Children’s Emergency Services Caseworker

MaineGuide; Lewiston (ME); Hybrid; USD 92,696,000 - 121,321,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Recruitment stipend

Master's degree stipend

Shift differential

Job summary

The Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS) within the Maine Department of Health and Human Services is seeking a Child Protective Services Caseworker in Lewiston. The role involves professional social work in child protection, engaging families to assess safety and developing plans that safeguard children, while building a team of family, staff, and community resources to support safe solutions.

You will gain investigative and case management experience, collaborate with judicial, law

Qualifications

• Perform professional social work in the areas of child protection, children’s services, and adoption.
• Engage families to assess child safety and make plans which best meet the safety, well‑being, and permanency needs of their children.
• Maintain accurate case records of assessments, activities, and plans; summaries; reports; letters and memos.

Responsibilities

• Engage families to assess child safety.
• Create a team for each family consisting of family, staff, and community resources to support safe solutions for children.
• Reach factually supported safety decisions in a timely and thorough manner, with input from parents, children, extended family, and community stakeholders to assure child safety.
• Assess: child safety, abuse, and neglect, and signs of danger; family strengths and capabilities; family functioning.
• Separate dangerous caregivers from children in need of protection when court action is required to make children safe.

Skills

Case management

Social work

Investigation

Family engagement

Job description

Child Protective Services Caseworker

Opening Date: August 12, 2026

Closing Date: Open Continuously

Job Class Code: 5077

Grade: 24

Salary: $32.35 - $42.34 per hour*

*Hourly rate includes a $7.50 per hour recruitment and retention stipend. This position is also eligible for an additional $1 per hour stipend for a qualifying master’s degree, and a shift differential of forty-five cents ($.45) per hour.

Location: Lewiston

Currently, this position is not eligible for visa sponsorship or STEM OPT extensions.

Want to make a real difference in the lives of Maine children? The Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS) within DHHS is looking for people committed to protecting the rights and well-being of children by providing professional case management services for our clients throughout the State of Maine.As a Child Protective Services Caseworker, you will develop investigative and case management skills and build extensive contacts within the judicial, law enforcement, educational, and social services communities. If you’re in search of a career that is professionally and personally rewarding, offers exceptional training and educational opportunities, and supports children and families in Maine, this could be your next career opportunity.

As a Child Protective Services Caseworker you will:

• Perform professional social work in the areas of child protection, children’s services, and adoption.
• Engage families to assess child safety and make plans which best meet the safety, well‑being, and permanency needs of their children.
• Create a team for each family consisting of family, staff, and community resources to support safe solutions for children.
• Reach factually supported safety decisions in a timely and thorough manner, with input from parents, children, extended family, and community stakeholders to assure child safety.
• Assess:
  • child safety, abuse, and neglect, and signs of danger.
  • family strengths and capabilities.
  • family functioning
• Separate dangerous caregivers from children in need of protection when court action is required to make children safe.
• Make appropriate plans for children, focusing on their safety needs, preservation of family relationships, reunifying children when appropriate, or achieving a permanent placement in another family if needed.
• Maintain accurate case records of assessments, activities, and plans; summaries; reports; letters and memos.
• Follow federal and state laws, mandates, policy, and timeframes to achieve child safety, well‑being, and