Supervisor

Waukesha County Health & Human Services; Waukesha (WI); Hybrid; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Waukesha County Health & Human Services seeks an Ongoing Child Protective Services Supervisor to lead the Family Services Division and guide ongoing CPS work under Wisconsin statutes. You will provide daily supervision, coaching, and oversight for a team of social workers delivering in-home and out-of-home services while ensuring safety and permanency for children.

The role emphasizes leadership, collaboration with courts, agencies, and partners, and using data to drive program quality,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in social work, sociology, psychology, or closely related field.
• Master's degree in social work, sociology, psychology, or closely related field; may substitute for one year of experience.
• Unrestricted license by the State of Wisconsin as a mental health or substance abuse provider.

Responsibilities

• Provide daily supervision, coaching, and support to unit Care Managers.
• Promote a unit culture that values family voice, collaboration, safety, and keeping children safely with parents when possible.
• Oversee and approve staff work within the eWiSACWIS system.
• Support case planning and permanency planning through service coordination, family team meetings, and court oversight.
• Coordinate opportunities to use Targeted Safety Support Funding to maintain children safely in homes.
• Participate in family team meetings and support family-centered decision-making.
• Coordinate and manage service delivery contracts.
• Monitor program quality, outcomes, and compliance through data-informed evaluation.

Skills

Leadership

Staff supervision

Coaching

Communication

Problem-solving

Data-driven

Education

Bachelor's degree in social work, sociology, psychology, or related field

Master's degree in social work, sociology, psychology, or related field

Unrestricted Wisconsin license (Mental health or substance abuse)

Job description

Waukesha County Department of Health & Human Services is seeking a talented, innovative, and mission-driven Ongoing Child Protective Services (CPS) Supervisor to join the Family Services Division.

In this key leadership role, you will help guide the work that supports safety, permanency, and well-being for children and families under Wisconsin Statutes Chapter 48 and related state mandates. You will supervise a dedicated team of social workers providing ongoing CPS services to children and families in-home, in relative care, foster care, and other out-of-home placements.

As the Ongoing CPS Supervisor, you will help strengthen families, support child safety, and promote timely permanency by providing leadership, coaching, oversight, and collaboration across the CPS continuum of care. This position will have a focus on child welfare involved families, working closely with agency leadership, including Initial Assessment, Juvenile Court Intake, Youth Justice Ongoing, Foster Care, Prevention Services, Youth CCS, CLTS, the Courts, legal partners, local law enforcement, and community providers. In this role, you will:

• Provide daily supervision, coaching, and support to unit Care Managers.
• Promote a unit culture that values family voice, collaboration, safety, and keeping children safely with parents and family whenever possible.
• Oversee and approve staff work within the eWiSACWIS system.
• Support case planning and permanency planning through service coordination, family team meetings, and court oversight.
• Identify and coordinate opportunities to use Targeted Safety Support Funding to help maintain children safely in their homes.
• Participate in regular family team meetings and support family-centered decision-making.
• Coordinate and manage service delivery contracts.
• Monitor program quality, outcomes, and compliance through data-informed evaluation.
• Ensure unit compliance with Wisconsin CPS standards, laws, procedures, administrative rules, and County policies.
• Collaborate with other HHS units and divisions to ensure responsive, coordinated, and high-quality services for children and families.
Participate in County and State committees, initiatives, and process improvement efforts that shape policy, procedures, and service delivery.
• Bring innovative, solution-focused leadership to a complex and meaningful area of public service.
• Engage in strategic planning, develop and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs), and support leadership development initiatives to strengthen team performance, accountability, and long-term organizational effectiveness.

What You’ll Bring

The ideal candidate is a strong, compassionate, and forward-thinking leader who understands the importance of balancing child safety, family engagement, legal mandates, and trauma-informed practice. You are someone who can support staff through challenging work, build trust with partners, and help drive continuous improvement in service delivery. You will bring:

• A strong commitment to child safety, family preservation, permanency, and well-being.
• Knowledge of Child Protective Services practice, including ongoing case management, safety planning, permanency planning, court-related services, and service coordination.
• The ability to interpret and apply Wisconsin CPS standards, Chapter 48 requirements, administrative rules, and related policies and procedures.
• Experience supporting or supervising staff in a complex human services environment.
• A collaborative leadership style that promotes respect, accountability, and professional growth.
• Strong communication, coaching, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• The ability to use data to monitor quality, evaluate outcomes, and guide improvement.
• Comfort working with multidisciplinary partners, including internal HHS teams, courts, providers, schools, relatives, foster parents, and community agencies.
• A commitment to honoring family voice, cultural humility, confidentiality, and compassionate public service.
• A solution-focused mindset, openness to innovation, and willingness to contribute to County and State-level initiatives.
• Alignment with the mission, vision, and values of Waukesha County Health & Human Services.

