Social Worker

If you answered "Yes" to the questions above, then YOU are exactly the person we have been looking for to join our growing team The mission of the Children's Attention Home is to provide nurturing care and life-changing services for youth and families in need. Every person on our 60+ member team has an important role that leaves a lasting impact on the lives of those we serve.

As a provider of residential services to children who have experienced situations of abuse, neglect, or homelessness, we must take the utmost care when reviewing candidates. Hiring policies are taken directly from the state and federal standards under which we operate. All candidates must agree to a Central Registry check, SLED check, and fingerprinting.

Position Summary and Purpose:

The Social Worker (SW) is key to five main areas of residential care: Development and ongoing assessment of each child's comprehensive care plan, provision of residential group sessions focused on social skill development, individual sessions for crisis situations, independent living development and leadership implementation, and empowerment of residential staff through comprehensive training in identified areas. The SW will serve as a part of an interdisciplinary team observing resident's behaviors and assisting in devising, implementing, and communicating treatment plans and strategies. The SW is responsible for completing initial, regular and needs-based assessments on residents of the Children's Attention Home. The SW will serve as an integral part of implementing a trauma-informed model of care at CAH, including outlining practices for residents and facilitating training and discussions for teammates.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Works in conjunction with the Care Coordinator and Cottage Supervisor to review possible new residents and interview when possible.
• Serves on the Treatment Team, in conjunction with the child's caseworker and designated Care Coordinator to develop the initial treatment plan that will outline the services each child is to receive.
• Assists in the development and implementation of Comprehensive Care Plans for the residents in your designated cottage.
• Participates, as part of the residential team, to monitor compliance with resident's required DSS outcomes.
• Facilitates case coordination and information sharing with case workers, mental health counselors, school counselors and others, as appropriate.
• Assist with the implementation and the ongoing training of the trauma informed care model.
• Provides individual and/or group sessions for the residents in the designated cottage to help them overcome the trauma, identify coping strategies, decreasing high risk behaviors, and improve social skill development.
• Attends and participates in staffing of the residents in designated cottage and any other clinical meetings.
• Provides individual therapy sessions for crisis intervention and other specific, limited situations as necessary for residents in designated cottage.
• Work in collaboration with the Care Coordinator to provide resources for mental health, substance abuse, parenting classes for the residents in assigned cottage.
• Work in collaboration with the Care Coordinator to provide aftercare services for youth six months after discharge.
• Serves as an advocate between service recipients and other related agencies.
• Work in conjunction with the assigned Care Coordinator and the resident to track and monitor progress on independent living skills.
• Administer Independent Living assessment to youth to determine areas of focus.
• Administer assessments to residents upon admission to help identify triggers, coping skills, strengths and areas of improvement and inform the team of the information to better serve the youth. Review the assessment every ninety days to determine progress.
• Debrief crisis situations with residents and teammates to improve future crisis response and aid in decreasing overall number of crisis situations.
• Serve as the point of contact for guest speakers for group.
• Interview, onboard, and supervise interns when applicable.

Secondary Responsibilities:

• Form mutually respectful and trustful working relationships with teammates. Model appropriate team building skills/behavior to teammates.
• Intervene, respond to, and assist the team with de-escalating the residents during a crisis situation.
• Serve as a role model for the residents.
• Performs related duties as assigned.

Competencies:

• Communicate well with fellow employees and comfortable working as part of a team.
• Ability to lead and instruct individuals and teams.
• Experience managing the performance of subordinates and aligning their individual goals with those of the organization.
• Creative problem-solver.
• Must have excellent communication skills and the ability to utilize those skills on a daily basis to connect with internal clients, external clients, and employees in a timely manner.
• Ability to independently manage workload, set priorities, meet deadlines, work under pressure and adjust to change.
• Demonstrate integrity, strong character and a strong commitment to the mission and values of the organization when working with employees.
• Self-motivated and able to operate with little supervision while working under pressure with tight timeframes and deadlines.
• Demonstrate maturity in decision-making and initiative all while being a team player and collaborator.
• Works well under pressure with tight timeframes and deadlines.
• Strong project management skills.
• Excellent management of multiple tasks.
• Ability to maintain the highest level of confidentiality.
• Present self in a professional manner and have the ability to interact with all levels of organization and outside contacts.
• Analysis skills - ability to review a problem and recommend appropriate solutions based on knowledge of job and company procedures.
• Interpersonal skills -listen to others, work well in a team environment.
• Ability to present ideas clearly and concisely.
• Strong organizational skills.
• Adaptability - adapt to change in the work environment, manages competing demands and ability to handle frequent changes.
• Dependability - consistently at work on time, follow instructions, respond to the manager's instructions.
• Strong computer skills - including some Microsoft Office software programs and industry specific computer software.
• Ability to work extended hours including nights, weekends, holidays.

Education and Training:

A bachelor's degree in social work is required. Prior experience with a children's service-related group home or similar organization is required.

License:

A valid driver's license is required and must be maintained throughout employment.

Physical Demands and Working Conditions:

Must be physically able to operate a variety of office equipment including a computer, telephone, etc. Constant: standing. Frequent: repetitive use of hand, walking, standing, bending neck and waist, squatting, climbing, kneeling, twisting neck and waist, simple and power grasping of left and right hand, fine manipulation of left and right hand, reaching above shoulder level, reaching below shoulder level. Lifting objects up to 50 pounds from below the waist to a height of 3 feet. Occasionally running up to 75 feet over uneven ground. Must be able to exert up to twenty-five pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects or children.

Disclaimer and Acknowledgement:

This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee(s) incumbent in this position. Employees will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by any person authorized to give instructions or assignments. All duties and responsibilities are essential functions and requirements and are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. To perform this job successfully, the incumbent will possess the skills, aptitudes, and abilities to perform each duty proficiently. Some requirements may exclude individuals who pose a direct threat or significant risk to the health or safety of themselves or others. The requirements listed in this document are the minimum levels of knowledge, skills, or abilities. This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise, other than an "at will" relationship.