Collection & Civil Prosecution Specialist 1

IMPORTANT: Unless waived, you must pay the non-refundable processing fee. For information on fee waivers, visit https://www.cs.ny.gov/examannouncements/types/oc/appinfo.cfm##Fee. It is important that you verify that you entered the correct examination number and title on your online or paper application prior to submitting. If you apply online, you should immediately review your email confirmation notice to verify that you applied for the correct examination. If you do not receive a confirmation number after submitting your online application, your application was NOT received by the Department of Civil Service. No late applications will be accepted after the filing deadline has passed.

Appointees who work in the five boroughs of New York City or in Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland, or Westchester Counties will receive an additional $3,026 annual downstate adjustment. Appointees who work in Dutchess, Orange, or Putnam Counties will receive an additional $1,513 annual mid-Hudson adjustment.

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Minimum Qualifications

On or before March 17, 2018, you must have:

Either 1. an associate?s or higher degree in legal assistant/paralegal studies or law from a regionally accredited college or university accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS),** 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 certificate was issued by a regionally accredited or ACICS** accredited college or university or one cited by the American Bar Association*** as following acceptable practices;

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.

Anticipated Eligibility: If you expect to meet the educational requirements by September 30, 2018, you can be admitted to the written test, but you cannot be considered for appointment until you submit proof of successful completion of the educational requirement to the Appointing Authority at the time of the employment interview. Failure to meet the educational requirements by September 30, 2018 may result in your removal from the eligible list.

Notes

1. It is essential that you describe your education and experience as completely as possible on the examination application NYS-APP form. Ambiguity, vagueness or omissions will not be decided in your favor. Additional unsolicited information will not be accepted after the last day for filing. The information you provide in your application will be the only basis for determining your eligibility for meeting the minimum qualifications for this examination.
2. Your degree or certificate must have been awarded by a regionally accredited college or university or one recognized by the NYS Education Department as following acceptable educational practices. If your degree or certificate was awarded by an educational institution outside the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. You can write to the Examination Information Desk of the NYS Department of Civil Service for a list of acceptable companies who provide this service. This information can also be found on the Internet at http://www.cs.ny.gov/jobseeker/degrees.cfm. You must pay the required evaluation fee. If you are applying on the Internet, you must mail the independent verification of equivalency to the NYS Department of Civil Service, Albany, New York 12239. Attention: S1MME.
3. Appropriate part-time and volunteer experience, which can be verified, will be accepted on a prorated basis.
4. New York State residence is not required.

The Positions

These positions exist in the 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 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

There will be a written test which you must pass in order to be considered for appointment. The written test is designed to test for knowledge, skills, and/or abilities in such areas as:

1. 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.
2. Interviewing - These questions test for knowledge of the principles and practices employed in obtaining information from individuals through structured conversations. These questions require you to apply the principles, practices, and techniques of effective interviewing to hypothetical interviewing situations. Included are questions that present a problem arising from an interviewing situation, and you must choose the most appropriate course of action to take.
3. 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.
4. Reading and interpreting laws, rules and regulations involved in collection work - These questions test the ability to read, interpret, and apply laws, rules, and regulations involved in collection work. Most of the questions will consist of three components: an excerpt from the law, a situation, and a question regarding the application of the law to the situation. You should base your answer to each question SOLELY on what is said in the excerpt from the law. The excerpt from the law may or may not be consistent with current laws and regulations. All information needed to answer the questions is contained in the reading selections. No prior knowledge is required.

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

Important: The Department of Civil Service and other state agencies may communicate with you through email correspondence. This may include the notification of your 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

If you do not receive a number after submitting your online application, your application was NOT processed.

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 written 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 Administration Unit of the Department of Civil Service. In the Albany area, call 518-457-2487. Outside of the Albany area, call toll free at 1-877-697-5627. For TDD services, call NY Relay at 711 (requires a fee) or 1-800-662-1220.

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 written 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 written 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 written test announced by either one or several local jurisdictions (county, town, city) scheduled to be held on the same test date as this written 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

Do not bring cell phones, beepers, headphones, or any electronic or other communication devices to the test site. The use of such devices at the test site in the test room, hallways, restrooms, building, grounds, or other areas could result in your disqualification.

S1/TC2 MME-vla
Issued: 12/29/2017

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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