Ulster County Personnel Department

Civil Service Examination Announcement

NON-REFUNDABLE FILING FEE $40.00

(Exception to Fee Requirement (See Below))

#63654 CORRECTION OFFICER

OPEN-COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION

LAST DATE FOR FILING APPLICATIONS:  December 17, 2019

EXAMINATION DATE:  February 1, 2020

SALARY:  The starting salary is currently listed at $21.30 per hour.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:  Candidates must meet the following requirement(s) on or before the date of the examination:

Graduation from high school or possession of a high school equivalency diploma.

Special Requirement 1: Candidates must be at least twenty-one (21) years of age at time of appointment.

*INDICATE YOUR DATE OF BIRTH ON THE APPLICATION*

Special Requirement 2: Candidates must possess a valid New York State Driver's license at time of appointment.

IF YOU PASS THE WRITTEN TEST:  Candidates shall be required to complete the following tests which will be conducted by the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office:

PHYSICAL FITNESS AGILITY TESTS:  Candidates who pass the written test shall be required to successfully complete a physical fitness agility test.  Candidates must pass this physical fitness agility test to be considered eligible to continue with the other required testing. 

CORRECTION OFFICER AGILITY REQUIREMENTS:

Note: The 1.5 mile run shall only be administered to such individuals who have successfully completed each of the other two elements of the test battery (sit-up and push-up).

Sit-up - Muscular endurance (core body) – The score indicated within the table on the following page is the number of bent-leg sit-ups performed in one minute.

Push-up - Muscular endurance (upper body) – The score within the table on the following page is the number of full body repetitions that a candidate must complete without breaks.

1.5 Mile Run - Cardiovascular capacity – The score within the table on the following page is calculated in minutes:seconds.

PANEL INTERVIEW:  Candidates shall be required to sit before an interview panel consisting of senior officers of the Corrections Division.

CRIMINAL BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION:  The Ulster County Sheriff’s Office conducts a complete background investigation that includes criminal history, previous employment history, and a credit check. Use of illegal narcotics may not be a disqualification, however, it will be reviewed on a case by case basis.  Recent use/ingestion will be viewed in a negative light in the background investigation.

PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATION:  Prior to appointment, candidates shall be required to participate in a psychological evaluation to determine their fitness to perform the essential duties of the position. Failure to meet the standards may result in disqualification.

MEDICAL AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE TESTS:  In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, candidates made a contingent offer of employment must participate in a medical examination.  Appointments are subject to the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.  Candidates shall also be required to participate in substance abuse testing designated by the Appointing Authority, and thereafter shall be required to participate in such testing on a random periodic basis during the probationary period after appointment.  Evidence of substance abuse or refusal to submit to a urinalysis shall lead to disqualification from appointment or termination of employment.

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF THE CLASS:  An employee in this class is responsible for guarding inmates and for ensuring that order, discipline and security are maintained in an assigned area of the County Jail. The employee may also have responsibilities for transporting prisoners and for maintaining courtroom security. The work is performed under general supervision of a higher ranked Correction Officer in accordance with well defined procedures and guidelines. Does related work as required.

SUBJECT OF EXAMINATION:  Written test will cover knowledge, skills, and/or abilities in such areas as:

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.

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.

Applying written information in a correctional services setting

These questions test for the ability to read, interpret, and apply rules, regulations, directives, written narratives and other related material. You will be required to read a set of information, and to appropriately apply the information to situations similar to those typically experienced in a correctional services setting. All the information needed to answer the questions asked concerning the situations presented is contained in the rules, regulations, etc., which are cited.

Observing and recalling facts and information

These questions test for the ability to observe and recall information presented. You will be presented with information describing or depicting prison scenes or other facts. You will have a short time to observe and memorize the information before it is collected by the monitor. You will then be asked to recall specific details about the information presented.

A Guide for the Written Test for Correction Officer is available at the New York State website: https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.cfm.  Candidates not having access to a computer or the internet may request copy of the test guide from the municipal civil service office conducting this examination using the contact information found elsewhere on this announcement.

CALCULATORS:  "Unless specifically prohibited, candidates are permitted to use quiet, hand‑held, solar or battery powered calculators.  Devices with typewriter keyboards, ‘Spell‑Checkers’, ‘Personal Digital Assistants’, ‘Address Books’, ‘Language Translators’, ‘Dictionaries’ and any similar devices are prohibited."

*FEES*:  Send your check or money order for forty dollars ($40.00) (made payable to COUNTY OF ULSTER) with your application.  Please include the examination number, title, and applicant’s name on your check or money order. DO NOT SEND CASH.  NO REFUNDS WILL BE ISSUED, therefore, you are urged to compare your qualifications carefully with the qualifications for admission and apply only for those examinations for which you are clearly qualified.

