Intake Lead Social Case Worker

City and County of Denver; Denver (CO); Hybrid; USD 71,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension plan

457B Retirement Plan

Paid time off

Public holidays

Wellness Day

Volunteer day

Job summary

The City and County of Denver is seeking a dedicated Lead Social Case Worker for the Intake section within Child Welfare Services. The Intake team investigates new abuse/neglect allegations for ages 0-18 in a fast-paced environment and maintains professional contacts with families, law enforcement, and community partners.

The Lead will supervise a team, participate in leadership, training, and development, and provide intensive social case work services including case management, counseling,

Qualifications

• Experience handling intake investigations for child welfare.
• Spanish bilingual proficiency required or preferred.
• Familiarity with Differential Response processes.
• Ability to manage high-volume workloads with strong organizational skills.
• Strong problem-solving and conflict resolution abilities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.
• Certification from the Colorado Child Welfare Academy is preferred.
• Experience in County-level Child Welfare is highly desirable.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of Social Case Workers in the Intake unit.
• Coordinate intake assessments and child welfare investigations.
• Engage with families, community leaders, and law enforcement as needed.
• Lead training and development for staff and monitor unit goals.
• Ensure supervision and coverage in staff transitions.
• Demonstrate sound decision-making in intake and youth cases.

Skills

Intake experience

Spanish bilingual proficiency

Differential Response

Organizational skills

Critical thinking

Communication and writing

Professional attitude

Colorado Child Welfare Academy

County level Child Welfare experience

Education

CDHS Volume 7/Volume 30 regulations knowledge

Job description

About Our Job

Who We Are

With competitive pay, great benefits, and endless opportunities, working for the City and County of Denver means seeing yourself working with purpose – for you, and those who benefit from your passion, skills, and expertise. Join our diverse, inclusive, and talented workforce of more than 11,000 team members who are at the heart of what makes Denver, Denver.

At Denver Human Services (DHS), we envision a healthy community where people are connected, supported, safe, and well. One in three people in Denver turn to DHS for support at all stages of life. Our employees help children, at-risk adults, families, and individuals navigate social and economic pressures by connecting them to services and experts who support their overall well-being.

What We Offer

The City and County of Denver offers a competitive salary commensurate with education and experience. The targeted salary range for this position is $71,000 - $80,000/year, based on education and experience.

We also offer generous benefits for full-time employees which includes but are not limited to:

• A guaranteed life-long monthly pension, once vested after 5 years of service
• 457B Retirement Plan
• 140 hours of PTO earned within first year + 13 paid holidays, 1 personal holiday, 1 Wellness Day and 1 volunteer day per year
• Competitive medical, dental and vision plans effective within 1 month of start date

Location

The City and County of Denver supports a hybrid workplace model. Employees work where needed, at a job site several days a week and off‑site as needed. Employees must work within the state of Colorado on their off‑site days.

What You’ll Do

Denver Human Services is seeking a dedicated and experienced Lead Social Case Worker for the Intake section within Child Welfare Services. The Intake team primarily is responsible for investigating new allegations of abuse/neglect of children ages 0-18 in a fast-paced and demanding environment. You will also be expected to contact families and conduct interviews on behalf of the child, as well as maintain professional contacts with community leaders and regularly communicate with law enforcement representatives.

As a Lead Social Case Worker, you will be a lead on a team of Social Case Workers and actively participate in leadership, supervision and development. You should be a strong team player and possess good decision-making skills and the ability to effectively handle conflicts.

The Lead Social Case Worker will perform permanently assigned lead work over professional social case workers, assist with Social Case Worker Supervisor establish unit goals, plans, and specific unit functions. You will provide intensive social case work services including case management, counseling, referral, placement, and assessment/evaluation.

Responsibilities

Overall, the Lead Social Case Worker will:

• Create and implement a training and development plan for workers at all levels that encourages professional growth and commitment to excellence
• Create and implement a system that helps staff manage workload at a high volume and fast pace
• Obtain and maintain supervisory certification and participate in training the Social Case Worker staff
• Maintain current supervisory certification and participate in training the Social Case Worker staff
• Demonstrate critical decision-making skills with their staff and section
• Assist Social Case Worker Supervisors and perform supervisory roles in their absence
• Demonstrate competencies and critical decision-making skills when working with intake assessments, ongoing cases, and youth cases
• Lead by example and set a precedent for Social Case Workers
• Attend voices meetings and court hearings with Social Case Workers when needed

What You’ll Bring

We value diversity of ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, sexual identity, gender, religion, language, ability, and experience and exemplify this through the makeup of our team at all levels. You’ll be right at home here if you cultivate strong relationships and push yourself, your work, the people around you and Denver to the next level.

Our ideal candidate has some or all the following experience, skills, and characteristics:

• Intake experience
• Spanish bilingual proficiency
• Experience with Differential Response
• Strong organizational skills
• Superior critical thinking, problem-solving, and conflict resolution skills
• Demonstrated communication and writing skills
• A positive, professional, and proactive attitude
• Certification from the Colorado Child Welfare Academy
• Extensive experience with Child Protection in a County level Child Welfare environment

Minimum Qualifications

• Education Requirement: Requirements as set forth in Colorado Department of Human Services Volume 7 and/or Volume 30 regulations.
• Experience Requirement: Requirements as set forth in Colorado Department of Human Services Volume 7 and/or Volume 30 regulations; Three (3) years of post-graduation professional social case work experience at the type and level of Social Case Worker.
• Education and Experience Equivalency: No substitution of experience for education is permitted.
• Additional appropriate education may be substituted for experience requirements.
• License/Certification Requirement: By position, requires a valid Driver’s License at the time of application.
• Licenses and certifications must be kept current as a condition of employment.
• Requires certification as a social case worker in Child Welfare or Adult Protective Services in accordance with CDHS regulations.

Required Application Documents

Please attach your official or unofficial transcripts of your completed undergraduate and/or graduate degree in the required attachment section.

Application Deadline

This posting is expected to stay open until October 18th.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statements

The City and County of Denver provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, genetic information, age, or any other status protected under federal, state, and/or local law.

It is your right to access oral or written language assistance, sign language interpretation, real-time captioning via CART, or disability-related accommodations. To request any of these services at no cost to you, please contact [e-mail] with three business days’ notice.

Applicants for employment with the City and County of Denver must have valid work authorization that does not require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the U.S.

For information about right to work, click here for English or here for Spanish.