Social Worker III-Children's Services-Placement- Foster Care

Work in this class involves providing intensive social work services in serious and complicated cases which require the flexible use of a wide range of social work skills and intervention techniques. Services are provided in a variety of settings including local human services agencies; providing in-depth assessment of family dynamics and needs, assessment, intervention and treatment of patients and or families with acute to severe medical and/or emotional disorders and mental illnesses; serving as expert witness at court hearings; or advanced social work intervention. Working with Law Enforcement, Medical personnel, the school system, Court system. Work includes working with the entire family system, identifying strengths and needs and working together to help children achieve permanency.

Employees supervise and train lower level social workers, students, and interns. Employees report to clinic managers, program directors, or unit supervisors.

Hiring Range: $59,774.00Responsibilities and Duties:

Variety and Scope - Employees provide social work services in the areas child protective services, custody and adoption, and foster care work which involve the assessment of individual and family dynamics and needs, serving as expert witness at court hearings, crisis intervention, and counseling. Work involves explaining diagnosis and treatment alternatives to patients and families, counseling and participating in education endeavors for physicians, psychologists, nurses, other health disciplines, students and social work interns, and participating in research activities.

Intricacy - Employees use considerable judgment in conducting individual assessments, selecting and providing treatment techniques or dealing with psychosocial aspects or researching catastrophic or terminal diseases. Employees provide in-depth assessment of family dynamics, determine the extent of neglect or abuse, and provide counseling for clients with complex needs. Employees usually refer the most severe cases, such as severe phobias or unusual violence patterns to a higher level social worker or therapist. Employees educate and consult with other staff and community professionals for information purposes and joint case planning. Some didactic consultation may also be involved.

Subject Matter Complexity - Work requires a thorough understanding of social work assessment techniques and treatment approaches primarily of a crisis, supportive, and behavioral nature. Considerable knowledge of legal and administrative aspects of programs. Employees may require knowledge of medical diagnoses, treatment alternatives, disease pathophysiology, biopsychosocial, adaptive, and coping responses to illnesses.

Guidelines - Includes state and federal laws and regulations, JCAHO standards, professional ethics, theories of standard methods and procedures, and quality assurance standards. Employees may participate in development of new theories or adaptation of techniques in the field of social work.

Nature of Instructions - Work involves comprehensive children services that are jointly planned with other members of a multi-disciplinary team or protective services committee and supervisors. Assessment and intervention are performed with considerable independence. Medication issues are referred to physicians and legal precedents are utilized in some settings.

Nature of Review - Work is reviewed by unit supervisor, program manager, or higher level clinician, usually on a general basis except for review of sensitive legal, abuse, or commitment situations.

Scope of Decisions - Directly affects clients, their families, foster homes, adoptive parents, adult care facilities and community agencies, depending on case load.

Consequence of Decisions - Assessments, service/treatment decisions affect the safety and well-being of clients in neglect or abuse situations, affects adjustments in adoptive and foster care placements and in long term placements; or the adaptive coping response to illness and surgery.

• Major Job Responsibilities and Percentage of Time
• Assessment/Evaluation - 30%
  
  

Assessment of the family's service needs and evaluation of the appropriate services to be provided is an essential component of this employee's responsibilities. Tools used include Mental Health and psychological evaluations, interviews with family members and collaterals, and structured assessment instruments. Input from inter-agency review teams is also used.

• Development of Treatment Goals and Service Plans — 20%
  
  

The employee assists families in developing service plans and setting goals. Service plans are designed to prevent further abuse or neglect and to ensure safety of children within the family setting. If child is removed from the home, goals are designed with purpose of reuniting families. The purpose is to prevent further maltreatment and resolve problems in family unit. Written service and visitation agreements are developed between employee and client. These written agreements provide direction and clarification for parents who are sometimes overwhelmed by the agency and often unsure of the agency's expectations. Service and visitation agreements specify obligations for both parents and the agency. They formalize the parents' agreement and input for the treatment program. This approach is supportive of parents and keeps them involved in planning for their child's future.

• Case Management and Service Plan Implementations - 20%
  
  

As case manager, employee designs and obtains appropriate services to meet needs of clients. Case management ensures a cohesive approach in the delivery of services. Employee is responsible for ensuring agency and court reviews for children in the custody or placement responsibility of the agency. This employee provides Medicaid-at-risk case management services for clients meeting medical criteria. Assists client in grasping relationship between current situation and desired goals and advocating for needed resources and services for client.

• Information and Referral - 3%
  
  

Employee coordinates services to accomplish goals of clients. Refers clients to and informs clients of available services and resources and negotiates and facilitates the use of these resources. Employee also aids in establishing communication links between clients and community services.

• Counseling -10%
  
  

Employee analyzes with the clients the factors relating to problems or needs. Supports the client

I in experimenting with resolutions to problem situations. Determines the intervention appropriate to alleviate crisis or problem situations. Determines the emotional relationships of clients to problems. Employee uses constructively the perceived meaning of distorted attitudes or behaviors. Helps client grasp the relationship between the current situation and desired goals. Engages clients in problem solving and ascertains and relates changes in a situation to care and treatment. Interviews clients to understand why situations are regarded as problems. Evaluates client's behavior with sensitivity to client's life style and culture. Examines interrelationships of persons and their social environment and examines the significance of relationships or facts that affect the client's needs.

