation Aide (Spanish Language).

Note: If you submit an application for an examination with a language parenthetic, an application will automatically be submitted for you for the non-language examination.

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Subject of Examination

To be considered for appointment to this title, you must pass the multiple-choice test. The multiple-choice test evaluates your knowledge, skills, and/or abilities in the following areas:

1. Customer Service - These questions test for knowledge of techniques used to interact with other people, to gather and present information, and to provide assistance, advice, and effective customer service in a courteous and professional manner. Questions will cover such topics as understanding and responding to people with diverse needs, perspectives, personalities, and levels of familiarity with agency operations, as well as acting in a way that both serves the public and reflects well on your agency.
2. Preparing written material - These questions test for the ability to present information clearly and accurately, and to organize paragraphs logically and comprehensibly. For some questions, you will be given information in two or three sentences followed by four restatements of the information. You must then choose the best version. For other questions, you will be given paragraphs with their sentences out of order. You must then choose, from four suggestions, the best order for the sentences.
3. Understanding and interpreting written material- These questions test for the ability to understand and interpret written material. You will be presented with brief reading passages and will be asked questions about the passages. You should base your answers to the questions only on what is presented in the passages and not on what you may happen to know about the topic.

If you pass, your seniority credit(s), if any, will be included in the computation of your final score. Your final score on the eligible list will be determined after adding any Veterans' credits.

Credit For Seniority: Seniority is credited at the rate of one credit for each five-year period (or fraction thereof), excluding the first year of service.

Admission To The Test: If approved for a multiple-choice test, you will receive an admission notice which will indicate your assigned test date and the way your test will be administered. Your test may be administered with paper and pencil or online at a state test site using a state-provided Chromebook. You cannot request to change your scheduled day or request a specific type of test administration.

Applicants are required to have a Personal NY.gov account and keep their email address up to date. The Department of Civil Service and other state agencies will communicate with you through email correspondence. This may include notification of your application status, your test arrangements, examination results, and canvassing you for interest in appointment. It will be important for you to keep your email address, phone number, and mailing address current by logging into https://www.cs.ny.gov/home/myaccount.

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How To Apply

Apply On line

You will need a personal NY.gov ID to apply for these examinations. If you do not have a personal NY.gov account, please create an account.

Offender Rehabilitation Aide Trainee

Offender Rehabilitation Aide Trainee (Spanish Language)

You Can Also

• Download examination application NYS-APP form; or
• Email cs.sm.examinfo@cs.ny.gov to request NYS-APP forms; or
• Obtain an NYS-APP form from a State agency or facility personnel/business office; or
• Request NYS-APP form by calling the Department of Civil Service in the Albany area at 518-457-2487 or toll free at 1-877-697-5627.

The NYS Department of Civil Service reserves the right to reject for lateness or to accept applications filed after the advertised filing period. All statements you make on your application are subject to investigation.

Additional Information

New York State is an Equal Opportunity Employer

It is the policy of the State of New York to provide for and promote equal opportunity employment, compensation, and other terms and conditions of employment without unlawful discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, religion, disability, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, veteran or military service member status, marital status, domestic violence victim status, genetic predisposition or carrier status, arrest and/or criminal conviction record, or any other category protected by law, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification or other exception.

Religious Accommodation

Most multiple-choice tests are held on Saturdays. If you cannot take the test on the announced test date, due to a conflict with a religious observance or practice, check the box under “Religious Accommodation.” We will make arrangements for you to take the test on a different date (usually the following day).

Reasonable Accommodations in Testing

It is the policy of the Department of Civil Service, in accordance with the New York State Human Rights Law and the Americans with Disabilities Act, to provide qualified persons with disabilities equal employment opportunity and equal opportunity to participate in and receive the benefits, services, programs, and activities of the Department. It is the policy of the Department to provide such persons reasonable accommodations and reasonable modifications as are necessary to provide equal opportunity. Persons with disabilities who require an accommodation to participate in an examination must note this on their application. Further information is available from the Test Accommodation Unit of the Department of Civil Service at Testaccommodation@cs.ny.gov.

Admission to Examination

Notice to appear for the test may be conditional as review of applications may not be made until after the test. If you have not received your notice to appear for the multiple-choice test three days before the date of the test, email us at AdmissionNotices@cs.ny.gov. Please provide your first and last name, address, and the last four digits of your social security number, and we will provide you with the information you need to attend your multiple-choice test. If you have an issue other than not receiving your admission notice, please contact our office at (518) 474-6470 in the Albany area or toll free at 1-877-697-5627. Please leave a clear concise message and provide your first and last name, last four digits of your social security number and a daytime phone number.

Taking State and Local Examinations Scheduled for the Same Day

If you have applied to take a multiple-choice test announced by either one or several local jurisdictions (county, town, city) scheduled to be held on the same test date as this multiple-choice test, you must notify each of the local jurisdictions no later than two weeks before the test date to make arrangements for taking all tests at one test site. All tests will be held at the state examination center. For your convenience, contact information for all local civil service agencies is available on our website at: https://www.cs.ny.gov/jobseeker/local.cfm.

Eligibility for Examination

To be considered a qualified employee eligible to compete in this examination, you must be employed in, or on leave from, the specified department or agency on a permanent or contingent permanent basis in the competitive class, or in the non-competitive class or labor class if specifically noted on this announcement (or be on an appropriate preferred list), and have the specified time in the specified title or salary grade. You may not compete in a test for a title if you are permanently employed in that title (unless you are still on probation) or in a higher direct line of promotion.

Cell Phones or Electronic/Communication Devices at the Test Site

The use of cell phones, beepers, headphones, or any electronic or other communication devices at your personal testing site or in the test room, hallways, restrooms, building, grounds, or other areas, except as expressly authorized by the Department of Civil Service, could result in your disqualification.

S2/TB2 RXL-dah
Issued: 12/13/24

This announcement is subject to amendment or cancellation without notice. Do not copy it, or post it to any other site, but link to it instead.

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