Child Welfare Case Worker

Heartland Consulting; Minnesota; On-site; USD 52,000 - 66,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Dental benefits

Vision benefits

Job summary

Heartland Consulting seeks a Child Welfare Case Worker for Red Lake Nation, MN. Primary duty station: BIA Red Lake Agency, with field work across the reservation and travel to off-reservation placements, courts, and trainings.

You will manage complex in-home, foster care, and permanency cases, drafting plans and reports while acting as the court and family liaison from hearings onward.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in social work or related field; CSWE accreditation required.
• Minimum three years’ child welfare casework experience.
• Valid driver’s license is required.
• Ability to obtain Moderate Risk Public Trust clearance; typical timeline ~60 days.
• Must complete security training within 15 days of starting.
• Child passenger safety certification if transporting children.
• Willingness to work staggered shifts including evenings.
• Must complete cultural orientation on Red Lake Nation within 15 days.

Responsibilities

• Begin case planning and monthly visits; write case plans within 30 days.
• Conduct monthly face-to-face visits and document in the system.
• Pursue reunification as primary plan unless court directs otherwise.
• Draft case plans, placement recommendations, and court reports for approval.
• Serve as court and family point of contact from Admit/Deny onward.
• Coordinate interstate placements; provide transition planning for youth 16+.
• Respond to placement disruptions and emergencies; obtain essentials.
• Report any new abuse/neglect allegations for intake and cross-reporting.
• Record assignments in FASS-CMS Cloud; manage complex cases independently.
• Work shifts within 7:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m., including evenings.

Skills

Child welfare experience

Driver's license

Background check readiness

Security training willingness

Child safety certification

Education

Bachelor’s degree (CSWE-accredited)

Job description

Child Welfare Case Worker

Heartland Consulting

Red Lake Nation, Minnesota. Primary duty station: BIA Red Lake Agency, Red Lake, Minnesota, with field work across the reservation and travel to off-reservation placements, courts, and trainings as required.

About the role

The Child Welfare Case Worker provides ongoing case management for children and families working toward reunification or another permanency goal. This role manages complex in-home, foster care, and permanency cases with independent professional judgment, including scheduling visits, making service referrals, and addressing routine placement needs.

The Child Welfare Case Worker is assigned when a child is placed or when the BIA Social Services Program Manager opens a case for services. Case planning and monthly visits begin immediately upon assignment. This role serves as the point of contact for the court and family from the Admit/Deny hearing onward.

This position works staggered shifts within the 7:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m. coverage window, including evening visits. It does not conduct investigations or serve in the investigative on-call rotation.

This role drafts case plans, placement recommendations, and court reports for approval but does not approve final case plans or sign court filings. A child’s placement may only be changed in an emergency coordinated with the appropriate officials and law enforcement.

Contractor personnel are employees of Heartland Consulting, not federal employees. Indian Preference applies.

What you will do

• Begin case planning and monthly visits immediately upon assignment. Develop written case plans within 30 days of case opening and permanency plans within six months of placement.
• Conduct monthly face-to-face visits with children and families and document visits in the case management system.
• Make reasonable and active efforts to reunify families, treating reunification as the primary plan unless the court finds otherwise.
• Draft case plans, placement recommendations, and court reports for approval. Attend and testify at review, permanency, and other hearings as required.
• Serve as the point of contact for the court and family from the Admit/Deny hearing onward.
• Coordinate Interstate Compact and residential placements, and provide independent living and transition planning for youth age 16 and older.
• Respond to placement disruptions, runaways, and critical incidents. Obtain emergency placement items when a child is moved without essentials.
• Report any new allegation of abuse or neglect in placement immediately for intake and cross-reporting.
• Record each assignment in FASS-CMS Cloud.
• Manage complex cases independently, including scheduling visits, making service referrals, and handling routine placement needs within the role’s authority.
• Work staggered shifts within the 7:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m. coverage window, including evening visits.

Minimum qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in social work, sociology, psychology, counseling, human services, criminal justice, or another related behavioral or social science field from an institution accredited or pre-accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Social work degrees must be from a Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)-accredited program.
• At least three (3) years of child welfare casework experience.
• Valid driver’s license.
• Ability to complete a Moderate Risk Public Trust background investigation. No work or child contact is permitted until cleared; the typical clearance timeline is approximately 60 days. A favorable investigation under PL 101-630 before entry on duty is preferred.
• Willingness to complete mandatory security training and initial training within 15 calendar days of entry on duty and before independent duty.
• Child passenger safety certification if transporting children.
• Willingness to work staggered shifts, including evening visits.
• Completion of required cultural orientation on Red Lake Nation history, Ojibwe culture and language, closed-reservation status, and tribal protocols within 15 days.

Benefits

Healthcare benefits, including medical, dental, and vision, will be described before the first interview.