Child Welfare Placement Worker

Office of Shared Administration • Brooke, WV

3d

About The Position

These positions perform home-finding services in child welfare. They recruit, locate, and evaluate prospective kinship and resource care homes; train new and active home providers; conduct periodic provider reviews; and initiate corrective action plans when needed. The work involves interaction with professionals in social work, mental health, the courts, and the legal system, as well as written documentation of casework and related activities. Frequent travel using a personal vehicle is required, and after-hours or weekend emergencies may occur.

Workers identify and assess safe placement options for children who have experienced abuse or neglect, evaluate providers and their homes or facilities, and review whether placements continue to meet children's needs. They communicate with home providers about children's safety, well-being, and permanency; attend court hearings and testify; make appropriate placements; and evaluate progress toward safety, service, and treatment plan objectives and case disposition.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.
• Valid driver's license; the posting specifies a valid West Virginia driver's license.
• Accessibility to a phone.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Reliable transportation and ability to use a personal vehicle for frequent travel.
• Successful completion of a background check.
• No prior experience required.

Responsibilities

• Attend ongoing training to develop knowledge of state and federal social welfare laws, rules, regulations, and protocols regarding child abuse and neglect.
• Interview and visually observe prospective providers, their homes, or facilities to identify safe placement options for children who have experienced abuse or neglect.
• Assess prospective placement candidates using established guidelines to determine whether they can meet children's needs under current requirements.
• Review care providers to identify changes in family dynamics or problems that may have arisen since placement.
• Develop effective communication with new home providers addressing children's safety, well-being, and permanency.
• Attend court hearings, testify before the court, and arrange appropriate placements, including with relatives, in foster homes, or in residential treatment facilities.
• Evaluate families' or living environments' 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