Social Services Specialist

Job Announcement

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

Appointees to this position will receive an environmental stipend. This stipend will be paid out at a rate of $138.46 per pay period (26 pay periods annually).

This announcement may be used to fill multiple full-time Protection and Preservation Services Social Services Specialist III positions located throughout Fairfax County. Provides clinical casework services for a caseload of children at risk of abuse or neglect and their parents or caretakers. Casework responsibilities include completion of comprehensive assessments and service plans, care coordination, crisis intervention, and brief counseling. Attends court hearings and provides professional and legal testimony as needed. Completes casework and documentation in compliance with federal, state and local policies and procedures. Develops partnerships with community agencies to provide a holistic approach to service delivery, guaranteeing collaboration and coordination of services offered to children and their families. Will receive Child Protective Services (CPS) cases as needed. Coordinates and attends intra-agency and inter-agency meetings. Mentors and trains staff and provides supervision in the absence of the unit supervisor. Uses automated information systems to maintain case documentation.
Schedule: A flexible schedule including evening and/or weekend work will be required. In addition, the position requires being part of Child Protective Services (CPS) on-call rotation that includes evening, overnight, weekend, and holiday hours which may require immediate response into the field.

Illustrative Duties:

• Cover supervisor when supervisor not available or on leave;
• 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;
• 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.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Ability to maintain professional ethics and confidentiality of client information;
• Knowledge of regulations and guidelines relating to the assigned area of social service specialization;
• Ability to schedule and manage workload sufficiently to meet deadlines;
• Ability to assess safety and risk;
• Ability to assess trauma and root causes of dysfunctional family dynamics;
• Ability to engage with families;
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with a variety of individuals;
• Ability to meet deadlines and keep up with documentation;
• Ability to participate in and attend home visits, school visits, and court hearings.

Note: All applicants selected from this solicitation must successfully complete DFS‘s Child Welfare Institute program prior to joining their assigned unit.
Employment Standards

MINIMUM 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.

Contingent upon the area of assignment, some positions within this class may require specific certification(s) prior to employment and/or the ability to acquire necessary certification(s) within a specified time period following employment. The certifications are identified in the position description and employment advertisement.

CERTIFICATES AND LICENSES REQUIRED:
Valid driver‘s license.

NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
The appointee to the position must satisfactorily complete a criminal background check, 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.
• Minimum of two (2) years of experience in child protective services intake and/or on-going and child abuse and neglect prevention.
• Minimum of two (2) years of experience in service plan development and care coordination.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:
Sufficiently mobile to attend home visits, court, and meetings and community events outside the office. Ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing. Ability to use automated technology. All duties performed with or without reasonable accommodations.

SELECTION PROCEDURE:
Panel interview; may include practical exercise.

This job announcement is listed with a closing date of 12/27/24 and interested applicants are advised to submit their applications as soon as possible. Interviews will be conducted on a regular basis throughout the recruitment with candidates whose qualifications best fit our needs. If your application is received later in the recruitment process, it may not be reviewed or considered. The application process may close prior to the currently advertised closing date when the position has been filled.

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.

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