Social Worker IA&T-In Home at Craven County, NC

About the Department

The primary purpose of this position is to provide family based social work services designed to strengthen and empower families while ensuring the safety of children in cases in which abuse, neglect and/or dependency have been alleged or found.  Primarily this will be provided through In Home services and treatment.   This position will routinely be required to serve as back-up for the afterhours social workers.  The employee will be required to attend court and submit court reports. If the agency is given custody of the child by the court the social worker will be expected to continue to provide social work services until the case is transferred to the permanency planning team.

Position Duties

• The work is performed within the Child and Family Services Division.
• Continually assess information from various collateral contacts and resources in the community to determine whether abuse, neglect and/or dependency has occurred or continues to occur.  State mandated assessment tools are utilized to aid in determining the level of risk to the children.
• To work with clients who are children from newborn to 18 years of age who have not been emancipated or married that are suspected or found to be abused, neglected and/or dependent.  Clients are also the parents or caretakers of these children who frequently are uncooperative, threatening, or hostile regarding mandatory intervention with their family.
• To work with cases received from Child Protective Services Intake Worker, transfers from other counties, the Courts, other child protective services agencies outside the state.
• To stay abreast of and comply with all changes in program policies, laws and regulations.
• To arrange and accompany children to medical, mental health or developmental examinations in order to gather information for case planning  and/or for initial placement into Foster Care.
• Worker must maintain regular contact with the families and various collaterals including but not limited to education personnel, medical and mental health providers.
• Ability to effectively function under stress and to deal with conflict situations and hostile personalities. 
• Ability to use a computer, navigate the internet, send/receive emails, and use common software applications such as Microsoft Office.  
• Should be able to organize work and balance multiple cases, documentation, and other responsibilities. 
• Understand family dynamics and risk factors that impact a family’s ability to care for children. 
• Have strong verbal and written communication skills 
• Should be skilled at assessing and evaluating indicators of child maltreatment. 
• Train staff, assist with resolving problems and ensure that the quality services are being provided.
• Guide staff to understand the participation in court proceedings for children who are dependent, abuse, and/or neglected.  

• Reviews all clinical assessments, agency documents and other evaluations that may provide insight into family dynamics and underlying mental health, social or physical needs that must be addressed to ensure children’s safety and well-being. 
• As required by policy at each home visit either formally or informally assess for safety and well-being needs of the children with specific policy guidelines concerning substance affected infants, safe sleep for children under the age of 1, and domestic violence.
• Complete DSS-5226 Family Risk Reassessments at the time of Family Service agreement development and updates, whenever significant change occurs in the family, prior to any new court action and within 30 days prior to case closure.
• Assess family strengths and needs informally throughout the life of the case and formally using the DSS-5229 prior to completing a Family Services Agreement and 30 days prior to case closure in an In Home Services Case.  For families with children living out-of-the home the Strength and Needs should be performed within the same time frames of Permanency Planning Meetings. 
• Conduct trauma screenings and refer for appropriate trauma assessment and treatment services at initiation of services and every 6 months thereafter.
• Perform comprehensive Kinship assessments when assisting families with temporary safety placements or prior to asking the court to sanction a relative placement. 
• Initiates and completes CPS assessments re: reports of abuse, neglect and/or dependency by assessing the risk of harm to children involved in the report, gathering information from the family collateral, and staffing with unit members to determine if the family is in need of mandated services according to N.C. General Statutes.

• Must be completed within 30 days of initiating In Home Services and in partnership with the family based on information discussed at the Child and Family Team (CFT) Meeting. Both parents, other primary caregivers, and any other persons who are involved in and critical for  the successful completion of the agreement.  Children should be included if cognitively and emotionally able to participate.  
• Must address the maltreatment and issues that brought the children into mandatory services and include objectives and activities that are measurable, time-limited, and describe specific desired outcomes, and identify necessary behavior changes. 
• Must include specific services, strategies and supports needed to achieve safety, permanence and well-being needs of the children.
• Develops a therapeutic relationship with the clients.
• Develops jointly a safety plan and/or an in home services agreement which includes concurrent planning with the family which identifies the goal of the agency intervention, describes specific desired outcomes, identifies the necessary behavior changes, gives time-oriented steps to reach the objectives, and states whom is responsible for the requisite actions and tasks and ensure safety of all children and addresses concerns or abuse neglect or dependency.
• Utilize the state mandated tools for on going assessment and services provision.

