CPS Family Safety Services Specialist

Department-of-Family-and-Protective-Services; Abilene (TX); On-site; USD 43,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance–100% for you and 50%+

Retirement plans with 5 years service

Paid vacation, holidays, sick leave

Dental, vision, and life insurance

Flexible spending accounts

Employee discounts

Job summary

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services seeks a CPS Family Based Safety Services Worker in Abilene, TX. You will support families after investigations, develop protective plans, and coordinate with community resources to ensure child safety.

Newly hired staff with a Master’s in Social Work may qualify for an increase at hire. DFPS offers competitive state benefits, retirement plans, paid time off, and professional development opportunities.

Qualifications

• Knowledge of child development
• Knowledge of family dynamics
• Skill in effective verbal and written communication
• Skill in establishing and maintaining effective working relationships
• Skill in problem solving techniques
• Ability to operate a personal computer
• Ability to travel and attend child and family visits

Responsibilities

• Responds quickly in crisis situations.
• Provides time limited in-home services to meet the specific needs of families by identifying insufficient protective capacities, developing treatment plans, and using appropriate and necessary resources to minimize risk and provide for safety of the child; and maintains contact with parents and children to achieve treatment goals.
• Assesses child safety and takes the necessary actions to protect the child as appropriate. This could include removing a child from their family.
• Interacts objectively with “caretakers” who have abused and/or neglected children in their care.
• Discusses issues with families related, but not limited to income, money management, and personal relationships that they will probably consider personal and private.
• Encounters family members who are angry and/or scared.
• Helps identify resources and community support available to the family.
• Assists parents to recognize behaviors that lead to child abuse and/or neglect and empower parents to identify ways to make the necessary behavioral changes.
• Determines action to be taken to remove or to reduce an immediate threat to the safety of a child to include working with families to identify family members who can assist with keeping the child safe, testifying in court to seek emergency protective services, placing children in substitute care, referring family for immediate crisis intervention therapy or other community resources.
• Gather family and kinship information to support the child in a placement, should the child be placed in DFPS custody.
• Documents all relevant and appropriate information gathered during the investigation and completing all required forms accurately and in a timely manner.
• Works flexible work hours beyond 8a.m.-5p.m., Monday - Friday.
• Maintains a balance of objectivity and empathic understanding when engaging families living in stressful and crisis situations.
• Develops and maintains effective working relationships with law enforcement officials, judicial officials, legal resources, medical professionals, and other community resources.
• Attends and participates in trainings, meetings and staffings.
• Performs other duties as assigned and required to maintain unit operations.
• Promotes and demonstrates appropriate respect for cultural diversity and competency among coworkers and all work-related contacts.
• Attends work regularly in accordance with agency leave policy.

Skills

Child development

Family dynamics

Verbal & written comms

Effective relationships

Problem solving

PC competency

Travel ability

Education

Master's Degree in Social Work

Job description

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services seeks a CPS Family Based Safety Services Worker in Abilene, TX. You will support families after investigations, develop protective plans, and coordinate with community resources to ensure child safety.

Newly hired staff with a Master’s in Social Work may qualify for an increase at hire. DFPS offers competitive state benefits, retirement plans, paid time off, and professional development opportunities.