Social Worker IA&T - CPS In-Home Services Unit

Child Protective Services In-Home Social Worker

Prefer current training status with Child Welfare in NC; Prefer experience working in Child Protective Services, court studies and testimonies; Requires exceptional verbal and writing skills.

The Child Protective Services In-Home Services Unit's primary purpose is to execute the agency's legal mandate to serve families in which abuse, neglect or dependency has been substantiated or found In Need of Services. Work in this unit entails:

• Counseling and planning with the child's family intended to strengthen the ability of families to protect and care for their own children, to minimize harm to children and youth, and to ensure permanence in children's lives.
• Arranging for provision of and assisting families in utilizing appropriate services and community resources.
• Obtaining the cooperation of law enforcement agencies as required obtaining suitable care and services for the children in or out of their family origin
• Initiation of court action when necessary.

This agency is mandated to provide services to children who have been identified as neglected, abused, or dependent. The primary purpose of the Child Protective Services In-Home Social Worker, Investigations, Assessment and Treatment, (SW IA&T) is to execute this mandate. This is an advanced, professional level casework position, providing counseling and case management services for children who are identified as neglected and/or abused or dependent. This is done so by assessing family situations to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the family system and to evaluate the level of risk the child may face in the home. The social worker also provides other services to families with children under the age of 18 years who have requested such services from the agency in conjunction with protective services. Treatment and immediate responses will be provided to crisis situations for at risk children in the most complex and hostile of cases.

Regular working hours are from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. However, in order to make the mandated number of face-to-face contacts in some situations, clients may need contact after hours and overtime may be required. Employees are given the option of flexing their workday to accommodate their clients' schedule without putting the social worker in an overtime situation. Employee serves on a rotation basis for periodic radio coverage.

Great precision is required in this work. The worker must correctly gather information to determine whether or not referrals meet the neglect/abuse laws; investigate each case according to standards to determine if neglect/abuse exists; correctly assess a child's safety needs; and continually assess a family during intervention to assist in alleviating problems which led to neglect/abuse. The worker must be able to meet state standards and assure compliance with CPS policy and best practice. Documentation, time reports, day sheets, and other state and county forms must be completed accurately and timely.

Initial assessments, investigations, and case management decisions directly affect the safety of children. Incomplete or inaccurate documentation or reports may affect agency funding negatively and may lead to sanctions against the agency.

Instructions are provided in written and oral form by the supervisor through scheduled conferences, at agency staff meetings, and in workshops and professional training sessions attended by the employee. In addition, weeknights, weekends and holidays, a consultant is always available to assist as a second party decision-maker during all phases of CPS intake and initiation, in all child placement responsibility decisions, and in all other situations when a second party is needed.

Volume l, Children's Service Manual

Service Information System Manual

North Carolina General Statutes applicable to Child Protective Services and Foster Care

Social Work Code of Ethics

County and Agency Personnel Handbooks

Instructions from Director, Assistant Director, Program Administrator, and Supervisor and On-Call consultants

Employee receives review through scheduled conferences, meetings, informal interaction, reports, and an annual performance appraisal. Review for timeliness, quality, and accuracy is also received through periodic random case reviews by the supervisor, Children's Program Representatives and the CFSR Review by State staff

Employee has contact with Unit staff, other units within the agency, clients, Health Department, other social services departments, Guardian Ad Litem Program, Mental Health, medical personnel, crisis organizations, churches, civic organizations, judicial system, law enforcement, Emergency Services personnel, and the general public. Contacts are often used as a means to assist in planning and/or meeting the needs of clients as a part of the human delivery system and to aid in assessing client's current situation.

Employee must be able to move within and without the agency, climb stairs, and use office equipment described in #9 below on a frequent basis. Employee occasionally lifts small children, camera, suitcases, toys, car seats, etc. in performance of duties. Employee must travel to meetings within the county as well as workshops and meetings out of the county. Overnight stays are sometimes necessary.

Work is performed in a county social service agency with contacts in the field. Employee encounters hostile clients, some of whom are dangerous. Clients include mental patients, alcoholics, and substance abusers who are sometimes verbally abusive and threatening. Field contacts are sometimes required even in adverse weather conditions such as snow, sleet, extreme heat and natural disasters. Employee is exposed to infectious diseases such as scabies, head lice, flu, AIDS, etc. All staff are aware of precautions to take when such events occur. All staff are also trained in the use of fire extinguishers.

Employee uses agency computer, printer, copier, calculator, camera, automobile, telephone, cell phone, car seat and iPad in order to perform duties. When conducting investigations, employee sometimes finds it necessary to use anatomically correct dolls. Employee must have immediate access to a vehicle to perform essential functions of the job.

Close visual attention is required when operating a motor vehicle. Intake, investigations, and case management duties all require visual attention and mental concentration. Body language, eye contact, and behavior of family members assist the social worker in assessing the family situation and must be viewed carefully. Preparation of court reports, develop-ment of protection plans, and completion of risk assessments require very intense mental concentration, as does reviewing placement options for children. The social worker must carefully document times, dates, and other factual information so that accurate assessments and recommendations are made. Employee must have physical dexterity required to successfully and efficiently operate machinery and tools outlined in I above.

Employee makes decisions daily that affect the lives of clients and continuously assesses the safety of children and the environment of our clients. Employee devises protection plans, Family Services Case Plans and completes risk assessments. Employee also makes recommendations regarding the removal of children when homes are not safe and the return of children when homes are safe. Employee must carefully evaluate the needs of children in placement responsibility and their caregivers to determine the best plans for children. Social Worker abides by confidentiality guidelines to protect clients and uses caution when operating a motor vehicle when transporting clients. See H above for issues confronting the employee and for precautions.

Child Protective Services and Placement Services are periodically affected by changes in methodology, guidelines, legislation, and shifting program emphasis.

Thorough knowledge of social work principles, techniques, and practices and their application to complex casework and community problems and a range of intervention techniques.

Considerable knowledge of family and group dynamics and a range of intervention techniques.

Considerable knowledge of developmental stages and tasks, human behavior and social economic problems and their treatment as the worker is responsible for identifying children who are abused, neglected, or dependent, assessing the contributory factors and making recommendations for solutions to the identified problems.

Considerable knowledge of governmental and private organizations and other resources within the community.

Considerable knowledge of laws, regulations, and policies which govern Child Protective Services.

General knowledge of methods and principles of casework supervision and training.

Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with clients, associates, administrative superiors, social medical, legal, civic and religious organizations.

Ability to supervise, train or orient lower-level employees, students, or interns.

Ability to express ideas clearly and concisely-orally and in writing.

Ability to plan and execute work effectively and meet deadlines.

Ability to operate an automobile.

Ability to use a personal computer and access the State Network.

Ability to effectively function under stress and to deal with conflict situations and hostile personalities.

Ability to function with a high level of autonomy.

Ability to function cooperatively with members of a team.

Ability to accept constructive criticism.

Ability to refrain from causing or contributing to disruptions or hostility in the workplace.

Ability to make thorough assessments through intense observation skills, interviews and social work practice and be able to accurately orally and in writing communicate the process and results of the assessment.

Master's degree from an accredited school of social work and one year of social work or counseling experience; or a Bachelor's degree from an accredited school of social work and two