Income Maintenance Caseworker I/II
IMC I - Salary $31,898 Grade 5/Step 1
IMC II - Salary $37,206 Grade 7/Step 1
Posted: 7/21/2022
Closes: 8/12/2022
I. Primary Purpose of the Position
The primary purpose of this position is to determine the eligibility and continuing eligibility of individuals who receive benefits from one or several economic benefits programs such as Family and Children's Medicaid, Adult Medicaid, Food and Nutritional Services, WorkFirst, or Special Assistance. There may be a primary program designation however all workers are cross-trained as universal workers
II. Duties and Responsibilities
This job involves constant contact with the public. Examples of duties performed in this position would be:
- Displaying a positive and professional attitude with clients, other staff, and providers;
- Interviewing clients;
- Computing budgets to determine eligibility for assistance;
- Verifying factors that relate to ongoing eligibility such as income, residence, ownership of property, etc.;
- Explaining the program to applicants and the public;
- Maintaining an ongoing caseload of the identified primary program as designated by the Supervisor;
- Coordinating with other agencies and organizations such as the hospital, health department, and child support agency;
- Maintaining statistical information, computer-generated forms, and general case management.
Other assistance to families and children
The major function of this job is reviewing and re-determining eligibility for persons already receiving assistance based on income and/or other factors.
The person in this position will also serve on a rotational basis, within the unit, to provide backup intake services. "Backup intake" assists the primary intake section in interviewing clients who are requesting benefits. These interviews are conducted to assist clients in applying for initial benefits. These interviews also require the employee to be able to evaluate the applicant for all programs as well as to make appropriate referrals to other programs and/or agencies.
As rules and regulations in the Medicaid program are continually changing, the Income Maintenance Caseworker must be able to learn new manual material, be able to apply it, and interpret it for the public.
Extreme accuracy is required, as there are large amounts of money involved in the program benefits and errors may result in a payback of funds.
Unit meetings and regional and state-level conferences are attended for refining knowledge and skills and learning better work habits to provide better service.
Cases are referred to this staff by the Income Maintenance supervisor.
Responsibilities for decision-making fall on the staff person who occupies this position. If there is a question about eligibility or program policy, the IMC discusses the situation with the supervisor and/or director. In most instances, the IMC would make the final decision in each case based on program rules and regulations. All decisions made are subject to monitoring and/or intervention by the supervisor or the Director.
When making decisions or carrying out duties of this position, the Income Maintenance Caseworker utilizes the following equipment: computer, adding machine, telephone, copier, a vehicle for transportation, pens/pencils, manuals, filing cabinets, and other equipment as needed. The income maintenance caseworker may refer to other materials or even other agencies to perform the functions of this job including completing child support forms or discussion with the child support office, memos, printouts from the State Division of Social Services or the Social Security Administration, bank accounts/statements, insurance policies, and certain types of dictionaries and calendars developed to monitor deadlines. The IMC regularly corresponds in person, by telephone, or in writing with the tax office, Register of Deeds, and the Clerk of Court to secure information from records in their custody. The IMC is required to regularly refer to policy and computer manuals in making eligibility decisions or completing computer forms.
It is often necessary for the IMCs to have written or verbal contact with physicians and their staff, hospitals, clinics, banks, insurance companies, funeral homes, and employers to obtain verifications necessary to determine and to re-determine eligibility.
This individual in this position would rarely represent the agency in court, but if necessary would be required to testify in court on cases that are in the caseload and that had been referred for suspected fraud and where fraud investigations had resulted in court hearings. The person in this position would have no responsibility for doing suspected fraud investigations but would be expected to be alert to suspected fraud and to suspicious situations. This individual would make referrals of suspected fraud to the fraud investigator.
The staff person in this position would be expected to prepare summaries for in-house administrative hearings, both on appeals and for suspected fraud. The individual occupying this position would be responsible for providing testimony at in-house administrative hearings being conducted by in-house staff or state office staff.
The individual in this position is expected to maintain the confidentiality of all agency records. Failure to adhere to provisions of the Privacy Act could result in lawsuits against the agency and the individual and further disciplinary action.
III. Other Work Characteristics
Extreme accuracy and exactness are required in performing the work of the IMC. This position requires mental concentration as the IMC is constantly doing calculations of income, assets, and expenses. Each case is different; therefore, a different method of calculation may be used depending on the circumstances of each case. If the IMC determines inaccurately the eligibility or non-eligibility of an individual, it could cost both the agency and/or the client. It could cost the agency in terms of sanctions and penalties and it would cost the client in terms of needed services and benefits.
