Child Protective Services

Job Announcement

This position includes a signing bonus of $2,500 (full-time) for new county hires.

Appointees to this position are eligible for an environmental stipend. This stipend will be paid out at a rate of $138.46 per pay period and will be in effect until further evaluation of the position class warrants other considerations.

Do you want to be a part of a team that makes a difference in the lives of children and families? As a Child Protective Services (CPS) Lead Specialist, you will engage with parents and their children who are at risk of or victims of abuse or neglect and strengthen families so they can safely care for their children. You also will have a lead role in a team guiding and supporting other CPS specialists. This life-changing work involves taking decisive and appropriate actions when a child needs protection, analyzing complex information, and employing intervention services and strategies to achieve the best outcomes for children.

We are looking for people who are committed to children's safety and family preservation, possess good critical thinking and decision-making skills, thrive in a fast-paced environment, and demonstrate good leadership skills. While this job is challenging and may have long and sometimes unconventional hours, this is more than a job—it is an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children and families.

This team works from 1:00 - 9:30 p.m., Monday-Friday, however additional evening, weekend, or daytime work as well as being part of an on-call rotation for CPS that includes evening, overnight, weekend, and holiday hours which may require immediate response into the field are required.

Duties of the CPS Lead Specialist:
In this job, you will be supported by a team of caring people working together to keep children safe and strengthen families. You will make an impact by:

Assesses allegations of child abuse and neglect, which includes interviewing children, parents, and other involved parties, often in their homes or community spacesUses our practice model to comprehensively assess children and their families, including assessments of protective, risk, and safety factorsTakes appropriate actions based on informed decisions and relevant policy to keep children safe and support families. This may include creating and monitoring safety plans, connecting families with services, providing brief clinical interventions to address immediate concerns, de-escalating tense situations, supporting families' decisions for alternate living arrangements, or separating children and placing them in foster care.Collaborates with other professionals to gather and share information and inform decision-making.Takes legal action when needed to ensure children are safe. This includes preparing and filing court paperwork and attending and testifying in court hearings.Documents interactions and observations related to assessments and decision-making in a timely manner.Provides supervisory assistance in the absence of the supervisor, and serving in a lead role in the team guiding and supporting other team members.Assists on the CPS Hotline and screening new referrals of child abuse and neglect (if applicable)Supports practitioners who are providing clinical casework services to children and their families as part of in-home or family support services (if applicable)This recruitment may be used to fill multiple SSS III vacancies in the CPS afterhours team within the Children, Youth and Families Division.

What you need to be successful:
Knowledge of child protection laws, rules and regulationsKnowledge of conducting child protective services assessments and investigationsAbility to manage conflict and cope with pressure in a professional mannerAbility to work flexible hours as needed, including on-call rotation covering evening, weekend, and holiday hoursAbility to work collaborativelyKnowledge of child development and family functioningAbility to use critical thinking skills to analyze information and develop goals for the safety and well-being of childrenAbility to partner with families to address issues such as parenting, financial stability, mental health, substance abuse, intimate partner violence, etc.Ability to work with individuals and families across culturesStrong verbal and writing skillsAbility to plan and organize your work while adjusting to changing situations and prioritiesCommitment to learning about process, policy, best practices and our practice model and apply the learning to daily tasks.Grow your career with Fairfax County
With more than 16,000 employees, Fairfax County is a diverse workforce offering employees stimulating and challenging opportunities across a broad scope of career opportunities. As a Fairfax County employee, you impact the well-being of our community every day.

This is an exciting time to join Fairfax County Government as we shape racial and social equity policies in the county through the One Fairfax Policy. Using this framework, we intentionally consider equity when making policies or delivering programs and services. To learn more, we highly encourage you to watch the Becoming One Fairfax—An Introduction to Key Concepts video and visit the One Fairfax webpage here.

Finally, click here to learn more about learn more about our Department of Family Services, meet our director and some of our practitioners, watch a short video to learn more about this position, read the top 5 reasons to come work with us, and check out the great benefits, including excellent paid leave, health plans, and retirement plans. In addition to the many county benefits, working with us gives you access to supervision towards becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, our Child Welfare Institute onboarding academy, and practice guidance grounded in the Safe & ConnectedTM practice model.

All Fairfax County Government employees are expected to adhere to the Standards of Conduct. In maintaining a drug free workplace, employees are prohibited from manufacturing, distributing, possessing, using or being under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs while at work or on county premises.

