What are the responsibilities and job description for the Senior Family Services Specialist - Family Preservation position at Chesterfield County?
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The Chesterfield-Colonial Heights Department of Social Services is hiring a Senior Family Services Specialist – for the Family Preservation Team. The Family Preservation Team provide foster care prevention services to families through the courts in Chesterfield County and Colonial Heights.
What You Do And How You Do It
As a Senior Family Services Specialist on the Family Preservation Team, you will play a vital role in supporting families and ensuring child safety through in-home services designed to prevent foster care placement. Your responsibilities will include making home visits, assessing child safety, developing service plans, and connecting families to community resources. You will engage families through case management, referrals, and collaboration with local partners to help stabilize homes and promote positive change. This position works closely with Chesterfield and Colonial Heights Juvenile Courts on cases involving CHINS petitions, significant delinquency matters, custody issues, and relief of custody petitions. You will collaborate with a wide network of professionals, including court personnel, guardian ad litems, probation officers, and mental health providers. At times, you may be called upon to investigate child abuse or neglect allegations, requiring strong assessment and interpersonal skills. You will also provide after-hours CPS on-call coverage on a rotating basis and may be assigned to other child welfare teams (foster care, adoption, CPS) as agency needs arise. Strong assessment, case management, and collaboration skills are essential for success in this role. You will stay current on local, state, and federal regulations to ensure compliance and best practices in service delivery. Perform other work as required.
Here's What You Need
Realistic Job Preview
We’ll be honest—this is intense. You may have contact with hostile families and children and home visits may be in less than adequate living conditions. Your emotions will range from the fear of what will happen on your very first home visit to profound sadness for severely traumatized or injured children. It’s a stressful job with critical outcomes. You have to be committed to your client – the children and their families. You have the power to create positive change and have a direct impact on the lives of children and their families that lasts a lifetime. When a child sees you years later after becoming a well-adjusted adult and thanks you, you realize you may have saved a life. Being a family services specialist isn’t for everyone, but if you are committed to making a real difference in the lives of others and are looking for a career rather than a job, we want you on our team.
This position is considered Critical Safety Sensitive and is subject to random drug testing and alcohol testing. The use of medical marijuana for this position is prohibited.
This position is part of an Emergency Shelter Team during times of natural disaster, reporting to shelter duty as required.
Chesterfield County offers an attractive benefits package. As a local Department of Social Services, Chesterfield-Colonial Heights Department of Social Services may offer incentives, approved through the Virginia Department of Social Services, to candidates hired who possess additional relevant training, skills and experience. Those incentives apply to individuals who possess: a Masters or Bachelors Degree in Social Work, Masters in Human Services, LCSW, Child Welfare Stipend participants, completion of COVLC new worker training or are Bilingual (Spanish & ASL).
This position is part of an approved Career Development Plan (CDP) and offers career progression opportunities and salary incentives, as funding permits, based on performance, qualifications, and experience.
Did you know that working for a local government provides credit towards the Public Student Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF)?
Visit careers.chesterfield.gov to view instructions and to complete and submit an application.
Monday - Friday; 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.Social Services
The Chesterfield-Colonial Heights Department of Social Services is hiring a Senior Family Services Specialist – for the Family Preservation Team. The Family Preservation Team provide foster care prevention services to families through the courts in Chesterfield County and Colonial Heights.
What You Do And How You Do It
As a Senior Family Services Specialist on the Family Preservation Team, you will play a vital role in supporting families and ensuring child safety through in-home services designed to prevent foster care placement. Your responsibilities will include making home visits, assessing child safety, developing service plans, and connecting families to community resources. You will engage families through case management, referrals, and collaboration with local partners to help stabilize homes and promote positive change. This position works closely with Chesterfield and Colonial Heights Juvenile Courts on cases involving CHINS petitions, significant delinquency matters, custody issues, and relief of custody petitions. You will collaborate with a wide network of professionals, including court personnel, guardian ad litems, probation officers, and mental health providers. At times, you may be called upon to investigate child abuse or neglect allegations, requiring strong assessment and interpersonal skills. You will also provide after-hours CPS on-call coverage on a rotating basis and may be assigned to other child welfare teams (foster care, adoption, CPS) as agency needs arise. Strong assessment, case management, and collaboration skills are essential for success in this role. You will stay current on local, state, and federal regulations to ensure compliance and best practices in service delivery. Perform other work as required.
Here's What You Need
- Minimum of a Bachelor's degree in a Human Services field or minimum of a Bachelor's degree in any field with a minimum of two years of appropriate and related experience in a Human Services area (Section 22VAC40-670-20 of the Administrative Code of Virginia).
- Considerable experience in assigned program area/human services programs and completion of required training programs or equivalent combination of training and experience which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities.
- Possession of a BSW or MSW degree and a Commonwealth of Virginia Social Worker license are desirable
- Excellent organizational, time management, oral/written communication, interpersonal, public relations and supervisory skills preferred.
- Knowledge and ability to apply social work principles and Virginia policies in family services programs preferred.
- Abilitytodemonstrateexceptionalcriticalthinkinganddecision-makingskillsduringcrisis situations preferred.
- Ability to interpret laws, policies and regulations related to human services preferred.
- Strong computer skills and adaptability to using electronic devices while in the community to document your work in various child welfare databases to include OASIS, COMPASS and e-Scribers preferred.
- Exceptional ability to collaborate and achieve performance goals preferred.
- A real commitment to the safety of children and to Chesterfield-Colonial Heights Department of Social Services preferred.
Realistic Job Preview
We’ll be honest—this is intense. You may have contact with hostile families and children and home visits may be in less than adequate living conditions. Your emotions will range from the fear of what will happen on your very first home visit to profound sadness for severely traumatized or injured children. It’s a stressful job with critical outcomes. You have to be committed to your client – the children and their families. You have the power to create positive change and have a direct impact on the lives of children and their families that lasts a lifetime. When a child sees you years later after becoming a well-adjusted adult and thanks you, you realize you may have saved a life. Being a family services specialist isn’t for everyone, but if you are committed to making a real difference in the lives of others and are looking for a career rather than a job, we want you on our team.
This position is considered Critical Safety Sensitive and is subject to random drug testing and alcohol testing. The use of medical marijuana for this position is prohibited.
This position is part of an Emergency Shelter Team during times of natural disaster, reporting to shelter duty as required.
Chesterfield County offers an attractive benefits package. As a local Department of Social Services, Chesterfield-Colonial Heights Department of Social Services may offer incentives, approved through the Virginia Department of Social Services, to candidates hired who possess additional relevant training, skills and experience. Those incentives apply to individuals who possess: a Masters or Bachelors Degree in Social Work, Masters in Human Services, LCSW, Child Welfare Stipend participants, completion of COVLC new worker training or are Bilingual (Spanish & ASL).
This position is part of an approved Career Development Plan (CDP) and offers career progression opportunities and salary incentives, as funding permits, based on performance, qualifications, and experience.
Did you know that working for a local government provides credit towards the Public Student Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF)?
Visit careers.chesterfield.gov to view instructions and to complete and submit an application.
Monday - Friday; 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.Social Services