Why Join Our Team

At Waukesha County Health & Human Services, you will be part of a dedicated team that believes meaningful change happens through collaboration, compassion, and high-quality public service. The Family Services Division is committed to helping families build on their strengths, access the right supports, and safely care for their children whenever possible.

This is an opportunity to lead important work that makes a lasting difference in the lives of children, parents, relative caregivers, foster families, and the broader Waukesha County community.

When you join our team, you will:

• Lead a committed group of professionals doing impactful, mission-centered work.
• Help shape practice that supports safety, family connection, permanency, and well-being.
• Collaborate with experienced leaders across the child welfare continuum of care.
• Contribute to innovation, policy development, and program improvement.
• Work in an environment that values respect, compassion, confidentiality, teamwork, and professional excellence.
• Be part of a County organization focused on quality service, community partnership, and positive outcomes for children and families.

If you are a collaborative leader who is passionate about strengthening families, supporting staff, and improving outcomes for children, we invite you to bring your experience, ideas, and commitment to Waukesha County

Work Schedule

Primarily Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with some flexibility required to meet the needs of families. We can offer remote work up to 50% of a pay period after certain requirements are met.

CLASSIFICATION SPECIFICATION

To view the full classification specification for Human Services Supervisor click here.

Minimum Training & Experience Requirements

1. a. Graduation from a recognized college or university with a bachelor's degree in social work, sociology, psychology, or a closely related field.

OR

b. For work assignments in the Clinical Division, a master’s degree in social work, sociology, psychology, or a closely related field is required. Possession of an unrestricted license by the State of Wisconsin as a mental health or substance abuse provider.

2. Three (3) years of responsible professional work experience in social work or counseling in a human service agency.

3. A master's degree from a recognized college or university in social work, sociology, psychology, or a closely related field may be substituted for one (1) year of the required work experience.

Waukesha County provides a comprehensive compensation and benefits package including excellent health/dental/vision, life insurance, generous paid time off (vacation, 10 holidays, 3 floating holidays, ample accrued sick time that rolls over each year), an exceptional pension plan with employer match and lifetime retirement payment plus an optional tax advantaged 457 retirement savings plan. Amongst many other benefits, employees are recognized and valued through a pay for performance system. Successful candidates will be eligible for performance-based merit increases and non-base performance awards.

Employee well-being is promoted through a balanced work-life culture and through an exceptional employee wellness program that offers a variety of programs and tools to help promote an employee's wellness and health, including an on-site health & wellness clinic.

About Us:

Waukesha County prides itself on operating in a business‑like manner and is recognized as a leader delivering high quality services with competence and skill. With our vision of "Leading the Way", we value teamwork and collaboration, ethics and diversity, communication, efficiency and cost savings, innovation, and the wellbeing of our staff and the citizens we serve. Employees are provided professional development opportunities and encouragement to learn and practice continuous improvement and LEAN principles as we regularly ask ourselves "Is there a better way?"

Location:

Located in the City of Waukesha, our campus offers an on-site fitness center, free parking, and easy access to interstate highway systems. Waukesha County offers a perfect blend of urban and rural living where one can enjoy the benefits of quiet rural lake communities or opt for nearby attractions that the greater Milwaukee area offers including vast beach and park systems, public markets, performing arts, music festivals, and sports including the Milwaukee Admirals, Brewers, Bucks, Wave, Marquette University Golden Eagles and the UW-Milwaukee Panthers Basketball programs.

EEO:

Waukesha County is committed to equal opportunity and nondiscrimination in employment and adheres to all Federal, State and County Equal Employment Opportunity laws, policies, plans, rules, regulations and ordinances. The County recognizes and accepts its important leadership role in providing for equal employment/service opportunities. It is the express policy of Waukesha County to promote equal employment opportunity among all who are employed by Waukesha County and who seek employment with Waukesha County.

For further information visit: https://www.waukeshacounty.gov

The County does not sponsor applicants for work visas. Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis.