Social Worker III - Adoptions

Social Worker III

Employer: Nash County

Salary: $56,349.00 - $90,745.00 Annually

Location: Nashville, NC

Job Type: Full Time

Job Number: 2026-00035

Department: Department of Social Services

Opening Date: 04/06/2026

Closing Date: Continuous

General Statement of Duties

Completion of preservice training preferred. Experience in Foster Care and court testimony preferred. Primary Purpose of Organizational Unit

The primary purpose of the Adoption Unit is to carry out the agency's mandate to facilitate the adoption of children who are legally cleared or whose permanency plan has been changed to adoption; to provide case management services to a small number of children who are neglected, abused and or dependent; to provide counseling to prospective placement families and to recruit, assess and provide training based on the Trauma Informed Partnering for Safety and Permanence: Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting (TIPS-MAPP) for prospective placement families.

B.Primary Purpose of the Position

The primary purpose of the social worker in this position is to execute the agency's mandate to arrange and support substitute care appropriate to a child's needs and work towards obtaining permanence by:

1. Providing services to children who are in agency custody or placement responsibility as a result of their parents or caretakers being unable or unwilling to provide adequate protection or care:
2. Providing services to biological families/caregivers that will help them improve the conditions that led to agency intervention, thus facilitating reunification;
3. Providing support to foster families or other substitute caregivers to ensure a positive experience for all involved;
4. Developing alternative options for permanence should reunification fail; and
5. Working towards a safe, permanent home within one year for children in agency custody/placement responsibility.

Essential Duties and Tasks

All responsibilities and duties described are essential to the effective performance of a Social Worker III in this position and are listed in ORDER OF IMPORTANCE.

A.Case Management (85%)

The social worker participates in Child and Family Team Meetings prior to children coming into care to help identify relatives and/or other options to prevent children coming into care. The worker prepares children and families for separation and placement into substitute care, places and monitors children in foster care, and provides or arranges for counseling and other supportive services for children and their families. Prepares children and biological family/caregivers and foster families for re-entry into the home or other permanent plans. The social worker develops a case plan with input from the family and other members of the Child and Family Team meeting, identifying problems that lead to the need of substitute care. Worker will prepare written court studies and testify when needed in judicial reviews of children in foster care. Complete room and board payments for foster families and participation in the determination of eligibility for services for Medicaid, state foster home funding and or IV-E funding. The social worker keeps documentation of all casework current within 7 days of last contact.

B.Conferences and Staff Development (10%)

Supervisory conferences and staff development activities provide guidance, feedback and evaluation of the worker's interventions and an opportunity to upgrade skills and knowledge of substitute care. Such conferences also allow the opportunity to discuss program questions, agency mandates and monitoring issues as they arise.

C.Community Liaison (4%)

These duties include public speaking, participation on community boards and committees, and participation in community affairs relating to substitute care and child welfare.

D.Other duties as required (1%)

These duties include, but are not limited to, Disaster Relief and occasional on-call for emergency child welfare issues.

Knowledges, Skills and Abilities

Thorough knowledge of social work principles, techniques, and practices and their application to complex casework and community problems in order to effectively work with the wide cross section of clients and their presenting problems. Considerable knowledge of family and group dynamics and a range of intervention techniques. Considerable knowledge of developmental stages and tasks human behavior, and socioeconomic 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 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. 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 personalities. Ability to function with a high level of autonomy.

Desirable Education and Experience

Training and Experience

Master's degree from an accredited School of Social Work; Bachelor's degree from an accredited School of Social Work and completion of the Child Welfare Collaborative; Bachelor's degree in social work from an accredited school of social work and one year of directly related experience; Master's degree in a human services field and one year of directly related experience; Bachelor's degree in a human services field from an accredited college or university and two years of directly related experience; Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university and three years of directly related experience,

License or Certification Required by Statute or Regulation

1. Minimum North Carolina automobile liability insurance.
2. Valid North Carolina driver's license is required.

Insurance Programs

Nash County offers cafeteria-style benefits including:

• Health Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Life Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Supplemental Health Benefits (Accident, Critical Illness, and Hospital Indemnity Insurances)
• Disability Insurance (Long-Term and Short-Term Disability)
• and more!

Financial Programs

Retirement Membership in the North Carolina Local Government Employees Retirement System is a requirement for all regular full-time and regular part-time employees. Employees contribute 6% of their annual compensation before it is taxed. If you leave County service before retirement, you may withdraw your retirement contributions or elect to freeze your contributions in anticipation of future local government employment. If you have 5 years of service, you are 100% vested in the NCLGERS.

NC401(k) The NC401(k) supplemental retirement program is available to regular full-time and regular part-time employees. The County establishes this 401(k) account for each eligible employee and makes a 5% contribution based on monthly earnings. Employees may elect to make voluntary contributions through payroll deduction.

457 Deferred Compensation The 457 Deferred Compensation program is available to regular full-time and regular part-time employees through payroll deduction. Deferred compensation is a voluntary investment plan to supplement retirement income and to defer taxable income.

Special Separation Allowance The Separation Allowance is available to law enforcement officers between the ages of 55 and 62 years that are eligible and retire under the provisions of the NC Local Government Employees Retirement System.

125 Flexible Benefit Plan Flexible Spending Account options are available to regular full-time and regular part-time employees who wish to use pre-tax dollars for eligible medical, pharmacy, dental, vision, and daycare expenses. The Flex Convenience Card program gives you instant access to your account funds.

• Health Care Spending Account -- Section 125 of the IRS Code allows yearly voluntary enrollment to set aside pre-tax dollars for eligible health care expenses.
• Dependent Care Spending Account -- Section 125 of the IRS Code allows yearly voluntary enrollment to set aside pre-tax dollars for eligible dependent care expenses.

Direct Deposit Direct Deposit is a condition of employment for all employees. Deposit of your paycheck will be made to checking or savings accounts in a bank of your choice.

Leave Programs

Vacation Leave For regular full-time County employees, vacation leave accrues based on length of service in the