Family Safety Practitioner II - Protection & Preservation Services (PPS)

Job Announcement

This position includes a signing bonus of $2,500 (full-time) for new county hires.

Works within the Division of Children, Youth and Families (CYF) to provide clinical casework services to stabilize and support families experiencing abuse/neglect or at-risk of further abuse/neglect. DFS is committed to strengthening the well-being of its diverse community by protecting and improving the lives of all children, adults, and families through assistance, partnership, advocacy, outreach, and quality services. To learn more about DFS and its Mission, Vision, and Values, please click here.

This position is a member of the Protection and Preservation Services (PPS) in the South County/Alexandria region. Work hours are Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; however, evening and/or weekend work is required as well as being part of an on-call rotation for CPS that includes evening, overnight, weekend, and holiday hours which may require immediate response into the field are required.

Duties of this position include:

• Uses child welfare framework to perform comprehensive assessments of children and their families, including home visits. Areas of assessment include child abuse and neglect; parenting capacity; family relationships; mental health, substance abuse, and developmental concerns; social supports; physical health challenges and disabilities; and basic needs including shelter, food, and clothing
• Collaborates with the parents/caretakers, key members of the family, and children, if appropriate, to develop a service plan to ensure children's safety and reduce risk of future harm to children
• Collaborates with the family and multidisciplinary team to coordinate casework services and ensure progress towards achieving service plan goals
• Coordinates care and delivery of services such as financial, food, shelter, and housing assistance; psychiatric, psychological, or mental health evaluations; and domestic violence interventions to family members
• Responds to and provides crisis intervention to maintain child safety and well-being
• Documents assessments, critical incident reports, detailed case contacts, progress notes, and service plans
• Prepares court petitions and testifies in court
• Collaborates with various multi-disciplinary professionals and facilitates family engagement activities
• Performs other duties as assigned to ensure child safety and improve outcomes in families

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Knowledge of child protection laws, rules, and regulations
• Knowledge of conducting child protective services assessment and investigation
• Ability to interview, assess needs, counsel, and refer clients to other resource as needed
• Ability to assess safety, risk, and protective capacity
• Possess critical thinking skills and ability to apply critical thinking and knowledge and research
• Ability to meet deadlines and keep up with documentation
• Ability to work collaboratively with families to identify solutions to specific issues and/or challenges such as parenting, behavior management, childcare, financial stability, housing, mental health, substance abuse, etc.
• Requires the ability to develop goals and to use decision-making tools and resources for the safety and well-being of children

Illustrative Duties

(The illustrative duties listed in this specification are representative of the class but are not an all-inclusive list. A complete list of position duties and unique physical requirements can be found in the position job description.)

Performs individual and family safety and risk assessment and casework duties pursuant to applicable state and federal policies/ law, to ensure the safety and wellbeing of people facing vulnerabilities;
Determines whether people at risk of harm should be separated from their current living situation including, emergency separations of children or vulnerable adults from their homes when required;
Engages county residents in services that are often non-voluntary and/or protective in nature. County residents engaging in these services are often experiencing difficulties that may be stressful and upsetting and threaten their immediate physical or psychological safety;
Advocates for and assists families and individuals in obtaining services (e.g., mental health, intellectual disability, alcohol and drug, housing referrals, financial assistance for basic needs, home based services, training, and medical services) to ameliorate the circumstances that brought them to the attention of the department;
Provides family, individual, and group counseling and conducts mediation services to families in conflict;
Investigates and/or evaluates complaints of alleged abuse or neglect, and in consultation with supervisor, makes assessment of risks posed to clients in accordance with state and local policies, and works to ensure risks are eliminated or minimized;
Prepares written reports and required documentation supporting decisions related to immediate and ongoing safety needs;
Provides crisis intervention on a timely basis to clients or families whose wellbeing are seriously and imminently threatened;
Collects, documents, and makes appropriate case decisions related to information from clients, their family members and community support systems regarding their social, financial, physical health, emotional well-being, and problems affecting the completion of safety or services plans;
Documentation is detailed and becomes part of the case file which is a legal record;
Participates in the development of court related documents and may testify or attend court to provide support to the clients and/or their caregivers;
Provides training, outreach and education for allied resources including (but not limited to) foster and adoptive parents, volunteers, families, and other county residents regarding supportive services, agency programs, and other specialized topics related to the wellbeing of county residents at risk of harm;
Works with and monitors individual service providers such as contract service providers and volunteers who work with clients to adhere to or complete safety or service plans;
Uses case management, documentation management technology, and hard copy files to maintain and update case data, notes, documents, records, contacts, and summaries of information in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws and policies.
Required Knowledge Skills and Abilities

(The knowledge, skills and abilities listed in this specification are representative of the class but are not an all-inclusive list.)

