Public Guardian 1/2 (02-1625)

State of Alaska; Anchorage (AK); On-site; USD 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

The State of Alaska is seeking a Public Guardian 1 Trainee in Anchorage to work with adult wards. On-the-job training will cover managing finances, housing, court reports and client visitation, and learning surrogate decision making for mental health care, education, and residential placement.

As Public Guardian 2 you will manage client finances, maintain contact with clients, participate in treatment and case planning, and work toward required certification within one year; the role supports

Qualifications

• Competencies in advocacy, ethics and effective communication.
• Ability to learn guardianship processes and standards.

Responsibilities

• Receive on-the-job training to conduct tasks related to adult client finances, property, housing, court reports and visitation.
• Learn surrogate decision making regarding mental health care, education, residential placement, service providers and rights.
• Assist and shadow team members with case assignments and engage with guardianship functions.

Skills

Advocacy

Decision Making

Self-Management

Oral Communication

Writing

Job description

This position is open to Alaska Residents only. Please check our residency definition to determine if you qualify.

This position works with adults not children.

As a Public Guardian 1 Trainee you will:

• Receive on the job training to conduct tasks associated with managing adult client finances, property, housing, court reports and client visitation.
• Learn to provide surrogate or substitute decision making regarding client mental health care, vocational training and education, residential placement, choice of service providers, and protection of legal rights and human rights.
• Assist and shadow team members with specific case assignments.
• Will demonstrate an understanding of core functions of guardianship.
• Will study and implement national standards of guardianship in every day practice.

As a Public Guardian 2 you will:

• Manage client finances, property, housing, court reports and client visitation.
• Provide surrogate or substitute decision making regarding client mental health care, vocational training and education, residential placement, choice of service providers, and protection of legal rights and human rights.
• Maintain regular contact with clients through home visitation or directing home visitation, correspondence, telephone, and office visitation and/or regular communication with case managers, care coordinators or home administrators and staff.
• Participate in scheduled treatment and case planning meetings in guardian capacity.
• Obtain required certification as a registered guardian within one year.

Our Organization, Mission, and Culture

The Office of Public Advocacy (OPA) provides legal advocacy and guardianship services to vulnerable Alaskans throughout Alaska out of four separate offices. OPA also advocates for abused and neglected children in protective proceedings, provides attorney services for respondents in adult guardianship proceedings for parents in Child in Need of Aid cases, and for conflict criminal cases received from the Public Defender Agency in other units within the Agency.

The Benefits of Joining Our Team

The Public Guardian Section of OPA is a fast-paced environment made up of individuals who care deeply about our responsibilities to the wards to whom we are appointed. We are the appointment of last resort for these vulnerable adults and a place where compassion and problem solving are needed to meet our obligations to some of Alaska’s most vulnerable adults.

The Working Environment You Can Expect

This position located in the OPA/Anchorage Public Guardian unit is located in downtown Anchorage. We offer free parking and are within walking distance of many great restaurants and coffee shops.

Who We Are Looking For

We are interested in candidates who possess some or all of the following position specific competencies:

• Advocacy: Organizes and leads advocacy efforts with local, state, and federal government entities and elected officials that support the mission of an agency.
• Decision Making: Makes sound, well-informed, and objective decisions; perceives the impact and implications of decisions; commits to action, even in uncertain situations, to accomplish organizational goals; causes change.
• Self-Management: Sets well-defined and realistic personal goals; displays a high level of initiative, effort, and commitment towards completing assignments in a timely manner; works with minimal supervision; is motivated to achieve; demonstrates responsible behavior

Competency Based Minimum Qualifications Instructions

This job class uses competency based minimum qualifications. Please ensure your application (through work history, volunteer experience (duties summary), training, education, licenses, certifications, etc.) supports how you have gained the knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors (competencies) and that you possess the minimum required competencies for the job class.

The competency description(s) listed below have been designed to promote a common understanding of the essential elements of the job class. They highlight the more general and customary knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs), tasks, and behaviors used to describe the competency. They typically list expectations, as opposed to specific tasks, and are to be used only as parameters and guidelines. A competency’s description is not intended to exclusively define every KSA, task, and behavior needed to successfully meet the competency, but rather to provide the manager/agency with a broad reference of options as to how an applicant can meet the job expectation.

Public Guardian 1

Any combination of education and/or experience that provides the applicant with competencies in

• Integrity/Honesty:Contributes to maintaining the integrity of the organization; displays high standards of ethical conduct and understands the impact of violating these standards on an organization, self, and others; is trustworthy.
• Interpersonal Skills:Shows understanding, friendliness, courtesy, tact, empathy, concern, and politeness to others; develops and maintains effective relationships with others; may include effectively dealing with individuals who are difficult, hostile, or distressed; relates well to people from varied backgrounds and different situations; is sensitive to cultural diversity, race, gender, disabilities, and other individual differences. Has experience effectively dealing with children, adults, or persons with a mental illness, developmental disability, traumatic brain injury, age-related dementia, or other form of disability.
• Oral Communication:Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.
• Writing:Recognizes or uses correct English grammar, punctuation, and spelling; communicates information (for example, facts, ideas, or messages) in a succinct and organized manner; produces written information, which may include technical material, that is appropriate for the intended audience.

Equivalent to those typically gained by:

Educational coursework or training in a social science, behavioral science, guidance or counseling, or a closely related field and/or experience such as coordinating or providing social or legal services information or referrals to the public; coordinating or facilitating child, adult, family, or group case management, licensing, or probationary services; providing care or services to delinquent or incapacitated persons.

