Case Aide

Aitkin County•Aitkin, MN

21h•Onsite

About The Position

The initial case assignment for this Case Aide position will be in the financial services and child support divisions; however, caseload assignments remain at the discretion of the HHS Director. It is important to note that case aides do not have to know all that is in this description nor is this description inclusive of all possible duties. This is an example of what duties may be performed in order to show level of responsibilities. The job summary states the position is to provide paraprofessional support to administration and line staff and to perform moderately difficult office support assignments requiring knowledge of agency programs, procedures and practices. It also serves as liaison between the general public and agency staff. Employees work under general supervision and usually receive some instruction with respect to details of most assignments, but are free to develop their own work sequences within established procedures, methods, and policies. They are often physically removed from their supervisor and are only subject to periodic supervisory checks. No formal supervisory authority is exercised.

Requirements

High School diploma or equivalent (GED)
Two years of increasingly responsible clerical, administrative support, or human services experience requiring significant public contact; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Experience working with confidential information.
Experience interpreting and applying policies or procedures.
Experience using computer systems for data entry, document management, and recordkeeping.
Must demonstrate strong customer service, communication, and organizational skills.
Ability to interview, gather and verify information.
Ability to accurately process forms and records.
Ability to work independently within established procedures.
Ability to learn applicable state and federal program rules, eligibility procedures, and electronic systems such as SSIS, MAXIS, CaseWorks, or similar platforms.
Must be able to travel for home visits and client contacts as assigned.
Valid Minnesota driver’s license required.
Employment reference checks and a criminal background check will be performed as part of the pre-employment process.
Knowledge of County and departmental policies, procedures, and practices.
Knowledge of Federal, State, and local laws, rules, and regulations relevant to the work performed in this position.
Knowledge of Interviewing techniques and skills in conducting interviews.
Knowledge of Human behavior.
Knowledge of Agency programs, operations, policies and procedures.
Knowledge of Available community resources.
Knowledge of Basic mathematics.
Knowledge of Advanced office principles and procedures, accounting, and recordkeeping skills.
Working knowledge of the methods and techniques for a multitude of state and federal Health and Human Service programs.
Skill in Communication and interpersonal skills as applied to interaction with supervisors, staff, and the general public sufficient to exchange or convey information and to receive work direction.
Typing skill sufficient to complete 35 net words per minute without errors.
Skill in organizing and prioritizing work.
Ability to Present a positive attitude in the workplace, promote a spirit of teamwork and cooperation, and be able to treat others with respect, honesty, and consideration.
Ability to Relate to people in an appropriate manner.
Ability to Organize and coordinate job activities.
Ability to Gather and interpret facts relating to eligibility.
Ability to Accurately and rapidly process detailed information.
Ability to Make decisions.
Ability to Remain objective and make sound decisions.
Ability to Establish and maintain effective working relationships with clients, public, co-workers, and agency administration.
Ability to Establish and maintain accurate and systematic records.
Ability to Express ideas clearly.
Ability to Comprehend written and verbal instructions.
Ability to Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
Ability to Accurately enter data on departmental systems.
Ability to Maintain confidentiality.
Ability to Drive safely while traveling and transporting passengers.
Ability to Assess possible problems during visitations/client appointments and take appropriate actions.
Ability to Maintain composure under stressful situations.
Ability to Read and interpret court orders, legal documents and state statutes.
Intermediate Language Skills - Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals.
Ability to write reports and correspondence.
Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of the organization.
Mathematical Skills - Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.
Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs.
Reasoning Skills - Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form.
Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.
Computer Skills - Proficient at using assigned software which may include: County Payroll Software E-time, Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, Publisher, Access, PowerPoint, Follow Along Program, PHAT, MMIS, MN-ITS, CATCH3, MAXIS, PRISM, SSIS, SMI/SIR, HUBERT, Odessey, Adobe, Internet and other job-related software.
Ability to Travel Regularly to various clinic sites, mandatory trainings, client transports and visits.
Consistently demonstrate Ethics, attendance/punctuality, safety and security, dependability, analytical, design, problem solving, project management, technical skills, customer service, interpersonal skills, oral communication, written communication, teamwork, leadership, cost consciousness, diversity, organizational support, judgment, motivation, planning/organizing, professionalism, quality, quantity, adaptability, initiative, and innovation.