• Teaching/Training — 10%
  
  

Education is provided to parents to become more effective in dealing with their children. Training is also provided to foster parents in dealing with the behaviors and children and helping with the adjustment of children in the foster care setting. Provides education on the use of services and resources.

• Consultation - 3%
  
  

Provides guidance to encourage innovation and change in programs, the agency's structure and services delivery, and guidance to encourage needed changes in family unit, guidance toward demonstrating appropriate means of discipline.

• Monitoring/Review — 2%
  
  

Employee reviews cases quarterly to determine the appropriateness of services and prepare for court and agency reviews. Services received by clients are monitored. The progress made by client is monitored and reviewed on a regular basis.

• Community Liaison — 2%
  
  

Employee serves as public relations person to other agencies and community. Much work is done to enhance the public awareness of available services and to expand the knowledge of civic, public and private agencies in the area of child abuse, neglect, exploitation and dependency.

Employee uses various team approaches in providing services to clients. Permanency Planning Reviews review information provided regarding children in the placement authority of this agency. Employee plans and organizes information presented to team for purpose of making decisions and plans regarding continued need and appropriateness of child's foster care placement. These are held quarterly throughout the time the child is in foster care.

The number of cases assigned varies. Employee usually carries fifteen to twenty cases at a given time. Foster care cases are assigned immediately after adjudicatory court hearing or immediately after family signs voluntary placement agreement. Employee carries these cases until legal custody is returned to parents or relative.

Preventive service cases vary according to family's ability to reach set goals.

Employee may assume responsibility for client budgeting in some cases.

Employee assists agency attorney in preparing cases for court. Presents information to court, files juvenile petitions when child must be removed. In court, employee functions as a knowledgeable, competent witness and makes recommendations concerning the child's care and custody. Employee must have thorough knowledge of N.C. General Statues pertaining to Children's Rights and the Juvenile code. At times, employee may be asked to make investigations of court-ordered custody dispute matters which requires an evaluation of the home environment, ability of the person in question to parent, and an overall assessment of his/her emotional, financial and physical capability to provide adequate care for child.

Scope of Contacts - Includes clients and families, a variety of professional disciplines, community agency groups, court officials, students, interns, or residents.

Nature and Purpose - To determine extent of neglect, abuse, and facilitate move to appropriate setting to assess strengths and risk factors related to physical and mental health; and provide counseling to alleviate family crises. Employees also communicate to facilitate adaptive coping responses to illness and surgery, provide expert opinions to legal officials or medical staff, and provide didactic experiences for students, residents, or interns.

Work Conditions - Employees work in settings which range from human services agencies, clinics, hospitals, or offices, but often involve visits to client’s home or contacts in institutions or correctional facilities.

Hazards - Includes contacts with clients and/or family members who may be hostile, resistant, and violent. Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Thorough knowledge of social work principles, techniques, and practices, and their application to complex casework, group work, and community problems. Considerable knowledge of a wide range of medical, behavioral, and/or psychosocial problems and their treatment theory. Considerable knowledge of family and group dynamics and a range of intervention techniques, governmental and private organizations, and resources in the community, laws, regulations, and policies which govern the program. General knowledge of the methods and principles of casework supervision and training. In certain settings, considerable knowledge of medical terminology, disease processes and their treatment as they relate to decisions regarding clinical interventions and appropriate therapies based on medical or psychological diagnosis. Skill in establishing rapport with a client and in applying techniques or assessing psychosocial, behavioral, and psychological aspects of client’s problems. Ability to supervise, train, or instruct lower-level social workers, students, or interns in the program. Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with members of case load and their families, as well as civic, legal, medical, social, and religious organizations. Ability to express ideas clearly and concisely and to plan and execute work effectively. Candidate may also be assigned other duties while employed in this position and is expected to adapt as the job position entails, other duties as assigned.

Education/Certification

Minimum Training and Experience Requirements - Master's degree in social work from an accredited school of social work; Bachelor's degree in social work from an accredited school of social work and completion of the Child Welfare Collaborative (Child Welfare positions only); Bachelor's degree in social work from an accredited school of social work and one year directly related experience; Master's degree in a human services field and one year of directly related experience; Bachelor's degree in a human services field from an accredited college or university and two years directly related experience; Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university and three years of directly related experienceWork Environment/Location/Physical Demands:

Employee works in offices, but work involves visiting homes, schools, health and mental health facilities.

Work Conditions - Employees work in a variety of service settings, which range from modern public service buildings to correctional facilities, community residential facilities, home environments, or institutions where odors and noise may be present.

Hazards - Employees may experience emotional stress due to the nature of interactions with clients or service providers. Behavioral problems such as aggression of clients could cause bodily injury for employees in some settings.

On-call- Employee is responsible to cover after-hour on-call duties several weeks per year to deal with crisis, concerns or other duties regarding children in foster care.

Emergency shelter- Employee is required to work at county run shelters in the event of a natural or man-made disaster

Other Duties as assigned- Employee may be asked to perform additional duties as needed for the operation of the agency