County Caseworker 2 (LG) - Luzerne County Child Welfare (Multiple Vacancies)

Luzerne County•Wilkes-Barre, PA

8h•Onsite

About The Position

Employees in this class provide social and case management services to children, youth, families, and others to help them achieve improved social, economic, emotional, or physical adjustment. The work involves gathering essential information, counseling clients and family members, helping them access available resources, applying problem-solving techniques, supporting service-plan goals, monitoring client behavior, and coordinating with agencies in the service network. Employees follow established regulations, policies, and procedures while exercising initiative and judgment. They may supervise paraprofessional or clerical staff. Work is reviewed by a professional social service or administrative supervisor through individual and group conferences and review of records and reports. Positions may serve in several child-welfare units. Unit work may include adolescent and family services; independent-living education and case management for foster youth; permanency planning and family service plans; child abuse and neglect intake, safety assessment, and protective services; referral screening; general protective services; or recruitment, evaluation, training, approval, support, and placement work with resource families. Duties across units may include family visitation, court preparation, community-service coordination, documentation, and ensuring child safety and well-being. This is a full-time, permanent position with required on-call coverage. The stated schedule is 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., totaling 75 hours bi-weekly. Vacancies are in Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton.

Requirements

Meet the minimum experience and training qualifications through at least one of the following: six months of experience as a County Caseworker 1; successful completion of the County Social Casework Intern program; a bachelor’s degree with a social welfare major; a bachelor’s degree including or supplemented by 12 college credits in sociology, social welfare, psychology, gerontology, criminal justice, or related social sciences plus one year of professional social casework experience in a public or private social services agency; or an equivalent combination of experience and training that includes 12 credits in the listed or related social sciences.
Knowledge of current social case management principles, techniques, and methods.
Knowledge of social, economic, and health problems and resources and their effects on human growth and development.
Knowledge of individual and group development and behavior and methods for working effectively with adults and children experiencing social, economic, emotional, or health problems.
Knowledge of basic program interpretation and community organization principles and methods.
Knowledge of social welfare policy and law as they relate to agency functions, purpose, and societal structures.
Ability to work effectively with people and help them use their potential constructively to address problems.
Ability to understand and accept others’ needs and rights and work with adults and children who are physically challenged, emotionally troubled, or economically disadvantaged.
Ability to conduct individual and family interviews and use them to identify problems.
Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with clients, families, staff, outside agencies and institutions, and the public.
Ability to plan and organize work, prepare records and reports, set priorities, and maintain a caseload effectively and promptly.
Ability to plan, organize, and direct the work of others.
Ability to interpret and apply laws, regulations, and policies governing agency services.
Ability to express ideas adequately orally and in writing.
For selection, meet the minimum qualifications; have no discipline above a written reprimand during the 12 months preceding the posting closing date; have a most recent due overall regular or probationary performance evaluation above unsatisfactory; and, for the stated seniority criterion, have worked as a Caseworker 1 for at least six months, completed the University of Pittsburgh Foundations of Pennsylvania Child Welfare Practice course and the Individual Training Needs Assessment (ITNA) with a casework supervisor, and provided official course-completion documentation by the posting closing date of 06/22/2026.
Applicants must qualify under at least one recruitment method: transfer, reassignment, or reinstatement.
Submit all requested application materials as directed in the application instructions.

Responsibilities

Provide social and case management services to children, youth, families, and others.
Gather information, counsel clients and family members, and help them use available resources.
Apply problem-solving techniques, support service-plan goals, monitor client behavior, and coordinate with agencies in the service network.
Develop, monitor, and update family service plans with families to support children’s return home and timely permanency planning.
Conduct family visitation, prepare for court, link families to community services, provide family support, and complete required documentation.
Assess reports of child abuse or neglect, evaluate child and family safety and needs, and take appropriate measures to protect children.
Provide ongoing protective and treatment services, coordinate community resources, and work to preserve or reunite families when appropriate.
Screen new referrals, assess whether agency intervention is appropriate, refer families to community resources, alert supervisors to urgent referrals, document referral information, and distribute referrals to the appropriate unit.
Recruit, evaluate, train, approve, and support resource foster and foster/adopt families; assess placement needs and locate appropriate settings for children.
Provide or coordinate independent-living education and life-skills services for eligible foster youth.
Prepare and maintain records and reports, plan and organize work, set priorities, and manage a caseload effectively and on time.
Interpret and apply relevant laws, regulations, policies, and procedures.
May plan, organize, and direct the work of paraprofessional or clerical staff.