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Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs
Determine eligibility of persons applying to receive assistance from government programs and agency resources, such as welfare, unemployment benefits, social security, and public housing.
Also Known As:
Benefits Program Tech (Benefits Program Technician)
Business and Employment Specialist
Case Manager
Eligibility Examiner
Eligibility Specialist
Eligibility Worker
Program Eligibility Specialist
Social Welfare Examiner (SWEX)
Workforce Advisor
Workforce Services Representative (WSR)
Wages
Annual wages for Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs in United States
Job Outlook
Below Average
New job opportunities are less likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
168,500
1% Change From 2024
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Compile, record, and evaluate personal and financial data to verify completeness and accuracy, and to determine eligibility status.
- Provide social workers with pertinent information gathered during applicant interviews.
- Interpret and explain information such as eligibility requirements, application details, payment methods, and applicants' legal rights.
- Initiate procedures to grant, modify, deny, or terminate assistance, or refer applicants to other agencies for assistance.
- Interview and investigate applicants for public assistance to gather information pertinent to their applications.
- Refer applicants to job openings or to interviews with other staff, in accordance with administrative guidelines or office procedures.
- Provide applicants with assistance in completing application forms, such as those for job referrals or unemployment compensation claims.
- Answer applicants' questions about benefits and claim procedures.
- Compute and authorize amounts of assistance for programs, such as grants, monetary payments, and food stamps.
- Prepare applications and forms for applicants for such purposes as school enrollment, employment, and medical services.
- Check with employers or other references to verify answers and obtain further information.
- Investigate claimants for the possibility of fraud or abuse.
- Monitor the payments of benefits throughout the duration of a claim.
- Conduct annual, interim, and special housing reviews and home visits to ensure conformance to regulations.
- Keep records of assigned cases, and prepare required reports.
- Interview benefits recipients at specified intervals to certify their eligibility for continuing benefits.
- Schedule benefits claimants for adjudication interviews to address questions of eligibility.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")