Collection & Civil Prosecution Specialist 1

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.

Appointees who work in the five boroughs of New York City or in Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland, or Westchester Counties will receive an additional $3,087 annual downstate adjustment. Appointees who work in Dutchess, Orange, or Putnam Counties will receive an additional $1,543 annual mid-Hudson adjustment.

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Minimum Qualifications

On or before January 27, 2024, you must have:

Either 1. an associate's or higher degree in legal assistant/paralegal studies or law, from a regional, national, or specialized agency recognized as an accrediting agency by the United States (U.S.) Department of Education/Secretary of Education*, or one cited by the American Bar Association (ABA)** as following acceptable practices;

Or 2. completion of a legal assistant/paralegal studies non-degree certificate program where the program and certificate are issued by a regional, national, or specialized agency recognized as an accrediting agency by the United States (U.S.) Department of Education/Secretary of Education*, or one cited by the American Bar Association** as following acceptable practices. If a program is hosted by an accredited college or university, the program itself must be accredited;

Or 3. two years of full-time experience in the collection of debts. Examples of acceptable experience includes but are not limited to experience with substantial responsibility for communicating with debtors by telephone and in writing to collect debts; communicating with clients by telephone and in writing; locating debtors through skip tracing or other means; calculating debts which may include various interest amounts, service and/or penalty charges; adjusting accounts where necessary; and negotiating debt payment schedules;

Or 4. two years of full-time experience as a Legal Assistant (see "Definition" below),

*https://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/Search.aspx.

**https://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/resources/aba_approved_law_schools/in_alphabetical_order.html.

Definition: A Legal Assistant applies knowledge of the law and legal procedures in rendering direct assistance to lawyers, clients, and courts; reviews incoming legal documents and prepares drafts; researches, compiles, and uses information from legal resources; and analyzes and handles procedural problems that involve independent decisions. General clerical or secretarial duties performed in a law office will NOT be deemed as experience as a Legal Assistant.

• If you expect to meet the educational requirements by June 30, 2024, 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 June 30, 2024, 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 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.

The Positions: These positions exist in New York State Office of the Attorney General and are located in Albany, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Centereach, Syracuse, and West Haverstraw.

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Duties

As a Collection & Civil Prosecution Specialist 1, you would under the direction of an attorney and the supervision of a Collection and Civil Prosecution Specialist 2, advise individuals of their obligations with respect to their debt(s) owed to New York State either by phone or through correspondence. You would provide this information based on your knowledge of the applicable laws, rules, and regulations pertaining to each case. Examples of the types of cases you would handle include, but are not limited to, student loans and/or tuition, hospital bills, rentals, torts, contracts, and penalties. You would also inform individuals and others of the consequences, such as a judgement being entered, judgment enforcement and additional charges being applied to their account, which might result from nonpayment of the obligation. In addition, you may attempt to collect the full amount of money owed by arranging a payment schedule and then tracking that the payments are received. You would perform related paralegal duties, such as monitoring a substantial number of files in which legal process has been served, drafting legal papers for review by attorneys, performing occasional legal research, closing files, and monitoring enforcement of judgments. You would be required to exercise a considerable amount of independent judgment. You would be responsible for the financial and legal accuracy of accounts from inception through the closing review. You would be required to search, locate, and identify assets in order to perform judgment enforcement, and you would be responsible for a substantial amount of conflict resolution between defendants and clients. In certain locations, you would also be required to analyze patient accounts for both collections and write-off treatments and be familiar with Medicare/Medicaid requirements, hospital billing practices, and the Charity Care Law. You would be required to use Microsoft Word, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Access, Lexis, and SilverCar (In-house Oracle Debt collection database).

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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. 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.
2. 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.
3. Arithmetic reasoning - These questions test your ability to solve an arithmetic problem presented in sentence or short paragraph form. You must read the problem, understand the situation presented, decide what must be done to solve it, and apply the appropriate arithmetic operation(s) in the appropriate order, in order to determine the correct answer. Knowledge of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division will be necessary. Questions may also involve the use of percents, decimals, and fractions. You should bring with you a hand-held battery- or solar-powered calculator for use on this test. You will not be permitted to use the calculator function of your cell phone.
4. Evaluating conclusions in light of known facts - These questions will consist of a set of facts and a conclusion. You must decide if the conclusion is proved by the facts, disproved by the facts or if the facts are not sufficient to prove or disprove the conclusion. The questions will not be specific to a particular field.
5. 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.

Your final score must be 70 or higher in order to pass. Your final score on the eligible list will be determined after adding any wartime Veterans' and Civil Service Law Section 85-a credits.

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 the notification of 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

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.

Appointment to many positions in State government require candidates to undergo an investigative screening. This may include a thorough character investigation, a Federal Bureau of Investigation Criminal Record History Check, a Child Abuse Registry clearance, or other similar procedures. Candidates may be fingerprinted and may be required to pay any necessary fees for that procedure. Depending on the nature of the job, the criminal convictions discovered, or any falsified or omitted information revealed, the investigative findings may bar appointment or result in removal after appointment.

Eligibility for Employment

You must be legally eligible to work in the United States at the time of appointment and throughout your employment with New York State. If appointed, you must produce documents that establish your identity and eligibility to work in the United States, as required by the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, and the Immigration and Nationality Act.

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.

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.

S3/TC1 DMM-ctc
Issued: 11/10/23

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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