Department of Human Services

Department of Human Services anchors a workforce of 6,433 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 14% below the statewide median.

Median tenure is 14.9 years, longer than the statewide median of 9.6 years. CWA represents the largest share of its unionized workforce (about 58%).

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 Technician470 employees
  7.3% of staff · median $61,653 · AFSCME
• Human Services Assistant372 employees
  5.8% of staff · median $44,155 · AFSCME
• Quality Assurance Specialist, Health Services251 employees
  3.9% of staff · median $114,886 · CWA
• Cottage Training Supervisor226 employees
  3.5% of staff · median $68,252 · CWA
• Habilitation Plan Coordinator217 employees
  3.4% of staff · median $98,503 · CWA
• Residential Services Worker188 employees
  2.9% of staff · median $43,830 · IFPTE
• Senior Food Service Handler185 employees
  2.9% of staff · median $50,699 · AFSCME
• Senior Cottage Training Technician153 employees
  2.4% of staff · median $64,527 · AFSCME
• Practical Nurse132 employees
  2.1% of staff · median $73,931 · AFSCME
• Senior Therapy Program Assistant131 employees
  2.0% of staff · median $67,499 · AFSCME
• Regional Staff Nurse, Medical Assistance121 employees
  1.9% 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 470 statewide
  only at this agency
• Cottage Training Supervisor226 of 233 statewide
  97% of the statewide total
• Habilitation Plan Coordinatorall 217 statewide
  only at this agency
• Senior Cottage Training Technicianall 153 statewide
  only at this agency
• Regional Staff Nurse, Medical Assistance121 of 122 statewide
  99% of the statewide total
• Instructor Commission For The Blind And Visually Impaired-12 Monthsall 67 statewide
  only at this agency
• Police Officer Human Servicesall 66 statewide
  only at this agency
• Principal Community Program Specialist64 of 66 statewide
  97% of the statewide total

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 $58,462 and $102,193, a ratio of 1.75 between the two quartiles. That is about the same spread as state government as a whole (1.80).

• Lowest recorded salary$36,449
• Lower quartile$58,462
  statewide $62,428
• Median salary$72,427
  statewide $84,548
• Upper quartile$102,193
  statewide $112,646
• Highest recorded salary$169,280

Based on 6,138 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.

• CWA3,707 employees
  57.6% of the agency
• AFSCME1,659 employees
  25.8% of the agency
• IFPTE466 employees
  7.2% of the agency
• IBEW133 employees
  2.1% of the agency

Union coverage is identifiable for 93% 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 14.9 years, against a statewide median of 9.6. 24% joined within the last five years, and 36% have twenty years or more behind them.

• Under 5 years1,484 employees
  23.6% of those with a hire date
• 5 to 10 years998 employees
  15.9% of those with a hire date
• 10 to 15 years677 employees
  10.8% of those with a hire date
• 15 to 20 years878 employees
  14.0% of those with a hire date
• 20 to 25 years1,333 employees
  21.2% of those with a hire date
• 25 years or more920 employees
  14.6% of those with a hire date

Hire dates are present for 6,290 of this agency's 6,433 payroll records.

Overtime

2,453 employees here recorded overtime, 38.1% of the agency, against 29.6% across state government. Agencies that have to cover a post around the clock always sit above that line.

Together they were paid $11,242,423 in overtime, averaging $4,583 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 overtime2,453
• Share of the agency38.1%
• Total overtime paid$11,242,423
• Average per employee earning it$4,583

Civil service coverage

92% 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 specification5,892
• Records with no matching specification541
• Distinct civil service titles on the roster100 or more

Where it sits among state agencies

By headcount this is the 6th largest of the 39 payroll lines in New Jersey state government, holding 8.8% of the state workforce.

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

• Department of Corrections6,486 employees
  median $101,674
• Department of Health6,477 employees
  median $70,850
• Department of Environmental Protection4,647 employees
  median $86,027
• Department of Transportation3,805 employees
  median $76,834

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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