CPS Hotline Specialist III (Social Services Specialist III)

Fairfax County • Fairfax (Ej27), VA

11d • Onsite

About The Position

This position works within our department's Division of Children, Youth and Families (CYF) to receive, evaluate and document reports of suspected child abuse and neglect. DFS is committed to strengthening the well-being of its diverse community by protecting and improving the lives of all children, adults, and families through assistance, partnership, advocacy, outreach, and quality services. This specialist position is a member of the Child Protective Services (CPS) Hotline. The primary responsibility of this position is to document reports (i.e., telephone, oral, written, fax, and/or email) of child abuse and/or neglect; serve as a policy expert on the related Virginia Code; and to assess the nature and extent of need. Must work during county observed Holidays when Fairfax County Public Schools are operational.

Requirements

• Knowledge of child protection laws, rules, and regulations.
• Knowledge of conducting child protective services assessment and investigation.
• Knowledge of foster care and adoption laws, rules, and regulations.
• Ability to assess safety and risk.
• Ability to perform comprehensive assessment.
• Ability to interview, assess needs, counsel, and refer clients to other resources as needed.
• Possess critical thinking skills, ability to apply critical thinking, knowledge, and research.
• Ability to meet deadlines and keep up with documentation.
• Thorough knowledge of the principles and practices of social work.
• Thorough knowledge of current social service problems and methods/approaches to address issues.
• Thorough knowledge of regulations and guidelines relating to the assigned area of social service specialization.
• Knowledge of casework supervision practices and procedures.
• Ability to analyze case information and to reach sound decisions on the basis of such information.
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
• Ability to use automated technology to establish and maintain case records.
• Ability to maintain professional ethics and confidentiality of client information.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with a variety of individuals.
• Ability to schedule and manage workload sufficiently to meet deadlines.
• Ability to provide guidance, direction, supervision and coaching to less-experienced staff.
• Ability to provide management and oversight of a program or project.
• 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.
• Valid driver’s license
• Must complete a criminal background check, child protective services, and driving record check.

Nice To Haves

• Master's degree in social work (MSW) or a related human services degree.
• Experience in child protective services investigations and/or on-going.
• Experience working with CPS computer automated systems (i.e., Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) database such as SPIDeR and OASIS)
• Fluent in Spanish and English.

Responsibilities

• Evaluates and determines if the reported information of child abuse and/neglect meets the statutory and agency guidelines for child maltreatment.
• Serves as subject matter expert surrounding state and local policies on screening child abuse and neglect referrals.
• Implements and leads the Review, Evaluate, and Direct (RED) Team of CYF Safe & Connected Model to determine the validity, response time, and track assignment for reports of child abuse and neglect.
• Provides information and referral resources, and brief (immediate) crisis intervention to callers for referrals/inquiries that do not warrant a CPS intervention.
• Uses automated technology in multiple systems to support the decision-making and assignment process.
• Documents all validated and invalidated referrals in the automated computer systems, OASIS in accordance with state and local policy.
• Assigns validated referrals by alerting assigned worker/supervisor of referral.
• Provides an overview of the CPS Hotline process to staff, supervisors, and managers.
• Performs other duties as assigned to ensure child safety and improve outcomes in families.

Benefits

• All Fairfax County Government employees are expected to adhere to the Standards of Conduct.
• In maintaining a drug free workplace, employees are prohibited from manufacturing, distributing, possessing, using or being under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs while at work or on county premises.

What This Job Offers

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