Responsibilities

Greets and provides courteous, high quality service to the public by asking questions to determine client needs and directing them to the appropriate staff member. Assists in gathering information and in proper completion of forms. Operates multi line telephones, photocopies documents, processes incoming and outgoing mail.
Composes, types, and edits correspondence. Creates newsletters, brochures, and forms. Creates and maintains filing systems, performs data entry, and maintains computer database files.
Manages incoming and outgoing mail by accurately sorting mail for Public Health, Financial Services, Social Services and Accounting, determining correct program area, workgroup, case information for each document by researching the various systems.
Create, import, and index documents into appropriate program electronic document management system (CaseWorks, Application Extender) to route to the correct program worker’s workflow. Manage faxes, verifications and application and route to appropriate worker’s workflow.
Determines eligibility of clients for state and federal programs, both initially and ongoing, and maintains complete and accurate records on client eligibility. Ensures the delivery of services meets county, state, and federal laws, mandates, policy requirements and/or standards.
Creates, monitors, processes, and maintains case records/charts with required documentation. Reviews case records for completion of required agency forms. Creates templates in SSIS. Maintains the Clearing Log in SSIS to clear client’s information to the State which allows Social Workers to complete their adult and child protection work and reporting.
Explains social service, income maintenance, public health, and other community programs and services to individuals or groups.
Explains services and application procedures to individuals or groups and assists individuals in completing social service application forms.
Interviews clients to obtain and verify necessary factual information. Monitors and reports to appropriate staff the behavior of clients and their families during assigned visits and contacts. Investigates/obtains additional information from the applicant/client or collateral source when required through phone calls, correspondence, or personal contact in order to clarify or obtain necessary facts on applications and forms.
Makes appropriate referrals to the agency and/or other community resources.
Makes contact with community resources as assigned.
Informs clients of the right to appeal and of other rights.
Performs clerical functions as assigned.
Performs statistical operations relevant to social service program procedures, such as collecting data and generating reports required to meet state and federal requirements.
Assists professional staff and supervisors in processing and monitoring purchase of service contracts, including preparing and processing the contracts. Organizes and monitors the agency contracts with service providers.
Composes correspondence and constructs reports as needed.
Assists other agency staff with client groups, day care, foster care, and volunteers. Assists staff with direct client services, such as visitation, transportation, and budgeting.
Manages data exchanges between county and state information systems. Backup to the coordination of the SSIS system of information and records management which involves data entry, knowledge of client population, program areas, services, and how each relates to the other so the information system runs efficiently and accurately in order to manage the information and generate in excess of 50 DHS reports. Processes MAXIS applications which includes pending new applications as well as renewals and household report forms which is sensitive data that affects client eligibility.
Maintains state program equipment inventory.
Backup to assist agency staff with direct client services for transportation.
Teach and model positive parenting skills, nurturing strategies, discipline methods, and child growth and development. Support healthy parent-child communication through verbal and non-verbal techniques, hands-on learning, and use of educational materials.
Conduct in-home visits (including non-traditional hours) to help families follow case plans, assess home safety, and monitor child well-being. Collaborate with social workers, attend case meetings, and translate case plans into practical skill-building activities.
Assist youth and families in creating safe, healthy home environments by teaching health, safety, and nutrition practices, as well as time and money management skills. Provide direct client services, such as supervised visitation, client transportation, and support during court proceedings.
Help families identify and build on their strengths, develop support networks, and access resources to address concerns. Encourage family empowerment while validating progress and treating families as partners throughout the process.
Attends training and meetings as needed. Participates in meetings, committees, new staff orientations, workshops, training sessions, special projects and program development/evaluation.
Makes decisions regarding the archiving of the files for the scanning process by preparing cases/files, conducting adoption research, and assessing needs. Establishes the formats (based on the program areas) within the scanning system for archiving.
Performs other related duties as assigned or apparent.