Knowledge of the principles and practices of social work and case management;
Knowledge of current social service problems and methods/approaches to address issues;
Knowledge or skill with crisis intervention or conflict resolution techniques;
Knowledge of regulations and guidelines relating to the assigned area of social service specialization;
Ability to analyze case information to reach sound decisions based on such information;
Ability to demonstrate advanced critical thinking and judgment by understanding and applying governing policy and statutes alongside best practices and unique case factors;
Ability to engage with persons effectively and empathically from different cultures who may be experiencing stressful family situations;
Ability to maintain a high level of sensitivity and confidentiality while performing client related tasks;
Ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing;
Ability to use case management and documentation technology to establish and maintain case records;
Ability to maintain professional ethics and confidentiality of client information;
Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with a variety of individuals;
Ability to schedule and manage workload sufficiently to meet deadlines;
Skill in defining and explaining complex rules and guidelines in a variety of settings;
Skill in writing reports that are behaviorally specific, factually correct, include conclusions and recommended action;
Ability to engage children, adults, and/or families under safety-sensitive, time-limited, and difficult circumstances, to gather information and make informed decisions that are inclusive of their language, race, and culture;
Ability to engage and work with community partners and organizations;
Ability to collaboration as a team member to create and support safety planning and monitoring;
Ability to engage with juridical systems and processes to support the safety needs of clients as needed or when required by statute;
Demonstrated ability to set boundaries and participate in self-reflective practice and working knowledge of the National Association of Social Workers'' Code of Professional Ethical Standards.
Employment Standards

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Minimum of a bachelor's degree in a Human Services field OR minimum of a bachelor's degree in any field with a minimum of two years of appropriate and related experience in a Human Services area (Section 22VAC40-670-20 of the Administrative Code of Virginia).

In order to be evaluated for positions in the Family Services Occupational Group, individuals who do not meet the degree requirement at the time of application for employment must be in their last semester of a degree program that will meet the requirements listed above.

Contingent upon the area of assignment, some positions within this class may require specific certification(s) or experience prior to employment and/or the ability to acquire necessary certification(s) within a specified time period following employment. The certifications and preferred qualifications are identified in the position description and employment advertisement .

CERTIFICATES AND LICENSES REQUIRED:
Valid driver's license.
Positions within this class are required to complete the state mandated training in the functional area within a specified time period.

NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
The appointee to the position must satisfactorily complete a criminal background check, driving record check, and a Child Protective Services check.

This position is considered essential personnel and will be required to report to work during times designated countywide as approved for unscheduled leave regardless of the emergency situation (i.e., weather, transportation, other disaster).

Requires being part of an on-call rotation that includes evening, overnight, weekend, and holiday hours which may require immediate response into the field.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master's degree in social work (MSW) or a related human services degree.
• Three years of experience in social work, psychology, sociology, counseling, or related experience.
• Experience in child welfare field.
• Experience working with a diverse multicultural population.
• Minimum of two (2) years of experience in child protective services intake and/or on-going and child abuse and neglect prevention.
• Minimum of two (2) years of experience in service plan development and care coordination.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:
Sufficiently mobile to attend home visits, court, and meetings and community events outside the office. Ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing. Ability to use automated technology. All duties performed with or without reasonable accommodations.

SELECTION PROCEDURE:
Panel interview; may include practical exercise.

Fairfax County is home to a highly diverse population, with a significant number of residents speaking languages other than English at home (including Spanish, Asian/Pacific Islander, Indo-European, and many others.) We encourage candidates who are bilingual in English and another language to apply for this opportunity.

Fairfax County Government prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetics, political affiliation, or military status in the recruitment, selection, and hiring of its workforce.

Reasonable accommodations are available to persons with disabilities during application and/or interview processes per the Americans with Disabilities Act. TTY View phone number on click.appcast.io. View email address on click.appcast.io EEO/AA/TTY.

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