Self-Reliance Specialist at Idaho Department of Health and Welfare

DEDICATED TO STRENGTHENING THE HEALTH, SAFETY, AND INDEPENDENCE OF IDAHOANS Applications will be accepted through 4:59 PM MST on the posting end date.

The Division of Welfare is currently recruiting for full time, permanent, with benefits Self-Reliance Specialists to work in our Ponderay field office.

These positions work in high volume, high stress work environments to assist customers for various benefits and services, while meeting and sustaining accuracy and productivity standards. While these positions work with families to help them find self-reliance, this is not a social work position and does not include long-term case management. While this position does work in an office and may provide face-to-face services, the majority of the work is done via phone.

The Self-Reliance Benefits program works with families who are applying for or are receiving benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Health Care Assistance Programs, Idaho Child Care Program, and/or cash assistance programs. Direct customer service may be conducted face-to-face or on the telephone and is dependent upon the unit of the vacancy being filled.

• Generous vacation and sick leave accrual beginning as soon as you start
• Short and long-term disability insurance
• Review and determine eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, cash assistance, and Health Care Assistance Programs.
• Apply complex policies, procedures, and legal requirements.
• Provide direct customer service either by face-to-face interactions or via telephone and/or mail.

• Requires personal interaction (face-to-face and/or via telephone, mail, or email) with customers and related agencies/individuals when intimate household circumstances are being addressed.
• Requires skillful de-escalation when working with customers in high stress, upsetting situations.

• Gather, verify, interpret, and act on personal information from various sources to case actions.
• Develop, adapt and maintain management systems to support workload activities and meet federally mandated outcome/reporting requirements.
• Perform complicated analytical problem resolution and insure data quality in automated system processing.

You must possess all the minimum/specialty minimum qualifications below to pass the exam for this position. Please make sure your resume or work history supports your meeting the minimum and specialty qualifications for this position. Failure to do this may disqualify you from being considered for this position. It is highly recommended to attach a one-page cover letter to your application to demonstrate how you meet the requirements below.

• Experience conducting and documenting sensitive fact-finding interviews. Typically gained by at least six months of experience OR completion of some college courses in a human services field. Types of qualifying experience could include a background in credit collection, law enforcement, financial institutions or social service programs/services where detailed interviews were used to elicit information from customers that was then used to determine the outcome or eligibility for services.
  
  This background may also have been obtained through upper division college-level courses in a human services field. Experience as a receptionist, basic sales associate/retail clerk, or any position at that level does not meet this qualification.
• Experience dealing with individuals who are in stressful situations from varying cultural/socioeconomic backgrounds and de-escalating emotionally charged situations. Typically gained by least six months of experience in a business setting where I handled upset or angry customers.
• Experience applying written policies and criteria and determining qualifications for services or benefits. Typically gained by at least six months of experience OR completion…