DCS CASE MANAGER 3

Job Opportunity

Location of (4) positions to be filled: Department of Children's Services, Hamilton County, Putnam County, Marion County. This position serves as part of the Office of Child Programs/Foster Care Division. This position requires a criminal background check. Therefore, you may be required to provide information about your criminal history in order to be considered for this position.

Qualifications

Education and Experience: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor's degree and experience equivalent to two years of full-time professional work providing child welfare services including, but not limited to, one or a combination of the following: social, psychological, or correctional counseling or case management; volunteer services coordination for a children's service program; and/or juvenile classification coordination.

Necessary Special Qualifications: Applicants for this class must:

1. Must be at least twenty-one (21) years of age on the date of application;
2. Be a citizen of the United States;
3. Possess a valid driver's license prior to and during employment;
4. Have a good moral character, as determined by investigation;
5. Complete a criminal history disclosure form in a manner approved by the appointing authority;
6. Have no conviction for a felony;
7. Agree to release all records involving their criminal history to the appointment authority;
8. Supply a fingerprint sample in a manner prescribed by the TBI for a fingerprint based criminal history records check;
9. Submit to and pass a pre-employment screening test for use of illegal drugs.

Overview

This classification is responsible for professional case management work of considerable difficulty and lead work of routine difficulty; and performs related work as required. This is the lead level class in the DCS Case Manager job series. An employee in this class is responsible for leading and training subordinates in the performance of case management work for children under the State's supervision, in State custody, or at risk of State custody, and their families. This class differs from DCS Case Manager 2 in that an incumbent of the latter performs working level case management work. This class differs from DCS Case Manager 4 in that an incumbent of the latter performs supervisory work over an entire case management team or single/small in an institutional setting.

Responsibilities

1. Serves as a mentor for less-experienced case management staff by providing guidance and suggestions for difficult/multi-faceted cases. Participates in multi-disciplinary teams including Child Protective Services Investigative Team, Foster Care Review Board, Community Advisory Board, in order to gain a global perspective about case planning decisions.
2. Determines if abuse or neglect has occurred, who the abuser is, the level of risk or harm to the child, determines the need for a safety plan, makes recommendations regarding permanency and/or termination of parental rights, monitors adoptive and foster families, recruits foster parents, conducts home visits, and coordinates/observes visitation.
3. Maintains documentation for case files and other required documentation. Prepares for, participates and testifies in court proceedings.
4. Conducts interviews with alleged child victims, individuals reporting alleged abuse or child neglect, child's family, and collateral contacts; gathers required information such as school records, demographic information, medical exam/psychological information, etc., identifies supports for children and families, administers client drug screens; and conducts required assessments/assessments of home. Conducts face-to-face visits with children, resource families, providers, kinship homes, and other relevant entities.
5. Works flexible hours including weekends, holidays, and after hours. Schedules appointments, meetings, visitation with children on caseload. Transports children to various appointments safely, assists children in preparing for placement, and sitting with children who are awaiting placement.
6. Communicates effectively and timely with others, engages with children and families to build trustful relationships, encourages clients to overcome barriers and achieve permanency, explains parental rights and other relevant documents to families, responds timely to families, providers, co-workers and supervision.
7. Convenes and identifies members for Child and Family Team Meetings to work collaboratively with all Child and Family Team Meeting participants. Develops action steps and goals to be accomplished by the Team.
8. Works within communities by making referrals to service providers on behalf of clients; collaborates with law enforcement officials and multi-disciplinary teams; trains foster parents, adoptive parents and community.

Competencies (KSA's)

Competencies:

1. Decision Quality
2. Action Oriented
3. Customer Focus
4. Manages Conflict
5. Communicates Effectively

Knowledge:

1. Clerical
2. Customer and Personal Service

Skills:

1. Time Management
2. Active Learning and Listening
3. Complex Problem Solving

Abilities:

1. Written Comprehension
2. Deductive Reasoning
3. Inductive Reasoning

Tools & Equipment:

1. Electronic Devices
2. Computers
3. Motor Vehicles

TN Driver Standards:

State of Tennessee positions that may involve driving responsibilities require candidates to meet the following minimum driver qualifications:

• A valid driver's license
• For the past five years, the candidate's driver record must not have record of the following violations: driving under the influence (DUI), reckless driving, license suspension for moving violations, more than 4 moving violations.

Please include your Driver's License Information under the Licenses and Certifications section of your application.

**Agencies may allow an exception based on other factors.