Licensing Caseworker

The Social Service Worker 2‑Licensing and Facilitation Caseworker is responsible for conducting comprehensive foster‑adopt home assessments, including home visits, interviews, documentation, and certification recommendations, while maintaining compliance with state systems and standards. The position coordinates child placements, supports foster parent recruitment, training, and public outreach, and collaborates closely with caseworkers, supervisors, and community partners. Additional duties include participating in on‑call coverage, assisting with overflow child welfare cases involving assessments and investigations, crisis intervention, and service linkage to ensure child safety and stability. Responsibilities Conduct foster‑adopt home assessments (30% of time): home visits, interviews, extensive family consultations; observe family interactions; assess overall functioning; recommend certification/approval or denial based on findings. Maintain case records and supporting documentation (police reports, references, safety audits, home study reports). Enter completed home studies into SACWIS and other electronic data management systems. Provide assistance with kinship assessments and home studies to determine eligibility for the Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP). Seek and maintain Ohio Assessor qualifications. Conduct placement searches and coordination with agency foster homes/networks, group homes, and residential centers (30% of time). Communicate regularly with the primary caseworker and supervisor on the coordination of a child’s placement. Plan, implement, and evaluate foster parent recruitment activities (30% of time): identify needs, respond to and investigate inquiries, conduct home visits; increase public awareness by developing and evaluating recruitment materials, advertisements, flyers, inquiry packets, and public presentations. Assist with the planning and implementation of foster parent orientation and ongoing training; develop group orientation classes; coordinate annual foster parent training; develop and implement individualized training for foster parents. Participate in ongoing training, supervisory/staff meetings, staff consultations, and other related management support tasks (10% of time). Participate in weekend and night coverage on a rotating basis. Assist with overflow case assignments by assessing the validity of complaints, conducting interviews of adults and children at various locations, completing assessments in the Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS), gathering evidence, and working with community partners and/or collateral sources. Provide interventions to alleviate crisis and reduce risks to children by engaging the family, community partners and referring for service linkage. When assigned two or more overflow cases from the area of Intake, Ongoing, and/or Adoption, SSWII’s receive a temporary 5% increase during the duration of working high‑risk cases. Upon completion or when only one overflow case is assigned, the worker returns to the original base rate of pay. Perform other duties as assigned. Minimum Qualifications One of the following:

• Bachelor’s degree in human services‑related studies.
• Bachelor’s degree in any field and at least two years of employment in a human services occupation.
• Associate’s degree in human services‑related studies.
• At least five years of employment in a human service‑related occupation.

For continued employment, options 2, 3, or 4 above must obtain a job‑related bachelor’s degree within five years of the date employment with the agency commences. Valid driver’s license. NOTE: All liability and responsibility for determining “human services‑related studies” or “human services‑related occupation” rests with the employing agency. Per Section 5153.122 of the Ohio Revised Code, each caseworker shall complete at least ninety (90) hours of in‑service training during the first year of the caseworker’s continuous employment, consisting of courses in recognizing and preventing child abuse and neglect, assessing risks, interviewing persons, investigating cases, intervening, providing services to children and their families, and other topics relevant to child abuse and neglect. After the first year of continuous employment, each caseworker shall complete thirty‑six (36) hours of training in areas relevant to the caseworker’s assigned duties annually. Unusual Working Conditions/Hazards The position possesses responsibility for the safety of children or adults by requiring the incumbent to make determinations as to whether these children or adults are in an “imminent risk of harm.” These children and adults are incapable of protecting themselves from physical, mental, and/or sexual abuse. Injuries, if they occur, are likely to involve temporary disabilities such as bruises or cuts. Serious mistakes in terms of failing to remove children or adults from homes could conceivably, although extremely infrequent, cause death (e.g., suicide) or a permanent disability. Additionally, the position involves performing duties that require taking some special safety precautions, such as when contacting and negotiating with a family suspected of child abuse or neglect. Performing this duty does not require protective clothing. Exposure to these situations is likely to result in threats of injury, which are rarely acted upon. The position involves regular exposure to environmental factors (e.g., cold, excessive heat, noise, fumes, vibration, dirt) during interviews and meetings conducted outside of the office. The position may involve lifting or carrying children, and exposure to contagious diseases. #J-18808-Ljbffr Fairfield County Ohio