CHILD PROTECTIVE INVESTIGATOR

Child Protective Investigator

Salary: $50,000.08 annually / $1,923.08 bi-weekly

Location: Tampa, Florida

This posting will be used to fill position vacancies in Career Service. Current employees will be compensated in accordance with the DCF salary policy.

How you will make an impact: Be the one who shows up! Children in crisis need quick action from strong, compassionate individuals dedicated to ensuring their safety. This demanding and challenging career could be your opportunity to speak for those with no voice and fight to help ensure the safety of those who cannot protect themselves. We are looking for people who are detail-oriented, possess good decision-making skills, and can thrive in a high-pressure, fast-paced environment. When seconds count, your career decision may be the critical difference in the life of a child.

What you will do:

• Conduct investigations of abuse, neglect, abandonment and/or special conditions for children;
• Collect information through observation and interviews with the children, parents, relatives, and neighbors;
• Assess danger threats, child vulnerabilities and caregiver protective capacities in order to determine whether a child is safe;
• Arrange emergency placement for any child that cannot safely remain in their home;
• Notify state attorney, law enforcement and child protection teams;
• Provide families with service linkages to agency and community resources;
• Conduct initial/ongoing child present and impending danger assessments;
• Report indication of abuse, neglect and/or abandonment to the Florida Abuse Hotline.

Qualifications:

• A high school diploma or GED equivalent and four years of law enforcement experience or active military service (honorably discharged or status that current service reflects serving honorably); OR
• An associate degree or 60+ credit hours from an accredited college or university and two years of professional work experience (see examples below) or two years of law enforcement experience or active military service (honorably discharged or status that current service reflects serving honorably); OR
• A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.

Additional Information/Requirements:

• This position will require night, weekend, and holiday work.
• It has also been designated as an essential position.
• Incumbents are expected to work during emergency situations or natural disasters and may be required to work before, during and beyond normal work hours/days.
• Incumbents may be exposed to possible hazardous conditions in the field.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Following policy and procedures, Managing Time, Assessing, Planning, Intervening, Evaluating, Documenting, Engaging, Teaming, taking appropriate actions related to Domestic Violence, Mental Health, and/or Substance Abuse, Establishing Effective Relationships with Colleagues, Professional Competencies.
• Must be physically able and have the ability to perform the following physical agility tasks:
• Ambulate in varied terrains to enter residences/locations as well as up and down stairs/stairwells,
• Assist with evacuation of persons served during an emergency situation,
• Have normal vision and hearing, including use of corrective devices,
• Do repetitive movements with arms, hands, neck and head,
• Bend, twist, turn, kneel, stoop, squat, push, pull, lift and walk extended distances,
• Lift and carry up to 30 pounds,
• Assist clients in and out of properties, vehicles and safety equipment/devices,
• Sit and/or stand for periods of time without a break,
• Work 16 hour shifts on occasion,
• Remain alert while on duty,
• Drive a vehicle (car or passenger van) to transport clients, during both daytime hours and nighttime hours.