Do you want to be a part of a team that makes a difference in the lives of children and youth in foster care? Do you want to focus on supporting the agency’s resource parents as they care for children and youth in foster care? As a Social Services Specialist III, you will be a member of the Placement and Resource team in the Foster Care & Adoption, Resource & Support program.
We are looking for people who are committed to children’s permanency, safety, and well-being; possess good critical thinking and decision-making skills; thrive in a fast-paced environment; and demonstrate good leadership skills. While this job is challenging, this is more than a job—it is an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children and families.
This position works within the Division of Children, Youth and Families (CYF) supporting the Foster Care and Adoption (FC&A) Resource and Support Program. Works on our Placement and Resource team that coordinates the placements of children and youth in foster care and supports the agency’s resource parents.
Under the direction of a Social Services Supervisor, performs tasks independently to protect children and build family resilience as articulated by local, state, and federal policies and laws. May require participation in an on-call rotation that includes evening, overnight, weekend, and holiday hours, which may require immediate response into the field. Must be able to travel out of the area by car or plane as needed.
In this position, you will be supported by a leadership team of caring people working together to keep children safe, build permanent connections, and foster resiliency. You will make an impact by:

• Providing support to the agency’s resource parents, regarding grief and loss, permanency goals, bridging the gap, parenting challenges, trauma and their role on the professional team.
• Monitoring and maintain the certifications of agency resource homes by reapproving foster homes every three years and monitoring the home for compliance and state and federal requirements.
• Completing adoption addendums for agency resource parents who are seeking to adopt the children or youth placed in their home.
• Work collaborative in a secondary role with the primary FC&A specialist to provide support for placement stability in the agency resource homes.
• This position requires carrying a cell phone to respond to afterhours emergencies and for the need of identifying homes for children separated from their family of origin or children who need to move while in foster care.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Knowledge of child protection laws, rules, and regulations
• Knowledge of foster care and adoption laws, rules, and regulations
• Ability to interview, assess needs, counsel, and refer clients to other resource, as needed
• Ability to learn, retain, and apply state and federal laws and policies for foster home providers
• Well-developed listening, creative problem-solving, assessment and decision-making skills
• Ability to work independently and use automated technology
• Ability to provide excellent customer services internally within the agency, as well as with community partners and resource parents
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing
  Grow you

Grow your career with Fairfax County!
With more than 16,000 employees, Fairfax County is a diverse workforce offering employees stimulating and challenging opportunities across a broad scope of career opportunities. As a Fairfax County employee, you impact the well-being of our community every day.
This is an exciting time to join Fairfax County Government as we shape racial and social equity policies in the county through the One Fairfax Policy. Using this framework, we intentionally consider equity when making policies or delivering programs and services. To learn more, we highly encourage you to watch the Becoming One Fairfax—An Introduction to Key Concepts video and visit the One Fairfax webpage here.
Finally, click here to learn more about learn more about our Department of Family Services, meet our director and some of our practitioners, watch a short video to learn more about this position, read the top 5 reasons to come work with us, and check out the great benefits, including excellent paid leave, health plans, and retirement plans. In addition to the many County benefits, working with us gives you access to supervision towards becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, our Child Welfare Institute onboarding academy, and practice guidance grounded in the Safe & Connected™ practice model.
All Fairfax County Government employees are expected to adhere to the Standards of Conduct. In maintaining a drug free workplace, employees are prohibited from manufacturing, distributing, possessing, using or being under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs while at work or on county premises.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a bachelor's degree, plus three years of professional social work experience. A master's degree in a related field may be substituted for one year of the required experience.
CERTIFICATES AND LICENSES REQUIRED:
Valid driver's license.
NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
The appointee to this position will be required to complete a criminal background, a driving record check, and a Child Protective Services check to the satisfaction of the employer.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master's degree in social work (MSW) or a related human services degree
• Experience in performing child protective investigations, foster care and/or family preservation services
• Experience in performing case management services in a child welfare setting (child protective services, foster care, adoption, family prevention, permanency planning, or domestic/sexual violence)

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:
Work requires performing tasks with risks of secondary traumatic stress (STS). Ability to navigate through and make decisions in stressful and crisis situations Sufficiently mobile to travel outside the office for client contact, court appearances, community events, and to conduct family assessments and investigations of allegations of child abuse and neglect. Ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing. Ability to use automated technology. Must be able to operate a motor vehicle and make use of personal vehicle. All duties performed with or without reasonable accommodations.
SELECTION PROCEDURE:
Panel interview and may include a practical exercise.
The population of Fairfax County is very diverse where 38.7% of residents speak a language other than English at home (Spanish, Asian/Pacific Islander, Indo-European, and others) and we encourage candidates bilingual in English and a foreign language to apply to this opportunity.
Fairfax County Government prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetics, political affiliation, or military status in the recruitment, selection, and hiring of its workforce.
Reasonable accommodations are available to persons with disabilities during application and/or interview processes per the Americans with Disabilities Act. Contact 703-324-4900 for assistance. TTY 703-222-7314. DHREmployment@fairfaxcounty.gov EEO/AA/TTY.
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