• Provides on-going risk assessments to determine risk to children in order to guide the case planning process.
• Includes documentation of all actions/contacts to show the involvement of the family in the development of the agreement with clear time-specific objectives and activities that relate the strengths and needs of the parents.  Noncustodial parents must be contacted and included in the development of the plan.

• Arranges for and provides direct services to help the family change the maltreating behavior.  This includes giving information, instruction, guidance and mentoring regarding parenting skills, child development and the importance of developing a nurturing and permanent home for children.
• Coordinates with involved professionals such as therapists, doctors, school personnel, attorneys, judges, speech therapists, etc. Requests evaluation, reports and other documents. Reviews professional evaluations and includes recommendations in the case plan. Ensures that recommendations of medical providers are followed as written.
• Referral or monitoring of services needed to address maltreatment issues as appropriate, including referrals to DSS-provided clinical treatment such as TF-CBT. 
• Arrange/participate in Child and Family Team meetings and Shared Parenting process. Reviews the case plan as warranted by the family’s progress. 
• As required by policy conduct face-to-face visits with all children and interview each child regarding safety and well-being issues.
• Prepare children, biological parents and temporary safety providers for any changes in residence a child may experience while services are being provided. Assist families in understanding psychological safety and the difficulties children may experience when they experience moves and changes in their life.  
• Prepare children and their families for court when in home services are not successful and court action is sought. Participate in Prehearing conferences and prepare court reports by due dates so attorney’s receive reports prior to the court date.  
• Provide reasonable efforts to ensure children can remain safely in the custody of their parents or legal guardians.

•  Submit all vouchers, pay agreements, time sheets, mileage forms within policy guidelines. 
• Assist in maintaining the financial  security of the agency by completing daysheets accurately and timely, reflecting all daily work activities.
• Assist families in identifying service providers that are within their financial means and/or accept their insurance when available. 

• Attend case staffing, unit meetings and Division Meeting
• Complete all mandatory preservice training and 24 hours of additional training per year of service.
• This position also assists in disaster relief efforts that includes but is not limited to shelter duty. Assignment to emergency shelter duty during times of potentially dangerous or manmade disasters is an essential function of this position and you shall be required to fulfill these duties when instructed. 
• Position may perform other duties as assigned by the Social Work Supervisor III, Social Worker Program Administrator I, Social Work Program Manager, Director, and Deputy Director.

Minimum Qualifications

Minimum Training and Experience Requirements: Master’s degree from an accredited school of social work and one year of social work experience; or a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited school of social work and two years of social work or counseling experience; or Master’s degree in a counseling field and two years of social work or counseling experience; or a four-year degree in a human services field or related curriculum and three years of social work or counseling experience; or graduation from a four-year college or university and four years of experience in rehabilitation counseling, pastoral counseling or a related human service field providing experience in the techniques of casework, group work or community organization; or an equivalent combination of training and experience. One year of work experience can be credited for completion of the social work collaborative. 

Equivalent Training and Experience: MSW or BSW degrees are preferred. Other appropriate combinations of education and experience will be considered for trainee / work-against status. Directly related experience is defined as human services experience in the areas of case management, assessment and referral, supportive counseling, intervention, psycho-social therapy and treatment planning. 

Special Requirements
G.S. 153A-94.2(b) Subject to SBI criminal history record check prior to hire.
Must possess a valid North Carolina driver's license; any restrictions on North Carolina’s driver's license must not prohibit the performance of the essential functions of the position.

Other Qualifications