Cases are reviewed by the Supervisor and/or Director as to overall compliance. The individual in this position is required to meet state deadlines for completing applications, reviews, and changes that occur in a case. Agency deadlines include completing and submitting day sheets, timesheets, and expense vouchers to the supervisor at the end of each week or as designated by the Director. Failure to meet program deadlines can delay the issuance of benefits to the client. Failure to meet deadlines could result in the county having to pay penalties and fines to the client.
IV. The Environment in Which the IMC Works
Composition of Unit:
There is 1 IMC Supervisor and 6 IMCs.
Characteristics of Clients
Clients are United States citizens or legal aliens who reside in Camden County. Clients include children and parents with low income who are in need of help with medical expenses. Some clients have limited education and have lived most of their lives in deprived conditions. Others are well educated but have not accumulated enough resources to meet the cost of medical care. Some are cooperative and others are uncooperative. Clients come from varied backgrounds with many varied experiences.
V. Hours of Work
The work hours for this position are from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday with an hour for lunch each day. There are occasions when the IMC should be required to work outside of these hours, for example, to work overtime to complete the daily activities of the job.
In addition, staff works in shelter management when the agency is called upon in times of disaster relief or emergency. The emergency shelters are managed by the Red Cross. Social Services assists in the registration and distribution of blankets and cots. Their responsibilities may include assisting with meal preparation and monitoring of the shelter to assure the safety of the individuals and families.
VI. Security Designation
All data/information maintained by the employee in this position is considered confidential and shall be protected according to the specific program policy and procedures. Access is allowed as determined by the specific program policy and procedures. Disclosures other than as allowed by the specific program policy are forbidden. Unauthorized disclosure constitutes a felony and is punishable upon conviction by a fine and/or imprisonment.
The employee in this position will be assigned a password for use in computer-assisted information systems which include EIS, FSIS, ACTS, SOLQ, ESC, Bendex, SDX, and other state and local systems. All information obtained/disclosed to the employee (hard copy or electronic) is to be used solely to track and/or determine eligibility for applicants and recipients of public assistance or other services. The employee is responsible for the security of the computer terminal and the password assigned to them. The employee will be held accountable for any improperly issued benefits or release of information that occurs from the use of their assigned computer password.
The Internet is used to access policy manuals as well as computer-assisted information systems. The individual in this position is considered a public employee and is expected to use the Internet responsibly and professionally and shall make no intentional use of these services in an illegal, malicious, or obscene manner.
Because of the Personally Identifiable Information that this employee has access to and the potential damage that could occur from unauthorized disclosure, this position is considered to have a high sensitivity security level.
VII. Specific Training and Experience for this Position
The individual must be able to interact with the public and must have experience in interviewing people, explaining information, gathering and compiling data, analyzing data, and performing mathematical computations. This individual must be able to understand certain legal terms and how to apply program rules and regulations to specific individual situations. The individual must possess skills in relating to people and be able to interpret intricate rules and regulations. One of the most important aspects of this position is the awareness of and protection of confidentiality. The staff person in this position must be able to clearly and accurately document facts and figures. The individual must have the ability to learn increasingly complex policies, procedures, and forms.
Skill in organizing both time and workload is essential. Flexibility in work habits and the ability to digest and implement changing rules and regulations related to the different public assistance programs are necessary. Some knowledge of medical terms and their usage would be helpful. Some skills related to computer programs are useful.
The individual must be in good health and able to work overtime when required. This individual must be able to work under stress and within short time frames as the Medicaid programs have many deadlines that the IMC is required to meet.
This staff person must have a good general knowledge of human behavior and a basic understanding of social and economic problems. The worker must be interested in people and have the ability to use tact and diplomacy with people. The worker must have the ability to present oral and written information clearly and factually.
VIII. Knowledge, Skills/Abilities, Education, and Experience Requirements
This worker must have considerable knowledge of the program/area(s) of assignment and general knowledge of all agency and community programs and services that could affect the client/applicant. The employee in this position needs good mathematical reasoning and computational skills and an ability to read, analyze and interpret rules, regulations, and procedures. This worker must have the ability to communicate with clients/applicants, the public at large, and public officials to obtain data and explain and interpret rules, regulations, and procedures. This person also needs to have the ability to instruct and evaluate the work of lower-level employees and to perform caseworker functions within structured time frames.
XI. Minimum Training and Experience Needed
High School diploma or G.E.D.
HOW TO APPLY: Interested applicants must complete an NC PD-107 Application for Employment. Please click this link to complete the NC PD-107 Application or you can obtain an application by visiting a North Carolina Employment Security Commission Office. Applicants must also complete a Camden County Employment Application by clicking here.
SUBMIT TO:
BEVERLY FONVILLE, HR/RISK MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST
P. O. Box 190
330 East HWY 158
Camden, North Carolina 27921
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**Camden County is an Equal Opportunity Employer.**