Family Services Specialist II

Family Services Specialist II

The Family Services Specialist II position is critical in ensuring the safety and well-being of children and families. This is not a remote work position. This sensitive position involves applying casework methods across various service areas, including Employment Services, Child Care, Adult/Adult Protective Services, Child Protective Services, Foster Care, and Adoptions. The specialist may focus on one or more multiple program areas, performing tasks independently while seeking supervisory advice for unusual situations or policy reviews. Key responsibilities consist of the intake process, including Child and Adult Protective Services, providing an initial access point to services of the agency and an immediate response to crises that threaten the welfare, health, or safety of individuals. The service worker provides information on the availability, accessibility, and use of resources. Conducts initial screening and assessment, crisis intervention, and assistance with emergency needs. Intake staff must be able to recognize a customer's strengths and must adequately direct or refer the customer to the appropriate service, benefit program(s), or community resources. Responsibilities to include conducting assessments to create individualized service plans addressing specific risk factors and needs, managing basic service-level caseloads across various program areas to ensure compliance with federal, state, local, and agency standards. Conducts office and field visits to monitor and support families while providing services directly as needed, documenting case records of customer contact and activities to ensure accurate and timely data entry into state systems, interpreting and applying relevant laws, policies, and regulations to ensure compliance with applicable standards, preparing reports for local and state administration ensuring thorough and accurate documentation. The service worker will participate in emergency shelter training and exercises and staff emergency shelters during disaster periods to ensure the safety and well-being of displaced families. Maintains a professional and positive attitude to foster a collaborative working relationship within the agency and the community, engaging in ongoing professional development to enhance skills and knowledge in child welfare and prevention services, acting as a community liaison by serving as the primary point of contact between the agency and the community to foster partnership and collaboration, coordinating and leading community outreach initiatives to support at-risk families and individuals. Manages fatherhood initiative programs to support fathers and promote their active involvement in their children's lives, working with prison reentry programs to assist individuals transitioning from incarceration back into the community, executing prevention services to mitigate risks and enhance the stability and well-being of families. Conducts Service Intake to efficiently assess and address the immediate needs of individuals and families seeking assistance. Administers drug/alcohol screenings. Provides 24-hour on-call services.

Working knowledge of: principles and practices of assigned human services programs; local service agencies and organizations and departmental programs and activities; program management and development; laws, regulations, policies and standards related to the program; program terminology, principles and methods utilized in the program; and human behavior; individual differences, personalities and interests/motivations; group behavior and dynamics, knowledge of employment counseling; job development/placement; social and economic issues. Skill in: operating a computer to enter, retrieve or modify data; and the use of spreadsheet, database, desktop publishing, e-mail, Internet, or other computer programs; skill in operating a motor vehicle; in developing and implementing realistic service plans in order to ensure delivery of appropriate services. Demonstrated ability to: communicate effectively both orally and in writing with customer, staff and community partners; gather and interpret data, assess customer needs; plan, coordinate and evaluate program activities; maintain effective working relationships with customer, staff, agencies, and community partners; identify needs and assess services in problem solving; interpret and apply regulations and procedures; facilitate classes for VIEW/SNAP E&T participants to enhance employability and self-sufficiency; speak publicly to promote the VIEW program to community partners to establish Public Service Program (PSP) and Community Work Experience Program (CWEP) sites and Federal Employment Program (FEP) employers; interact professionally with a diverse group of people; produce meaningful, clear, and concise documents with the proper grammar and usage; read understand and interpret program/technical reports and related materials. Ability to: effectively listen, understand and communicate information/ideas to plan and organize to ensure program activities are implemented/maintained; make and implement case decisions, make sound judgement within framework of existing guidance; respond to the customer's emotions in order to accomplish service objectives; plan and manage own work activities including service delivery; establish and maintain effective working relationships; assess family's strengths and needs in all areas; to objectively plan and reason; ability to interpret laws, policies and regulations to ensure duties are performed in compliance with federal, state, local and agency guidelines, standards, regulations, policies and laws; demonstrated ability to work well with others and maintain a positive and professional attitude; willing to work outside normal business hours.

Bachelor's degree in a Human Services field OR a minimum Bachelor's degree in any field with a minimum of two (2) years appropriate and related experience in a Human Services area (Section 22VAC40-670-20 of the Administration Code of Virginia).