EXCEPTION TO FEE REQUIREMENT:  An exception to the processing fee will be made for persons receiving Supplemental Social Security payments or public assistance (Safety Net Assistance or Temporary Assistance to Needy Families), provided Foster Care or certified Workforce Investment Act of 1998 eligible through a state or local social service agency, and for those who are currently unemployed.  Individuals wishing to claim this waiver of fee on the basis of Supplemental Social Security, Safety Net Assistance or Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, must certify on their application, under number 20 Remarks, that they are receiving public assistance and must indicate the type of assistance they are receiving, the agency providing the assistance and their case numbers. Persons claiming this waiver through Foster Care or Workforce Investment Act of 1998 Certification must specify the program and name of their contact agency. Persons claiming this waiver, who are currently unemployed must certify on their application, under number 20 Remarks, that they are currently unemployed and must provide documentation that they are receiving unemployment benefits or other unemployment documentation deemed appropriate by the Ulster County Personnel Officer.  Such claims are subject to later verification and, if not supported by appropriate documentation, are grounds for barring appointment.

Applications may be obtained at the Ulster County Office Building, Personnel Department, 244 Fair Street ‑ 5th Floor, P.O. Box 1800, Kingston, NY 12402‑1800 OR by mail (INCLUDE A STAMPED SELF‑ADDRESSED, LEGAL‑ SIZE ENVELOPE) OR from our website at: http://www.co.ulster.ny.us/personnel/index.html.  Applications must be received by the Ulster County Personnel Department or postmarked no later than the ‘LAST DATE FOR FILING APPLICATIONS’ stated on page one of this announcement.

For those applications submitted in person on the last file date, please submit no later than 4:30 PM. All applications must be in our office no later than 5:00 PM on the last file date. Applications postmarked by the last file date will also be accepted.

This examination is being prepared and rated by the New York State Department of Civil Service in accordance with Section 23‑2 of the Civil Service Law.  The provisions of the New York State Civil Service Rules and Regulations dealing with the rating of examinations will apply to this test.

SPECIAL NOTE:  All public agencies are required by law to provide full and equal opportunities for minorities, women and to people with disabilities. All qualified candidates are encouraged to compete without regard to race, creed or national origin. Applicants requesting special testing arrangements as a Saturday Sabbath Observer, alternate test date candidate (in accordance with Alternate Test Date Policy), or an active member of the military away from the area on the scheduled test date must clearly indicate this fact on the application. All such requests must be supported by appropriate documentation.

VETERANS: Non-disabled and disabled veterans who wish to claim additional credits MUST request a Veterans Credits application from our office. This form must be completed and submitted along with a war service (DD214) form prior to the establishment of the resulting eligible list. Veterans credits may only be added to a passing score and may only be used for appointment once. Candidates currently in the armed forces may apply for and be conditionally granted veteran’s credits.  Any candidate who applies for such credits must provide proof of military status to receive the conditional credits.  You may not claim additional Veterans Credits after the eligible list has been established. It is the candidate’s responsibility to request the Veterans Credits application forms and submit these forms and any required supporting paperwork before the eligible list is established.

On November 5, 2013, New York State voters approved an amendment to Article 5, section 6, of the New York Constitution regarding the award and use of additional credits for certain disabled veterans on open competitive and promotion civil service examinations for positions with New York State and local governments. 

For eligible lists established after January 1, 2014, disabled veterans may be entitled to additional credits on a civil service examination.  Every situation is different.  If you have specific questions or concerns, please contact our office. 

ADDITIONAL CREDITS FOR CHILDREN OF FIREFIGHTERS AND POLICE OFFICERS KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY:  In conformance with section 85-a of the Civil Service Law, children of firefighters and police officers killed in the line of duty shall be entitled to receive an additional ten points in a competitive examination for original appointment in the same municipality in which his or her parent has served.  If you are qualified to participate in this examination and are a child of a firefighter or police officer killed in the line of duty in this municipality, please inform this office of this matter when you submit your application for examination.  A candidate claiming such credit has a minimum of two months from the application deadline to provide the necessary documentation to verify additional credit eligibility.  However, no credit may be added after the eligible list has been established.

APPLYING FOR CIVIL SERVICE EXAMINATIONS IN MULTIPLE JURISDICTIONS WHEN EXAMINATIONS ARE SCHEDULED ON SAME DATE:  If you have applied for any other Civil Service examinations for employment with any other local government jurisdiction, you must make arrangements to take all the examinations at one test site.  Please indicate your intentions under #20 remarks on the application for examination.

If you have applied for both State and Local government examinations, please indicate this on your application under #20 remarks.  You must make arrangements to take all your examinations at the State examination center no later than two weeks before the test date.  You will be informed by letter when and where to report for the examinations.  You should bring all admission notices with you to the State test site along with the State admission notice you receive from New York State Civil Service.

If you have applied for other local government examinations, call or write to each Civil Service Agency to make arrangements.  You must make your request for these arrangements no later than two weeks before the date of the examinations.  You must notify all local government civil service agencies with whom you have filed an application of the test site at which you wish to take your examination(s).  For this examination call (845) 340‑ 3531 OR write to Ulster County Personnel Department, 244 Fair Street ‑ 5th Floor, P.O. Box 1800, Kingston, NY  12402‑1800.

*If candidates have not received notification of this examination within four (4) days of the examination, they should contact this office immediately.

#63654

ORIGINAL COPY:  YELLOW                                                                                        

ISSUED:  November 13, 2019