Illustrative Duties

(The illustrative duties listed in this specification are representative of the class but are not an all-inclusive list. A complete list of position duties and unique physical requirements can be found in the position job description.)
Contributes to the development of protocols, policies, procedures, grants and contracts for a social services program, department, and other entities;
Manages service contracts and provide and directs other contract-related functions;
Assists the supervisor in planning and carrying out training for new staff, providing guidance to staff. May directly supervise staff, and covers for the supervisor in their absence;
Serves as a policy expert in an area of social work specialization;
Coordinates or oversees the daily activities of a program or project to include staff supervision, oversight of administrative functions/requirements associated with the program or project, evaluation of the program or project for its impact/effectiveness, and making recommendations for changes or improvements;
Conducts comprehensive clinical assessments and prepares and implements service plans;
Works with clients to develop a plan of service to meet social, health, emotional and economic needs. With the client, formulates objectives and identifies actions to resolve the clients' problems;
Conducts home visits to families for the purpose of monitoring, counseling and supervision;
Provides crisis intervention on a timely basis to clients or families whose well being is seriously and immediately threatened, to include Child Protective Services after-hours;
Conducts mediation services to families in conflict;
Investigates allegations of abuse and neglect of children, elderly persons and incapacitated adults who live in the community and institutional facilities;
Makes assessment of risks posed to clients in accordance with state and local policies, and works to ensure risks are eliminated or minimized;
Performs emergency removal of children from their homes when required, places children in foster homes and residential programs, and coordinates services for them as needed;
Represents the agency in court proceedings; prepares testimony and testifies in Juvenile, Circuit, Criminal, Civil and Federal Courts;
Interviews and counsels natural parents, adoptive parents, foster parents and children to be placed in foster homes or residential facilities and those involved in adoption placement;
Evaluates child's readiness for placement and recommends placement, ensuring compliance with legal provisions;
Conducts and documents interstate and intrastate family home studies to evaluate and make recommendations as to families' ability to provide a safe and nurturing environment for children;
Evaluates and trains foster and adoptive parents;
Works with the community to identify families, children and individuals needing services and to coordinate these services using a wrap-around approach;
Advocates and assists families and individuals in obtaining services (e.g., mental health, intellectual disability, alcohol and drug, housing referrals, home based services, training and medical services);
Communicates and works with colleagues, clients and the community in a manner that supports the agency and program goals and objectives;
Participates as a contributing member on interagency, multi-disciplinary teams, community groups and professional organizations;
Collaborates and contributes to child specific teams on non-agency cases as assigned to assist in identifying community resources and services for families;
Assesses eligibility for foster care protect/prevent funds;
Participates, collaborates and contributes to Comprehensive Services Act activities for families on caseload;
Provides training and education on a variety of social work topics;
Recruits volunteers and manages volunteer services;
Uses automated technology and hard copy files to maintain and update case data, notes, documents, records, contacts and summaries of information;
Manages and maintains program data and outcomes.

Required Knowledge Skills and Abilities

(The knowledge, skills and abilities listed in this specification are representative of the class but are not an all-inclusive list.)
Thorough knowledge of the principles and practices of social work;
Thorough knowledge of current social service problems and methods/approaches to address issues;
Thorough knowledge of regulations and guidelines relating to the assigned area of social service specialization;
Knowledge of casework supervision practices and procedures;
Ability to analyze case information and to reach sound decisions on the basis of such information;
Ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing;
Ability to use automated technology to establish and maintain case records;
Ability to maintain professional ethics and confidentiality of client information;
Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with a variety of individuals.;
Ability to schedule and manage workload sufficiently to meet deadlines;
Ability to provide guidance, direction, supervision and coaching to less-experienced staff;
Ability to provide management and oversight of a program or project.

Employment Standards

MINIMIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a bachelor's degree, plus three years of professional social work experience. A master's degree in a related field may be substituted for one year of the required experience.

CERTIFICATES AND LICENSES REQUIRED:
Valid driver's license.

NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
The appointee to the position must satisfactorily complete a criminal background check, a driving record check, and a Child Protective Services check.

This position is considered essential personnel and will be required to report to work during times designated countywide as approved for unscheduled leave regardless of the emergency situation (i.e., weather, transportation, other disaster).

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
Master's degree in social work (MSW) or a related human services degree Experience in performing child protective investigations, foster care and/or family preservation Experience in working with the court system and family group facilitation
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:
Ability to navigate through and make decisions in stressful and crisis situations Work requires performing tasks with risks of secondary traumatic stress (STS). Sufficiently mobile to travel outside the office for client contact, court appearances, community events, and to conduct family assessments and investigations of allegations of child abuse and neglect. Ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing. Ability to use automated technology. Must be able to operate a motor vehicle and make use of personal vehicle. Ability to lift up to 40 lbs. All duties performed with or without reasonable accommodation.

SELECTION PROCEDURE:
Panel interview, may include practical exercise.

The population of Fairfax County is very diverse where 38.7% of residents speak a language other than English at home (Spanish, Asian/Pacific Islander, Indo-European, and others) and we encourage candidates bilingual in English and a foreign language to apply to this opportunity.

Fairfax County Government prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetics, political affiliation, or military status in the recruitment, selection, and hiring of its workforce.

Reasonable accommodations are available to persons with disabilities during application and/or interview processes per the Americans with Disabilities Act. Contact for assistance. TTY EEO/AA/TTY.

#LI-RS1

---