County Caseworker 2 (LG) - Luzerne County Child Welfare (Multiple Vacancies)

Caseworker 2

Employees in this class provide a full range of social and case management services to children, youth and families, and others to assist them in attaining a more satisfactory social, economic, emotional, or physical adjustment. An important aspect of this work is the employment of casework skills in obtaining essential information, counseling clients and members of their families, and helping them to utilize all available resources. Work also involves the application of problem solving techniques, providing counseling to maximize service delivery and to achieve service plan goals, monitoring client behavior, and interacting with agencies which make up the service network. Work is performed in accordance with established regulations, policies, and procedures, but employees are expected to exercise initiative and judgment in discharging their duties. Supervision may be exercised over paraprofessional and/or clerical staff. Work is reviewed by a professional social service or administrative supervisor through regularly scheduled individual and group conferences, and the review of records and reports.

Adolescent Unit

The Adolescent Unit provides services to adolescents and their families. Clientele are defined as abused, neglected adolescents who exhibit numerous adjustment difficulties such as: parent child conflict, truancy and school problems, abuse of drugs and alcohol, teenage pregnancy, psychological/emotional difficulties, learning disorders and delinquency problems. Youth are served within their own homes, foster care, community based facilities and residential facilities. The Supervisor of the Adolescent Unit works closely with contracted Specialized Adolescent Assessment Unit workers. SAAU provides assessment and refers families to community-based agencies in an effort to circumvent LCCYS involvement. When a family is in need of ongoing and/or court mandated services SAAU opens the case and an ongoing AU worker is assigned to the case.

Independent Living Unit

The Independent Living Program is an educational life skill program that is mandated by the Department of Human Services. All foster children who have been "in care" after their 14th birthday are provided with a thorough comprehensive life skills education program. The program is offered either individually or in groups, and enhances life skills, prior to termination from agency services. The agency contracts 2 SIL workers to provide intensive case management with the adolescents in this group.

Concurrent Planning Unit

The Concurrent Planning Unit consists of five Caseworkers and one Social Services Aide. This unit was developed as a response to the Adoption and Safe Families Act, in an effort to ensure that children placed in foster care placement achieve a permanent plan in a timely manner. The Child Welfare Standards of safety, permanence, timeliness, and well-being are woven through this unit's practice. Its main function, permanency planning, is achieved through the casework model. Each caseworker, along with the family, develops, monitors, and updates Family Service Plans which seek to aid the family in the return home of their children. Family visitation, court preparation, linkage to community services, family support, and ASFA related documentation comprise the duties of the Concurrent Planning Caseworker. As the name "Concurrent Planning" suggests, caseworkers in this unit are considering dual plans when working with families. If necessary, the goal of termination of parental rights and adoption is explored and considered when the grounds exist. As always, the best interest of children is always considered in the casework model, as are the standards of timeliness, safety, well-being, and permanence.

CPS Intake Unit

The Child Protective Services (CPS) Intake Unit assesses all reports of sexual/physical abuse or neglect. Following Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public Welfare laws, regulations, and guidelines as well as Luzerne County procedures and policies, the CPS Intake department evaluates each child and family using a comprehensive risk and safety assessment methodology and case management techniques. The unit determines if the child is abused or neglected and takes appropriate measures to ensure safety. Services are provided within the home environment and sometimes through separation of the child(ren) from the family. The department assesses reports of abuse and/or neglect received through the Screening Unit or during the after hours crisis coverage. The unit evaluates the family's needs while ensuring the safety of the child(ren) and determine if the family should be served by Luzerne County Children and Youth Services and/or another community agency.

Additional duties include assessing requests from the Juvenile Court to complete custody assessments, as well as providing short-term ongoing protective services. Court related issues of dependency; Protection From Abuse Orders are also part of the Intake Unit's job duties.

Public information is provided to the community through speaking engagements and meetings with the community and workers such as medical staff, teachers, daycare workers, and foster parents.

GPS Unit

The General Protective Services (GPS) unit provides treatment services to children and their families. The agency has GPS Intake, Ongoing and Protective Services units.

The General Protective Caseworker provides casework services to children and families to obtain appropriate treatment services to meet the family's needs and to prevent further child neglect. The units work very closely with their families in order to keep families together or to reunite families as quickly as possible.

Caseworkers utilize community resources, coordinate services and ensure that the children and family's needs are being met. They also work with families whose children are out-of-home placements, whether that be foster care, formal or informal kinship care. The goals of this unit is to ensure the safety of the children, to preserve families, to network family and community to equip families with the necessary knowledge to prevent future child abuse/neglect.

Intake Screeners

This position is responsible for primary screening and telephone coverage to receive all new referrals to the agency regarding child abuse and neglect.

This department receives all crisis sheets after clearing and determines appropriate distribution to CPS, GPS Intake, Hazleton, SAAU, and/or other community resources.

The Intake Screeners determines the appropriateness of Children and Youth Services intervention and performs preliminary screening assessment on the child(ren) being referred. These workers refer families to community resources. They alert the Intake Supervisors of those referrals which may require an immediate response by the agency. Staff in this unit documents referral data on an agency intake assessment form as per agency procedures and completes accompanying computer data entry information. Intake Screeners provide a response to the referral source, including telephone, written and in-person contacts, when appropriate. The staff member will distribute the referral information to the appropriate unit.

Resource Unit

The Resource Unit is responsible for the recruitment, evaluation, training, approval, and support of Resource Family Foster and Foster/Adopt homes. Following Department of Human Services laws, regulations and guidelines, as well as agency policies and procedures, the resource unit conducts comprehensive studies of resource family applicants to determine approval, as well as to determine appropriate use.

The unit is further responsible for locating appropriate placement settings for children, as needed. Using our own resources, as well as other resources throughout the state, the unit locates the best placement to meet the child's needs. An important component of the unit is the ongoing training and support provided to our resource families. Using a variety of techniques, the ongoing needs of the resource family for specialized training or support are assessed. Trainings are offered on an ongoing basis to better equip them in their role.

To meet the needs of all the children we serve, the following programs exist within the resource unit: respite foster care, regular foster care, and foster/adopt. The resource unit works in conjunction with other departments in the agency to tailor placements to best meet each child's specific needs.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Knowledge of current social case management principles, techniques, and methods

Knowledge of current social, economic, and health problems and resources and the recognition of their impact on the growth and development of people.

Knowledge of individual and group development and behavior and ways of working effectively with adults and children who have social, economic, emotional, or health problems

Knowledge of the basic principles and methods of program interpretation and community organization

Knowledge of social welfare policy and law as they relate to agency function and purpose and societal structures

Ability to work effectively with people and aid them to grow in the constructive use of their potential in adjusting to their specific problems

Ability to understand and accept the needs and rights of others and to work with adults and children who are physically challenged, emotionally troubled, or economically disadvantaged

Ability to conduct individual and family interviews and to use them to identify individual and family problems

Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with clients, their families, other staff, outside agencies and institutions, and the general public

Ability to plan and organize work, prepare adequate records and reports, set priorities, and maintain a caseload in an effective and timely manner

Ability to plan, organize, and direct the work of others

Ability to interpret and apply relevant laws, regulations, and policies governing agency services

Ability to adequately express ideas orally and in writing

Minimum Qualifications

RECRUITMENT METHODS: Applicants must meet one (