DCS INTAKE ASSOCIATE*

Job Information

State of Tennessee Job Information Opening Date/Time 11/18/2025 12:00AM Central Time Closing Date/Time 11/24/2025 11:59PM Central Time Salary (Monthly) $3,229.00 - $4,041.00 Salary (Annually) $38,748.00 - $48,492.00 Job Type Full-Time City, State Location

Dresden, TN

Jackson, TN

Memphis, TN

Nashville, TN

Clarksville, TN

Murfreesboro, TN

Columbia, TN

Cookeville, TN

Chattanooga, TN

Oak Ridge, TN

Knoxville, TN

Maryville, TN

Johnson City, TN

Department Children's Services

LOCATION OF (10) POSITION(S) TO BE FILLED: DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN'S SERVICES, MULTIPLE COUNTIES

This is a DCS Intake Associate for the Child Abuse Hotline in the Statewide Child Investigative and Referral Unit. This position can potentially sit in any county across the state.

This position requires a criminal background check. Therefore, you may be required to provide information about your criminal history in order to be considered for this position.

Qualifications

Education and Experience: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor's degree

Substitution of Experience for Education: Two (2) years' experience as a DCS Case Management Assistant may be substituted for the bachelor's degree.

Necessary Special Qualifications: Applicants for this class must:

1. Must be at least twenty-one (21) years of age on the date of application;
2. Be a citizen of the United States;
3. Possess a valid driver's license prior to and during employment;
4. Have a good moral character, as determined by investigation;
5. Complete a criminal history disclosure form in a manner approved by the appointing authority;
6. Have no conviction for a felony;
7. Agree to release all records involving their criminal history to the appointment authority;
8. Supply a fingerprint sample in a manner prescribed by the TBI for a fingerprint based criminal history records check.
9. Submit to and pass a pre-employment screening test for use of illegal drugs.
10. Ability to work nights, evenings, weekends and/or holidays as needed.
11. Ability to work remotely or physical office location. To work remotely, must have access to a private and confidential workspace and access to hardwired internet services.
12. Ability to manually type 40 wpm or higher.

Overview

The DCS Intake Associate is the training, entry-level classification in the Child Abuse Hotline series. A person in this classification is assigned to work in a crisis-oriented call center and develops skills to conduct an investigatory intake of alleged child abuse and neglect and to appropriately assess the situation to determine next steps to immediately address child safety and risk concerns. This class differs from the DCS Intake Specialist* in that the latter functions at the working level.

*An applicant appointed to this flexibly staffed class will be reclassified to the next higher class in the series after successful completion of a mandatory one-year training period; inadequate or marginal performance during the training period will result in automatic demotion or termination.

Responsibilities

ALL LISTED RESPONSBILITIES WILL BE PERFORMED AT THE LEARNING/ENTRY LEVEL:

1. Understands the child abuse and neglect reporting and case assignment process within DCS. Receives referrals of alleged child abuse and neglect from a variety of callers including but not limited to the general public and various community partners such as law enforcement, medical personnel, and school officials.
2. Uses quality interviewing skills to conduct phone interviews regarding child abuse and neglect. Assesses child safety and risk by utilizing various follow up and clarifying questions. Based on information obtained from the interview, writes an initial child abuse and neglect intake report and documents information to ensure all information is accurately captured in the DCS electronic intake database and accurately documents and conveys reported concerns of child abuse and neglect.
3. Utilzes active listening skills and communicates in a customer focused manner with callers in what may be a sensitive and/or highly stressful situation. Demonstrates the ability to be patient and flexible with the callers while staying focused on each interview task.
4. Performs historical research using the DCS electronic intake database to conduct a detailed search for prior DCS involvement with the child and family. Ensures due diligence to determine if there is any prior investigations, duplicate information related to same child and/or family, current cases in the system, etc.
5. Utilizes policy and procedure interpretation skills to review DCS screening tools to assess child safety and risk of harm for each intake. Demonstrates the ability to review policy and procedure to understand how to complete intakes and how to make the preliminary screening decision.

Competencies (KSA's)

Competencies:

1. Customer Focus
2. Action Oriented
3. Interpersonal Savvy
4. Demonstrates Self-Awareness
5. Situational Adaptability

Knowledge:

1. Communications and Media
2. Customer and Personal Service
3. Public Safety and Security
4. Law and Government

Skills:

1. Active Learning and Listening
2. Complex Problem Solving
3. Critical Thinking
4. Reading Comprehension
5. Social Perceptiveness

Abilities:

1. Auditory Attention
2. Deductive Reasoning
3. Inductive Reasoning
4. Problem Sensitivity

Tools & Equipment

1. Laptop
2. Computer
3. Headsets

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