Social Worker (FHL and Visitation)

Forsyth County; Winston-Salem (NC); On-site; USD 42,000 - 66,000; Full time

Job summary

Forsyth County Department Of Social Services seeks a full-time Social Worker to supervise visitation in foster care programs, evaluate family needs, and coordinate placement for foster children. The role requires strong documentation, collaboration with social workers and legal entities, and potential court testimony.

Responsibilities include coordinating with families, maintaining case files, attending planning meetings, and supporting recruitment efforts for foster homes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited school of social work or;
• Master's degree in Counseling or;
• Four-year degree in a Human Service field or related curriculum including at least 15 semester hours in courses related to Social Work or Counseling and six months of Social Work or Counseling experience or;
• Four-year degree and one year of experience in Counseling or in a related Human Service field which provides experience in techniques of counseling, casework, group work, or community organization.

Responsibilities

• Supervise and coach visitation between parents and children.
• Assist in locating foster placements and support foster families.
• Document observations during visits and maintain case files.
• Attend meetings and may testify in court when required.
• Provide after-hours on-call support and participate in recruitment events.

Skills

Communication

Documentation

Court testimony

Multitasking

Education

Bachelor's degree in social work

Master's degree in Counseling

Four-year degree in Human Service with 15 social work hours & six months experience

Four-year degree plus one year counseling/related experience

Job description

General Statement of Duties

The Forsyth County Department Of Social Services Is Seeking To Hire a Full-time Social Worker To Serve The Primary Purpose Of

Visitation to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of children (birth - 21 years old) in Forsyth County who have been reported and/or adjudicated by Juvenile Court to be abused, neglected, dependent, or delinquent juveniles by facilitating the visitation process. This is achieved by supervising and coaching visitation interactions between parents and their children, and

FHL to facilitate licensed foster families and placement of foster children in their homes, as well as evaluating, training & licensing new foster care families.

This position has been identified to interact with children and must comply with NC G.S. 153A-94.2(b) “requires an applicant for employment to work with children in any capacity, must require the applicant, if offered the position, to be subject to a criminal history record check conducted by the SBI.” These checks must be conducted in accordance with G.S. 143B-1209.26, the statute which authorizes the SBI to provide a fingerprint-based state and national criminal record check to cities and counties.

Distinguishing Features

The Visitation position will ensure child(ren) are visiting in a safe environment by providing observation, encouragement, mediation, coaching, and interventions as needed. Visitation interactions and activities must be documented to address appropriateness, needs, and outcomes of the parent-child interactions. Participation in Child and Family Team meetings and Permanency Planning Review meetings is expected. Collaboration and communication with social workers, GAL’s, and other case involved parties is required. Transporting children and families to and from their supervised visitation could be required. The visitation social worker could be asked to testify in court.

The FHL position will provide assistance to social workers with locating appropriate placements for foster children, and effectively communicating with foster families, DSS social workers, and community partners. Thorough and timely documentation of case information required. Is responsible for sharing after hours on-call duties with other staff is required. Will prepare foster family for placement and separation and provide ongoing counseling to alleviate family crises and/or improve parenting of children with behavioral and/or emotional problems. An employee in this position will work with social workers to locate placements and complete paperwork for children requiring placement. This worker will develop a recruitment plan and develop community relationships to support recruitment efforts.

Requires organization and documentation skills to perform job duties and responsibilities.

The primary hours of work are from 8:00am until 5:00pm but flexibility in scheduling is needed to meet the needs of the families served and the mandated time frames, as well as participating in monthly recruitment events that typically occur after 5pm and on weekends.

Minimum Education And Experience

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited school of social work or;
• Master's degree in Counseling or;
• Four-year degree in a Human Service field or related curriculum including at least 15 semester hours in courses related to Social Work or Counseling and six months of Social Work or Counseling experience or;
• Four-year degree and one year of experience in Counseling or in a related Human Service field which provides experience in techniques of counseling, casework, group work, or community organization.

A higher education level may be considered as a substitution for all or part of the experience requirement.

Bilingual (English/Spanish) speaking candidates are a plus.

Valid driver's license required. A valid driver’s license is essential to the functions of this position as regular travel outside of the office is fundamental to the daily work.

Special Requirements

This position has been identified to interact with children and must comply with NC G.S. 153A-94.2(b) “requires an applicant for employment to work with children in any capacity, must require the applicant, if offered the position, to be subject to a criminal history record check conducted by the SBI.” These checks must be conducted in accordance with G.S. 143B-1209.26, the statute which authorizes the SBI to provide a fingerprint-based state and national criminal record check to cities and counties.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

Essential duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to:

For Visitation

• Reviews visitation request forms and engages in case staffing to identify safety and supportive measures for visitation;
• Assesses and evaluates parent/child interactions for children receiving foster care services in an effort to provide a welcoming, supportive, visitation experience and sustain the identified permanent plan;
• Determines the strengths and needs regarding the parent/child interactions and provides coaching, feedback, praise, and redirects as needed;
• Documents observations during visits and shares information with assigned Social Worker;
• Maintains a case file for each family in the required manner and ensures documentation contained in the file is current;
• Attends and participates in planning meetings to discuss progress and concerns;
• Attends court proceedings to provide visitation information during juvenile review hearings as needed and;
• Completes documentation in a timely manner;
• Transporting children and families to and from their supervised visitation could be required;
• The visitation social worker could be asked to testify in court;
• Other duties as directed.

For FHL

• The Social Worker will assess and evaluate all findings of foster and adoptive applicants obtained through home visits, interviews, TIPS-MAPP training, observations and discussions with the team.
• The selected candidate will determine if applicants meet all licensing requirements as set forth by the State of NC and Forsyth County DSS. Provide ongoing assessments of each foster home placement to determine the progress of the placement.
• The individual will provide support and training to kinship families with children placed in their homes.
• The selected candidate will complete home studies, license perspective foster parents and complete re-licensing packets bi-annually.
• This individual will also identify and obtain foster home placements for children who enter foster care.
• This individual must be able to assess and evaluate all findings of foster/adoptive applicants
• Through home visits, interviews, TIPS-MAPP class participation, observations and discussions with team. Determine if prospective applicants meet all licensing requirements, as set forth by both the State of NC and Forsyth County DSS. Provide ongoing assessments of each foster home placement to determine the progress of the placement.
• Completes home study assessments on assigned applicants after completion of TIPS-MAPP training and makes determination to license or deny. Completes re-licensing package on foster parents bi-annually.
• Identifies and obtains foster home placements for children who enter foster care. Identifies and obtain therapeutic placements for teens or children with therapeutic needs if deemed necessary.
• Completes Referral Tracking Form after placement is identified and coordinates placement arrangements with social worker, child and placement providers. Make appropriate referrals to other professionals and community service providers as deemed necessary.
• Discuss and share all pertinent information about the child with the foster family. Conduct 3-day transitional visit with the placement provider. Conducts quarterly visits with foster parents and children.
• Assist with development of public awareness campaign that will educate the community about foster care/adoption. Recruit foster/adopt homes with special emphasis on bilingual, sibling group, and teen placements.
• Set up informational booths at various community events and church fairs to distribute literature and information about fostering/adopting. Conduct bi-monthly interest meetings to general public about fostering/adoption. Develop and submit public service announcements to the media events related to fostering/adoption, includes conducting radio and television interviews.