Department of Human Services

Department of Human Services anchors a workforce of 6,533 employees, one of the biggest payrolls in state government.

The most common title is Cottage Training Technician (7% of staff), followed by Human Services Assistant and Quality Assurance Specialist, Health Services. Median pay is $72,427, about 15% below the statewide median.

Median tenure is 15.0 years, longer than the statewide median of 9.6 years. CWA represents the largest share of its unionized workforce (about 57%).

About Department of Human Services

The Department of Human Services administers New Jersey FamilyCare, the state's Medicaid program, along with services for people with developmental disabilities, family assistance programs, and services for residents who are blind, deaf or hard of hearing. It also staffs residential facilities directly.

The roster splits between program administration and round-the-clock direct care. Cottage training technicians and their supervisors, habilitation plan coordinators and residential services workers are all facility staff, working with residents rather than files. Food service and support titles follow them, because a residential campus has to feed and maintain itself. That mix is why AFSCME represents a large share here while CWA still holds the plurality, and why the department's median pay sits below the statewide figure despite its size.

Who works here

These are the titles that carry the most people on this payroll. Each one links to its civil service specification, which sets out the duties, the minimum requirements and the salary range.

• Cottage Training Technician471 employees
  7.2% of staff · median $61,653 · AFSCME
• Human Services Assistant368 employees
  5.6% of staff · median $44,155 · AFSCME
• Quality Assurance Specialist, Health Services254 employees
  3.9% of staff · median $114,886 · CWA
• Cottage Training Supervisor223 employees
  3.4% of staff · median $68,252 · CWA
• Habilitation Plan Coordinator218 employees
  3.3% of staff · median $98,503 · CWA
• Residential Services Worker194 employees
  3.0% of staff · median $43,830 · IFPTE
• Senior Food Service Handler188 employees
  2.9% of staff · median $50,699 · AFSCME
• Senior Cottage Training Technician174 employees
  2.7% of staff · median $64,527 · AFSCME
• Senior Therapy Program Assistant136 employees
  2.1% of staff · median $67,499 · AFSCME
• Practical Nurse136 employees
  2.1% of staff · median $71,629 · AFSCME
• Regional Staff Nurse, Medical Assistance120 employees
  1.8% of staff · median $109,652 · CWA
• Senior Community Program Specialist97 employees
  1.5% of staff · median $95,384 · CWA

At least 100 distinct titles appear on this agency's payroll. The 12 largest are listed above.

Titles you will not find elsewhere

24 of this agency's titles are concentrated here rather than shared across departments, and for 16 of them every single position in the state sits on this payroll.

• Cottage Training Technicianall 471 statewide
  only at this agency
• Cottage Training Supervisor223 of 229 statewide
  97% of the statewide total
• Habilitation Plan Coordinatorall 218 statewide
  only at this agency
• Senior Cottage Training Technicianall 174 statewide
  only at this agency
• Regional Staff Nurse, Medical Assistance120 of 121 statewide
  99% of the statewide total
• Principal Community Program Specialist68 of 70 statewide
  97% of the statewide total
• Instructor Commission For The Blind And Visually Impaired-12 Monthsall 68 statewide
  only at this agency
• Police Officer Human Servicesall 66 statewide
  only at this agency

Concentration is measured against the same payroll file, comparing this agency's headcount in a title with the statewide headcount in that title.

How pay is spread

Below are the quartile boundaries for this agency's salaries, with the statewide equivalents alongside them for reference.

The middle half of this agency's employees earn between $58,520 and $101,489, a ratio of 1.73 between the two quartiles. State government as a whole sits at 1.81, so this agency's pay is bunched more tightly than average, which tends to happen where one or two large titles carry most of the staff.

• Lowest recorded salary$36,449
• Lower quartile$58,520
  statewide $62,428
• Median salary$72,427
  statewide $84,796
• Upper quartile$101,489
  statewide $113,264
• Highest recorded salary$170,000

Based on 6,221 salaried records, with 52 statistical outliers excluded from the quartile calculation.

Union representation

Which contract covers a job decides its salary schedule, its step ladder and its grievance route. This is the union mix on this payroll.

• CWA3,748 employees
  57.4% of the agency
• AFSCME1,685 employees
  25.8% of the agency
• IFPTE474 employees
  7.3% of the agency
• IBEW132 employees
  2.0% of the agency

Union coverage is identifiable for 92% of this agency's payroll records. The remainder are unclassified, exempt or managerial positions that sit outside a bargaining unit.

How long people stay

Tenure tells you something a salary table cannot: whether this is a place people arrive at or a place they stay.

Half of this agency's employees have been on the state payroll longer than 15.0 years, against a statewide median of 9.6. 23% joined within the last five years, and 36% have twenty years or more behind them.

• Under 5 years1,476 employees
  23.5% of those with a hire date
• 5 to 10 years981 employees
  15.6% of those with a hire date
• 10 to 15 years684 employees
  10.9% of those with a hire date
• 15 to 20 years873 employees
  13.9% of those with a hire date
• 20 to 25 years1,288 employees
  20.5% of those with a hire date
• 25 years or more980 employees
  15.6% of those with a hire date

Hire dates are present for 6,282 of this agency's 6,533 payroll records.

Overtime

2,643 employees here recorded overtime, 40.5% of the agency, against 31.6% across state government. Agencies that have to cover a post around the clock always sit above that line.

Together they were paid $19,936,126 in overtime, averaging $7,543 for each employee who earned any. Overtime is not part of the salary figures elsewhere on this page, which report base pay.

• Employees with recorded overtime2,643
• Share of the agency40.5%
• Total overtime paid$19,936,126
• Average per employee earning it$7,543

Civil service coverage

91% of this agency's payroll records carry a title that matches a published civil service specification. That is a high match rate, and it means the hiring routes described elsewhere on this site apply to most jobs here: an announced examination, an eligible list, and appointment from that list.

• Records matched to a specification5,972
• Records with no matching specification561
• Distinct civil service titles on the roster100 or more

Where it sits among state agencies

By headcount this is the 5th largest of the 39 payroll lines in New Jersey state government, holding 8.7% of the state workforce.

Its nearest neighbours by headcount, for readers who want a like-for-like comparison.

• Department of Children and Families6,866 employees
  median $95,654
• Department of Health6,611 employees
  median $70,850
• Department of Corrections6,513 employees
  median $103,187
• Department of Environmental Protection5,249 employees
  median $85,742

Study guides for this exam

• Civil Service Arithmetic National Learning Corporation · $39.94
• Civil Service Grammar and Usage National Learning Corporation · $34.95
• Civil Service Administration, Management and Supervision National Learning Corporation · $55.95
• Clerical, Office & Administrative Support Positions (COAST) (Career Examination) National Learning Corporation · $39.95
• Logical Reasoning National Learning Corporation · $29.95
• In-Basket Examination National Learning Corporation · $49.95
• GRAPHS, CHARTS AND TABLES (Tabular Material) National Learning Corporation · $39.94
• Abstract Reasoning / Spatial Relations National Learning Corporation · $49.95
• CIVIL SERVICE READING COMPREHENSION (General Aptitude and Abilities Series) (Passbooks) National Learning Corporation · $39.95 · general prep, not specific to this title

The Civil Service Commission does not publish official study guides or release past tests. These are independent equivalency guides.

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