Child Protective Services – Social Worker

Are you passionate about protecting children from neglect and harm?  Are you enthusiastic about supporting and strengthening families by providing and coordinating services for them? Would you like to work for an organization committed to your professional development and personal success? If so, consider joining our Child Welfare team! As a member of our team of Child Protective Services Social Workers, you will make strides to ensure the division meets three federally mandated goals:

1. Safety - children will be protected from harm from child abuse and neglect.
2. Permanence - children entering foster care will be reunited with family or placed in a new permanent home as quickly as possible.
3. Well-being - the educational, health, and overall well-being of children in foster care or receiving CPS In-Home Services will be enhanced.

Child Protective Services (CPS) - Social Workers serve on teams at multiple locations as Assessors and In-home workers, traveling across the county to reach the residents of the community we serve. These teams provide and coordinate services for children and their families who have been found in need of services or substantiated for abuse, neglect and/or dependency. They are responsible for assessing risk throughout the life of a case by assisting parents with completing goals on their case plans and referring them for services to address the safety needs identified. We are hiring for multiple positions; you will be given the opportunity to select which positions you are interested in during the application process. The essential job functions of an In-home Social Worker include the following:

• Conducting home visits to ensure safety
• Meeting with parents to create In-home Service Plans/Agreements (IHSA)
• Holding Child and Family Team (CFT) meetings when needed to discuss and create safe plans of care (IHSA) and/or need to petition for custody
• Petitioning the court for custody of children when the need arises
• Testifying in court and writing court reports
• Assessing reports on their own caseloads and reports unrelated to their caseload as the need arises
• Documenting within seven days of each contact and maintaining tracking forms related to activities pertaining to each case

The essential job functions of an Assessment Social Worker include the following:

• Conducting CPS assessments to determine if children have been maltreated and need protective services
• Providing protective services to help families keep children who have been maltreated safely at home whenever possible
• Placing children in foster care when no other means are adequate to protect them
• Reunifying children with their families whenever possible while looking for alternate permanent homes through adoption when necessary
• Developing behavioral based safety plans
• Testifying in court when needed

All CPS Social Workers must be accessible during nights and weekends to provide information on their cases in an emergency and/or to assist with youth in the building as needed.