Sr. Social Worker - (CPS) After Hours Unit

Forsyth County; Winston-Salem (NC); On-site; USD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Forsyth County Department of Social Services is seeking a Senior Social Worker for the CPS After Hours Unit. This role involves receiving and screening reports of abuse, neglect, or dependency, documenting findings, and deciding on intervention with a supervisor.

The position requires mobility to work in clients’ homes, courts, and schools. The Senior Social Worker completes investigations, assesses risk, and ensures services.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in social work or equivalent combinations as listed in the job posting.
• Bachelor's in social work with Child Welfare Collaborative or related experience as specified.
• Valid driver's license required.

Responsibilities

• Excellent communication and customer service skills.
• Assessing and evaluating the family's strengths and needs.
• Identifying safety factors and the appropriate safety response.
• Assessing the child's safety and developing safety plans with the parent/caretaker.
• Initiating court intervention to ensure the child's safety when needed.
• Providing ongoing assessment/evaluation of the family toward its goals.
• Maintaining required contacts and timely documentation per county/state/federal rules.
• Collaborating with team members, community agencies, and service providers.

Skills

Communication

Customer service

Interview skills

De-escalation

Documentation

Education

Master's degree in social work

Bachelor's degree in social work + Child Welfare Collaborative

Bachelor's degree in social work + 1 year related experience

Master's degree in counseling in a human services field + 1 year

Bachelor's degree in a human services field + 2 years related experience

Bachelor's degree + 3 years related experience (DSS)

Job description

General Statement of Duties

The Forsyth County Department of Social Services is seeking a Sr. Social Worker to work in the Child Protective Services (CPS) After Hours Unit.

• Applicants must reside in Forsyth County or a neighboring county.

The Senior Social Worker is required by NC General Statute to receive and screen all reports of abuse, neglect, or dependency. The Social Worker will document information about the report of suspected abuse, neglect or dependency. The Social Worker in conjunction with their supervisor determine whether the facts alleged in the report are sufficient to warrant intervention on the basis of suspected abuse, neglect, or dependency; and subsequently, make the decision to accept a referral for investigation/assessment or to reject the initial referral, including justification for this decision.

For an overview of this position and child welfare work, you are encouraged to view this realistic job preview video: https://fcrp.unc.edu/realistic-job-preview-north-carolina-child-welfare-work/

• This position is being re-advertised. All applicants are still being considered. If you have already applied for this position, then resubmitting an application is not necessary to be considered.

Distinguishing Features

The selected candidate must understand and utilize correctly all Federal, State, and local laws, policies, and procedures relevant to child abuse, neglect and dependency. In addition, this person must be mobile because most of the job takes place outside the DSS office (such as in clients' homes, courtrooms, schools, etc.) This person must be able to observe and report their observations, and must be able to communicate effectively with persons from a range of social and economic backgrounds and a variety of mental capacities and convey information obtained in a concise and accurate format.

The Senior Social Worker completes a thorough investigation/assessment of the situation, assessing the risk to the child(ren) and taking the appropriate action. This person also performs assessments and evaluations, reviews and monitors progress on set goals and completes required paperwork to ensure provision of services for families.

The individual must be able to use de-escalation techniques to maintain a calm environment and respond proactively to situations that may become disruptive while working with clients.

This position requires excellent customer service and interview skills in order to assess the needs of children and families.

The hours of work is on a rotating schedule Monday-Fridays 4:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m.; Monday-Friday 12:00 a.m.-8:00 a.m.; 12 hour shifts on weekends; as well as provide coverage during holidays.

This position is an After Hours position; therefore, the applicant would work during evenings/nights, weekends, and holidays.

Minimum Education And Experience

• Master's degree in social work from an accredited school of social work or;
• Bachelor's degree in social work from an accredited school of social work and completion of the Child Welfare Collaborative or;
• Bachelor's degree in social work from an accredited school of social work and one year of directly related experience or;
• Master's degree in counseling in a human services field and one year of social work or counseling (Department of Social Services) or;
• Bachelor's degree in a human services field from an accredited college or university and two years of directly related experience or;
• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university and three years of directly related experience (Department of Social Services).

Valid driver's license required.

THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR A BACHELOR'S DEGREE. YOU MUST SUBMIT COLLEGE TRANSCRIPT WITH APPLICATION.

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

• Excellent communication and customer service skills;
• Assessing and evaluating the family's strengths and needs;
• Identifying safety factors and the appropriate safety response.
• Assessing the child's safety and developing safety response plans with the parent/caretaker to include identifying interventions;
• Initiating court intervention to ensure the child's safety, if needed;
• Providing ongoing assessment/evaluation of the family toward its goals;
• maintaining required contacts with the child, parents, and other collateral contacts;
• Completing documentation in a timely manner based on county, state, and federal requirements to ensure appropriate service provision to children and families;
• Documenting all interactions and maintaining this documentation in the case record;
• Completing and submitting documentation to supervisor at established timeframes;
• Collaborating and consulting with team members, community agencies, and service providers as appropriate;
• Completing all documentation related to initial legal and court proceedings and;
• Attending at least 24 hours of ongoing professional development training each appraisal year.