Public Guardian 2

Any combination of education and/or experience that provides the applicant with competencies in

• Integrity/Honesty:Contributes to maintaining the integrity of the organization; displays high standards of ethical conduct and understands the impact of violating these standards on an organization, self, and others; is trustworthy.
• Interpersonal Skills:Shows understanding, friendliness, courtesy, tact, empathy, concern, and politeness to others; develops and maintains effective relationships with others; may include effectively dealing with individuals who are difficult, hostile, or distressed; relates well to people from varied backgrounds and different situations; is sensitive to cultural diversity, race, gender, disabilities, and other individual differences. Has experience effectively dealing with children, adults, or persons with a mental illness, developmental disability, traumatic brain injury, age-related dementia, or other form of disability.
• Oral Communication:Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.
• Technical Competence:Uses knowledge that is acquired through formal training or extensive on-the-job experience to perform one’s job; works with, understands, and evaluates technical information related to the job; advises others on technical issues.

Equivalent to those typically gained by:

Educational coursework or training in a social science, behavioral science, guidance or counseling, or a closely related field and/or experience such as coordinating or providing social or legal services information or referrals to the public; coordinating or facilitating child, adult, family, or group case management, licensing, or probationary services; providing care or services to delinquent or incapacitated persons.

Special Note:

1. Pass a criminal history record information check (AS 08.26.070)
2. Applicants applying for PG 2 positions must either hold a current certification as a registered guardian from a nationally recognized organization at time of appointment or obtain a nationally recognized certification within one year of the date of hire (AS 13.26.740).
3. Applicants applying for PG 3 OR PG 4 positions must hold a current certification as a registered guardian from a nationally recognized organization at time of appointment (AS 13.26.740).

“Competencies” means a combination of interrelated knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors that enable a person to act effectively in a job or situation.

“Professional experience” means work that is creative, analytical, evaluative, and interpretive; requires a range and depth of specialized knowledge of the profession's principles, concepts, theories, and practices; and is performed with the power or right to decide or act according to one's own judgment.

“Progressively responsible” means indicating growth and/or advancement in complexity, difficulty, or level of responsibility.

“Training” and “education” in this guidance are synonyms for the process of acquiring knowledge and skills through instruction. It includes instruction through formal and informal methods (such as classroom, on-line, self-study, and on-the-job), from accredited and unaccredited sources, and long-duration (such as a post-secondary degree) and short-duration (such as a seminar) programs.

“Typically gained by” means the prevalent, usual method of gaining the competencies expected for entry into the job.

Please read the below information carefully. This applies to your application submission.

THIS RECRUITMENT IS FOR ALASKA RESIDENTS ONLY

Please be sure to check our residency definition to determine if you qualify.

At time of interview, please be prepared to provide three writting samples:

• One a business letter.
• One an email regarding a concern.
• A budget for a person that you would be assisting ($1500 monthly income, rent $500, allowance $50 a week and food of 100 a week.

APSIN

Please be aware – this position requires the use of the Alaska Public Safety Information Network (APSIN). A security clearance issued by the Department of Public Safety (DPS) is necessary to use APSIN. DPS will deny security clearance for any applicant who has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor in this state or another jurisdiction, or who may be a fugitive from justice. Additionally, security clearance will be withdrawn if DPS discovers that material information was falsified or omitted at the time of the initial application for security clearance.

EDUCATION

If post-secondary education is required to meet the minimum qualifications, you must fill in the Education section of the application. If you have not obtained a degree, please indicate the number of units completed. Copies of transcripts are required to verify educational credentials if used to meet the minimum qualifications for a position. Transcripts can be attached at the time of application or within 48 hours of the close of this recruitment to the contact person listed below.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR FOREIGN EDUCATION

Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the above requirements, if applicable. If utilizing this education you must show that the education credentials have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and that such education has been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs; or an accredited U.S. state university reports the other institution as one whose transcript is given full value, or full value is given in subject areas applicable to the curricula at the state university. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying.

WORK EXPERIENCE

If using work experience not already documented in your application, also provide the employer’s name, your job title, dates of employment, and whether full-or part-time. Applications will be reviewed to determine if the responses are supported and minimum qualifications are clearly met. If they are not, the applicant may not advance to the interview and selection phase of the recruitment.

NOTE: Attaching a resume or curriculum vitae is not an alternative to filling out the application in its entirety. Noting "see resume or CV" or any similar response on any portion of your application may lead to a determination your application is incomplete and removal from consideration for this job posting.

EEO STATEMENT

The State of Alaska complies with Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Individuals with disabilities, who require accommodation, auxiliary aides or services, or alternative communication formats, please call 1-800-587-0430 or [phone] in Juneau or TTY: Alaska Relay 711 or 1-800-770-8973 or correspond with the Division of Personnel & Labor Relations at: P.O. Box 110201, Juneau, AK 99811-0201. The State of Alaska is an equal opportunity employer.

NOTICE

If you choose to be contacted by email, please ensure your email address is correct on your application and that the spam filter will permit email from the ‘govermentjobs.com’ domains. For information on allowing emails from the ‘governmentjobs.com’ domains, visit the Lost Password Help page located at https://www.governmentjobs.com/OnlineApplication/User/ResetPassword

WORKPLACE ALASKA APPLICATION QUESTIONS & ASSISTANCE

Questions regarding application submission or system operation errors should be directed to the Workplace Alaska hotline at 1-800-587-0430 (toll free) or [phone] if you are located in the Juneau area. Requests for information may also be emailed to [e-mail].