Protective Services Specialist 1/2 - Wasilla

Alaskajobs; Wasilla (AK); Hybrid; USD 52,000 - 78,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Insurance Benefits

Retirement Benefits

Paid Leave

twelve paid holidays per year

Relocation reimbursement

Mileage reimbursement

Job summary

The State of Alaska’s Office of Children’s Services in Wasilla is actively seeking Protective Services Specialists to safeguard children through investigations, assessments, and intervention planning. This full-time, field-based role emphasizes thorough documentation, family collaboration, and timely decision-making in a dynamic environment.

This position requires strong written communication, independent workload management, and collaboration with families, Tribes, and community partners.

Qualifications

• Competency-based minimum qualifications apply to this role.
• Experience assessing family dynamics and child safety is valued.
• Ability to work in high-stress, field-based environments.

Responsibilities

• Investigate reports of child abuse and neglect and develop safety plans.
• Collaborate with families, Tribal/Community Partners, and service providers.
• Prepare court reports and coordinate interventions and placements.
• Travel and work in community settings with after-hours commitments.

Skills

Stress Tolerance

Self-Management

Teamwork

Job description

Job Description

Come join the State of Alaska!

This job class uses Competency Based minimum qualifications (MQs). Please read the Competency Based MQ instructions below to learn more.

TheDepartment of Family and Community Services,

Office of Children's Services (OCS)is

recruiting for full-time

Protective Service Specialist 1/2

in Wasilla, Alaska.

The position is open to Alaska Residents Only.

What You Will Be Doing

As a Protective Services Specialist (PSS), responsible for Child Protection Services in the Family Services unit, the Investigations & Assessment unit, or as Generalist covering both.

This case carrying position has a wide range of duties, including investigating reports of child abuse and/or neglect, prepare plans for intervention by soliciting the cooperation of the family and others, and gather information about family dynamics/functionality, develop plans to ensure child safety while assisting parents in addressing their diminished protective factors, place children out of the home with a relative or licensed foster home when necessary, provide ongoing and/or in-home services to families, write and submit reports to the Court, work closely with Tribal/Community Partners, frequent face-to-face and telephonic contact with parents and caregivers of children in custody and make referrals to other service providers and agencies.

OCS has opportunities across several units. During the hiring process, we work with applicants to match them with a position that best aligns with their strengths, experience, and interests.

Strong writing skills, the ability to manage your workload independently, and a collaborative approach are important in ensuring the safety and well-being of children throughout Alaska. Child protection work can involve making critical decisions in urgent situations. Staff must be prepared to respond quickly and confidently to protect children and maintain their own safety, including in situations that may involve potential physical risk.

For more information

Mission and Values/Culture

The Mission of the Office of Children's Services is: Ensuring the safety, permanency and well-being of children by strengthening families, engaging communities, and partnering with Tribes.

Core Values

Everything we do is underpinned by our Core Values.

Benefits of Joining Our Team

The Office of Children's Services is committed to an organizational culture that values each team member.

We are committed to building and sustaining a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environment.

We celebrate and value the diversity of our employees, partners, and families we serve.

Your first twelve months in the agency are probationary and considered a training period, with formal virtual training, on-the-job training with your supervisor, and with other colleagues.

While this is a field-based position that involves working in the community, part-time teleworking within the duty station may be an option upon eligibility.

• Insurance Benefits; Retirement Benefits; Paid Leave; and twelve paid holidays per year.
• Relocation reimbursement costs may be provided by the State of Alaska.
• Mileage reimbursement is available when a personal vehicle is used for work-related matters.

Please see the benefits tab on this posting for more information.

The Working Environment You Can Expect

The Office of Children’s Services

Wasilla Field Office

is in Wasilla. For information on the Wasilla community (including schools, hospitals, housing) please review the Alaska Community Profiles.

The typical workweek may include some caseworker visits at school or in resource family homes, virtual and in-person court attendance, and working independently in an office setting. More information about the Anchorage OCS location can be found on our website.

Work Schedule

The work we perform is critical and significantly impacts the communities we serve. As a result, the Office of Children's Services (OCS) requires staff to work after hours and on-call, work in the evenings and weekends as well as weekdays, so overtime is also an expectation when deemed necessary.

Travel

Frequency of travel is expected to be 1-2 times a month for a duration of up to 1 week at a time. There may be day trips and occasional overnight stays in rural conditions with some exposure to extreme weather conditions in the winter. Travel in outlying areas may involve small aircraft and overnight stays. Child protection work requires traveling both on the road system as well as required travel on small planes to rural villages in Alaska, often located significant distances apart in isolated communities.

Who We Are Looking For

We are interested in candidates who possess some or all of the following position specific competencies:

Stress Tolerance

Deals calmly and effectively with high stress situations (for example, tight deadlines, hostile individuals, emergency situations, dangerous situations).

Self-Management

Sets well-defined and realistic personal goals; displays a high level of initiative, effort, and commitment towards completing assignments in a timely manner; works with minimal supervision; is motivated to achieve; demonstrates responsible behavior.

Teamwork

Encourages and facilitates cooperation, pride, trust, and group identity; fosters commitment and team spirit; works with others to achieve goals.

Special Note

All positions require a valid Real ID Alaska driver's license and successful completion of a background investigation, including fingerprinting and a criminal records check.

Additionally, while the Division does have vehicles assigned to it, they may not always be available for staff use. Mileage reimbursement is available when a personal vehicle is used for work-related matters. Current automotive insurance must be in place prior to use of a personal vehicle while conducting business on behalf of the State.

Relocation reimbursement costs may be provided by the State of Alaska.

For positions in this job class, a child protective history check will be performed per AS 12.62.160 and/or 13 AAC 68.315 including a background and fingerprint check.

The successful candidate may be required to attend multiple training courses normally located in Anchorage.

To view the general description and example of duties for the position please go to the following link:

https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/Alaska/classspecs

Minimum Qualifications

Competency Based Minimum Qualifications Instructions

This job class uses competency based minimum qualifications.

Please ensure your application (through work history, volunteer experience (duties summary), training, education, licenses, certifications, etc.) supports how you have gained the knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors (competencies) and that you possess the minimum required competencies for the job class.

Competency Description

The competency description(s) listed below have been designed to promote a common understanding of the essential elements of the job class. They highlight the more general and customary knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs), tasks, and behaviors used to describe the competency. They typically list expectations, as opposed to specific tasks, and are to be used only as parameters and guidelines. A competency’s description is not intended to exclusively define every KSA, task, and behavior needed to successfully meet the competency, but rather to provide the manager/agency with a broad reference of options as to how an applicant can meet the job expectation.

Any combination of education and/or experience that provides the applicant with competencies in:

Analytical Thinking/Problem Solving

Uses a logical, systematic, and sequential approach to address problems or opportunities or manage a situation by d