Child Welfare Placement Worker

Office of Shared Administration • Statewide, WV

3d

About The Position

These positions perform home-finding services in child welfare. Workers recruit, locate, and evaluate prospective foster care homes; train new and active home providers; conduct periodic provider reviews; and initiate corrective action plans when needed. They work with professionals in social work, mental health, courts, and the legal system, and document casework and related activities. The work involves frequent travel in a personal vehicle and may require after-hours and weekend emergency availability.

Workers attend ongoing training on state and federal social welfare laws, regulations, and evolving protocols concerning child abuse and neglect. They identify and assess safe placement options, review providers and placements, communicate with foster home providers, attend court hearings and testify, make appropriate placements, and evaluate family or living-environment progress toward safety, service, and treatment objectives.

A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university is required; no experience is required. Applicants must have a valid driver's license, reliable transportation, access to a phone, and strong oral and written communication skills. Detailed case records and extensive documentation are required. Overtime and frequent travel may be required, and successful completion of a background check is required. Positions are statewide in West Virginia.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.
• No experience required.
• Valid driver's license; applicants specifically must possess a valid West Virginia driver's license.
• Reliable transportation and frequent travel using a personal vehicle.
• Accessibility to a phone.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to maintain detailed case records and extensive documentation.
• Successful completion of a background check.
• Overtime and frequent travel may be required; after-hours and weekend emergencies may occur.

Responsibilities

• Attend ongoing training on state and federal social welfare laws, rules, regulations, and protocols regarding child abuse and neglect.
• Recruit, locate, interview, and evaluate prospective foster care providers and homes or facilities for safe placement options.
• Assess prospective placement candidates using established guidelines to determine whether children's needs can be met.
• Train new and active home providers and develop effective communication with foster home providers about children's safety, well-being, and permanency.
• Conduct periodic reviews of care providers and identify dynamics or problems that may have arisen since placement; initiate corrective action plans when needed.
• Attend court hearings, testify before the court, and arrange appropriate placements, including with relatives, in foster homes, or in residential treatment facilities.
• Evaluate family or living-environment progress toward safety, service, and treatment plan objectives, determine whether plans need modification, and assess eventual case disposition.
• Maintain detailed case records and extensive written documentation of casework and related activities.
• Perform related work as required.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level