INVESTIGATION/ASSESSMENT DUTIES: The duties of this social worker involve crisis intervention and continuous supportive services to children and families in the course of delivering protective services mandated by state law. The main area of focus is directed toward neglected and abused children, as well as children at risk.

Duties include: providing direct services to the child and family in an attempt to protect the child from further neglect or abuse; receiving and evaluating neglect and abuse referrals; planning with the family and arranging services as are necessary in treating the problems that need to be remedied; to invoke the authority of the courts when necessary for protection of the child; to make necessary arrangements for alternative care for a child(ren) who cannot remain in his own home; to continue to work with parents, child(ren), relatives, foster parents, and others as necessary to assure safe and healthy reunion of families.

TREATMENT DUTIES: The social worker in this position will be responsible for providing continuing services to families in which neglect and/or abuse has been substantiated. This includes a process of responding to families in crisis, gathering factual information, and assessing the degree of danger to the child. This worker must have a high level of self-awareness, must have or develop skills in diagnostic assessments of family functional and dysfunctional behavior, and have a high tolerance level for client aggressive behavior, as he/she carries an authoritative role. This worker must have skills in coordinating multiple services, participate in team decision-making, and provide services and treatment. Skills in using the court system as part of the child protection and treatment plan will be required in some situations. Emphasis is placed on counseling to enable the families to remain intact.

This social worker must have extensive knowledge of the attachment, separation, and reattachment process, and it is mandatory that this worker have the courage, commitment, and skill to enter into the treatment process at an emotional level of depth, and to be supportive of children and families in each part of this process. He/she must be sensitively aware of own value system regarding family life structure, termination of parental rights, and the rights of children to consistent, continuous love relationships.

The worker in this position will need to know and be able to utilize community and area resources, to include initiating and attending conferences and meetings with local and area disciplines in order to appropriately and effectively serve the emotionally and physically damaged children who enter this system. The concentration of social work expertise in this area is also to keep families intact when possible and to frequently assess the feasibility of their efforts with a direction toward permanency planning for the child.This position also includes the responsibility of coordinating all agency and supportive services. In achieving permanency planning goals, worker will use individual and family counseling methods, crisis intervention, confrontation and reality techniques. He/she will be offering service to high-risk families in complex situations. Court hearings and judicial mandated reviews are tasks to be performed in this position.