Social Services Specialist - Licensure / Hinds

Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services; Jackson (MS); On-site; USD 36,000 - 56,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equal Opportunity Employer

Job summary

Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services is seeking a Social Services Specialist licensure with a work location in Hinds County, MS. The role involves managing case files, visiting children in care, and conducting investigations of abuse and neglect.

Responsibilities include safety assessments, referrals to services, and coordination with courts and community partners. A Bachelor's degree and licensure may be required, with on-call duties and occasional travel within the county.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required or equivalent in social work, psychology, sociology, or related field.
• 1–3 years of relevant experience preferred; licensure may be required depending on position.
• Willingness to learn and apply policy, state statutes, and federal regulations.

Responsibilities

• Create and maintain case files for children in care.
• Document case activity in MDCPS online database.
• Visit children in foster homes, facilities, and hospitals.
• Complete investigations of abuse/neglect and safety assessments.
• Attend court hearings and scheduled conferences for assigned children.
• Provide referrals for services including dental, vision, and medical.

Skills

Oral and written communication

Organizational skills

Time management

Problem solving

Flexibility

Team collaboration

Self-efficacy

Education

Bachelor's degree in social work or related field

Tools

Microsoft Office Suite

Job description

This Opportunity is for a Social Services Specialist -- Licensure with a work location in Hinds County, MS.

About The Position

This is a time limited position. Create and maintain case files for children in care; document in MDCPS online database program; Visit children in care in foster homes, facilities and hospitals; Complete investigations of abuse, neglect for exploitation; Complete ongoing safety and risk assessments; Participate in scheduled county conferences/meetings for assigned children-in-care; Make referrals for children-in-care to receive services including dental, vision and medical; Transport children-in-care to appointments and destinations; Arrange for visitation with siblings and parents; Attend staff meetings with supervisor (normally) and all-staff meetings; Assist with new hires by being "shadow buddies"; Make copies of documents for case files; On-call for after-hours situation (rotating responsibility with other staff members); Attend court for hearings; Along with other job duties.

What you'll need to be Successful

A successful candidate for this position will understand micro, mezzo and macro level social work practice and how social, economic, and personal factors impact safety.

• A professional commitment of caring about people, their safety, well-being, and the larger profession of child welfare is also a benefit.
• Efficient organizational and time management skills.
• Good oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to be flexible in thinking and problem solving,
• Able to synthesize information in a clear and concise manner and assess according to agency policy, state statutes and/or federal regulations,
• Realistic expectations about the difficulty and challenges of the work.
• Ability to positively handle an often-unpredictable work environment,
• Ability to coach and motivate others for expected outcomes
• Ability to work effectively at multiple levels of the organization and with multiple organizations
• Ability to use tools within Microsoft Office Suite (ppt, word, excel).
• If you are customer service driven with personal resilience and strong self-efficacy beliefs about the ability to work with all clients to produce positive client outcomes, this is the optimal career for you.

Preferred Qualifications

Typically requires a Bachelor's Degree and 1-3 years of experience. Appointing authority may require social worker's license. Agency preferred qualifications: Bachelors' Degree and 2-4 years of experience. A Bachelor's Degree from an accredited four-year college or university in social work, social services, psychology, educational psychology, sociology, nursing, criminal justice, counseling, marriage and family therapy, family studies, or a related field. In this position, the salary maybe based on Education and Qualifications. This position consists of 4 weeks (every other week) of on-site training and 4 weeks of On-The-Job Training, and must pass a comprehensive test prior to continued employment and/or advancement.

MDCPS is an Equal Opportunity Employer