PUBLIC HEALTH INVESTIGATOR

Job Description:

PUBLIC HEALTH INVESTIGATOR

Description

Position/Program Information

EXAM NUMBER:
PH5645B

FIRST DAY OF FILING:

10/6/2015

Beginning Tuesday, October 6, 2015, at 8:00 a.m., Pacific Standard Time (PST).
Until the needs of the service are met and is subject to closure without prior notice.

TYPE OF RECRUITMENT:
Open Competitive Job Opportunity

DEFINITION:
Enforces laws, ordinances, and regulations for the control of communicable and selected non-communicable diseases; locates, counsels and refers offenders and disease carriers and conducts other public health related investigations.

CLASSIFICATION STANDARDS:
Positions allocable to this class work in either a Service Planning Area under the administrative and technical supervision of a Supervising Public Health Investigator or in a specialized health investigation program under the administrative and technical supervision of a Supervising Public Health Investigator or higher level program manager. Incumbents enforce state and County public health laws, ordinances and regulations for the control of communicable and selected non-communicable diseases, such as alcoholism, and counseling patients to encourage risk reduction behaviors and referring them for treatment.

Essential Job Functions

Conducts investigations to locate cases and contacts of tuberculosis, sexually transmitted disease, human immunodeficiency virus or other communicable diseases and selected non-communicable diseases, such as alcoholism, by interviewing patients to determine contacts, locating and tracing contacts, and convincing them to voluntarily seek diagnosis and treatment as required by applicable public health laws; has authority to exercise legal interventions to compel compliance up to and including authorizing arrest when essential to protect the public's health.

Counsels individuals who suffer from a communicable or non-communicable disease regarding the nature and control of their disease and educates these individuals on risk reduction techniques and behaviors.

Enforces public health laws, rules and regulations governing communicable disease control by serving legal orders of the Health Officer on patients in their homes, hospitals or detention
facilities, quarantining cases and contacts of communicable disease in private homes or institutions, placing restrictions on infected individuals employed in sensitive occupations such as food handling, supervising disinterments of human remains for foreign shipment, assisting in food poisoning investigations, coordinating case management of persons potentially exposed to rabies, responding to widespread outbreaks of communicable disease and establishing and enforcing the State mussel quarantine order.

Transports patients in connection with the enforcement of legal orders pertaining to the isolation of such patients in a hospital or detention facility, or to facilitate the medical care and treatment of patients infected with a communicable disease.

Investigates cases of quarantine violations and refusal or failure of persons to comply with health laws, ordinances, and regulations; recommends court action to enforce legal orders, prepares cases for court by gathering evidence and appears in court as a representative of the Health Officer on cases involving violations of the public health laws, ordinances, and regulations pertaining to communicable and non-communicable disease investigation.

Supports the California Department of Health Services Marine Biotoxin Monitoring Program, through the collection of shellfish and phytoplankton samples and preparation of these samples for shipment to the state laboratory.

Conducts special investigations not directly involving communicable diseases, such as investigating impersonations of departmental personnel or the verification of home births.

Requirements

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
One year's experience as a Public Health Investigator Trainee.*

LICENSE
A valid California Class C Driver License or the ability to utilize an alternative method of transportation when needed to carry out job-related essential functions.

PHYSICAL CLASS
3 - Moderate: Includes standing or walking most of the time,with bending, stooping, squatting, twisting, and reaching; includes working on irregular surface, occasionally lifting objects weighting over 25 pounds, and frequent lifting of 10-25 pounds.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENT INFORMATION
*To qualify, applicants must hold or have held the payroll title of Public Health Investigator Trainee.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS
Experience in investigation or inspection work in Public Health or Law Enforcement.
A Master's degree from an accredited university in Public Health or Related field of study.

Additional Information

EXAMINATION CONTENT
This examination will consist of an evaluation of experience and desirable qualifications based upon application information and supplemental questions weighted 100%.

Applicants must meet the minimum requirements and achieve a passing score of 70% or higher on the examination in order to be placed on the Eligible Register.

Passing this examination and being added to the eligible register does not guarantee an offer of employment.

Final results will be sent by U.S. Mail. Final Scores cannot be given over the phone.

ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION
The names of candidates receiving a passing score in the examination will be placed on the eligible register in the order of their score group for a period of twelve (12) months following the date of promulgation.

No person may compete in this examination more than once every twelve (12) months.

Applications will be processed on an as-received basis and promulgated to the eligible register accordingly.

VACANCY INFORMATION
The eligible register resulting from this examination will be used to fill vacancies in the Department of Public Health as they occur.

AVAILABLE SHIFT: Any

APPLICATION AND FILING INFORMATION
Applications must be filed online only. Applications submitted by U.S. Mail, fax, or in person will not be accepted. Any required documents must be submitted within fifteen (15) calendar days from the application submission to HRExams@ph.lacounty.gov .

Apply online by clicking on the "Apply" tab for this posting, You can also track the status of your application using this website.

Fill out your application completely. The acceptance of your application depends on whether you have clearly shown that you meet the MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS. Provide any relevant job experience in the spaces provided so we can evaluate your qualifications for the job. For each job held, give the name and address of your employer, your job title, beginning and ending dates, description of work performed, and salary earned. Applicants may be rejected at any stage of the selection process.

IMPORTANT NOTES

• Please note that ALL information included in the application materials is subject to VERIFICATION at any point during the examination and hiring process, including after an appointment has been made.
• FALSIFICATION of any information may result in DISQUALIFICATION or RESCISSION OF APPOINTMENT.
• Utilizing VERBIAGE from Class Specification and Selection Requirements serving as your description of duties WILL NOT be sufficient to demonstrate that you meet the requirements. Doing so may result in an INCOMPLETE APPLICATION and your application may be DISQUALIFIED.

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER
All applicants MUST enter a valid social security number at the time of filing. Entering anything other than a valid social security (i.e. 000-00-0000, 111-11-1111, etc.) will result in an automatic rejection of your application

COMPUTER AND INTERNET ACCESS AT PUBLIC LIBRARIES
For candidates who may not have regular access to a computer or the internet, applications can be completed on computers at public libraries throughout Los Angeles County.

NO SHARING OF USER ID AND PASSWORD
All applicants must file their application online using their OWN user ID and password. Using a family member or friend's user ID and password may erase a candidate's original application record.

Fair Chance Employer: The County of Los Angeles is a Fair Chance employer. Except for a very limited number of positions, you will not be asked to provide information about a conviction history unless you receive a contingent offer of employment. The County will make an individual assessment of whether your conviction history has a direct or adverse relationship with the specific duties of the job, and consider potential mitigating factors, including, but not limited to, evidence and extent of rehabilitation, recency of offense(s), and age at the time of the offense(s). If asked to provide information about a conviction history, any convictions or court records which are exempted by a valid court order do not have to be disclosed.

Teletype Phone: (800) 899-4099
Alternate Teletype Phone: (800) 897-0077
California Relay Services Phone: (800) 735-2922
ADA Coordinator Phone: (323) 659-6546

Department Contact Name: Exam Analyst
Department Contact Phone: (323) 659-6546
Department Contact Email: HRExams@ph.lacounty.gov

For detailed information, please click here

Closing Date/Time: Continuous

Salary:

$70,803.36 - $90,375.36 Annually