Family Services Specialist IV- CPS Unit- Frederick County, Va

Minimum Salary $67,629.00 (Commensurate with experience)

Job Description: This position functions as a lead worker in the Child Protective Services unit. Employees work within established policies, procedures, and guidelines with a high degree of independence, seeking supervisory assistance only in unusually complicated and difficult cases/situations. Ensures that reports of suspected abuse/neglect are assigned to appropriate staff; provides guidance, consultation and supervision to other staff in the absence of the supervisor; develops treatment plans which identify problems, clinical methods for dealing with them, and the means by which services will be provided either within the agency or through referral to other community resources; represents the agency in both civil and criminal court proceedings which involves interpreting laws, filing petitions, preparing court records, testifying before the court, and compiling evidence; provides direct intervention and service delivery for difficult, complex social work cases, and coordinates casework; develops and conducts training for staff, interns and other professionals in the community; functions as a lead worker providing guidance and training to other staff; coordinates program functions, develops programs, and evaluates materials; assist supervisor with FOIA requests; gathers and maintains statistics to provide to supervisor; develops intake and on-call schedule on a monthly basis; acts as a supervisor in the supervisor’s absence and reviews case files; conducts presentations within the community; provides back-up for CPS on-call daily; assigns valid complaints to workers; and screens-out invalid reports and maintains log. The Family Services Specialists IV class is distinguished from the Family Services Supervisor class by the latter’s spending a majority of time in supervisory activities such as handling personnel issues, problems, and evaluating the work of others.

Minimum Qualifications: Minimum of a bachelor’s degree in a Human Services field or minimum of a bachelor’s degree in any field and 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).

Comprehensive knowledge of social work principles and practices; human behavior and motivational theory; laws, policies, and regulations relating to human services program areas.

Demonstrated ability in providing guidance and training to other employees in program area.

Demonstrated ability to investigate and conduct interviews in high profile cases.

Demonstrated ability to communicates effectively both orally and in writing to include preparing court documents and other documents as needed.

Skill in operating a personal computer and the associated software; and the operation of a motor vehicle.

Preferred Qualifications: Possession of a BSW or MSW degree and a Commonwealth of Virginia Social Worker license are desirable.

Considerable experience in understanding and participation in Family Partnership Meetings.

Considerable experience in CPS experience and completion of required training. Work experience in a leadership role. An equivalent combination of training and experience which provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Special Requirements: All applicants are subject to DMV/driving record check, Central Registry (CPS) check and/or criminal history search.


The investigation may include fingerprint checks (State Police, FBI), local agency checks, employment verification and references, verification of education (relevant to employment), credit checks (relevant to employment) and other checks requested by the hiring authority.


Employee must be willing to work in the community emergency shelter in the event of a natural disaster or emergency.

Frederick County Department of Social Services only accepts applications submitted on-line through this posting. Mailed, faxed, hand delivered and emailed applications will not be considered. Agency will have posting live for at least a minimum of 5 business days. Applications may be submitted on-line starting Friday, August 21, 2026 until position is filled. This website will provide a confirmation receipt when the application is submitted for consideration. Consideration for an interview is based solely on the information within the application/resume. Please refer to your applicant portal for the status of your application and this position.

VDSS is one of the largest Commonwealth agencies, partnering with 120 local departments of social services, along with faith-based and non-profit organizations, to promote the well-being of children and families statewide. We proudly serve alongside nearly 13,000 state and local human services professionals throughout the Social Services System, who ensure that thousands of Virginia's most vulnerable citizen have access to best services and benefits available to them.