Family Services Specialist II

Virginia Department of Social Services•Chesapeake, VA

11d•Onsite

About The Position

This job announcement is a courtesy job post for the Chesapeake County local Social Services agency. It is not a position of the Virginia Department of Social Services or any other Commonwealth of Virginia agency. Local employment opportunities may also be available through the local agency’s city or county website/job board(s). The selected candidate will investigate CPS referrals concerning allegations of child abuse/neglect, assess child safety and risk utilizing a variety of structured decision-making tools, interviews, and observations. They will prepare court documents related to child safety and appear in court hearings to testify. The role involves making sound decisions pertaining to child safety, including removing children from their homes and placing them with relatives or in foster care. Collaboration with law enforcement, mental health professionals, and emergency medical services partners is essential during investigations and assessments. The position supports a demanding caseload, requires modeling professional behavior and best practices from the Virginia Services Practice Model, and involves completing tasks related to Child Protective Services Intake procedures. The candidate must have strong attention to detail and be able to work in a fast-paced environment. Other duties include conducting interviews or investigations, making client/family assessments, formulating and implementing plans, screening interstate referrals, and reviewing home study information. Providing individual and group counseling, preparing purchase orders for client services, negotiating provider rates, confirming provider availability, and processing invoices are also part of the role. The specialist will interact and coordinate with other agencies and community members, make referrals for social services, and conduct home visits to supervise and document family interactions. Direct services to clients/families, such as teaching life skills, providing mediation counseling, and accompanying clients to appointments, will be provided. The role involves collecting and compiling data, preparing reports, maintaining files, and developing program forms. Emergency services/crisis intervention, court involvement for client protection, testifying in legal proceedings, and providing client placement are required. Conducting pre-service foster parent orientations and classes, recruiting and training volunteers, and providing public information on eligibility and services are also duties. Routine office tasks like dictating case notes, data entry, typing, filing, and telephoning are expected. The specialist will conduct training classes for service providers, certify/recertify providers, and attend professional workshops. Rotation through various service provider roles in areas such as CPS, foster care, and adoption is part of the job.

Requirements

A minimum of a bachelor’s degree in the human services field, including Social Work, Rehabilitation Counseling, Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Counseling Psychology, Counseling and Guidance, Counselor Education, Human Services, Sociology, Family and Child Development, Aging Studies, Gerontology, Criminal Justice with a minor in one of the above studies, or other related degrees determined by the Department of Human Resources based on the similarity of the curriculum and course content.
A minimum of a bachelor’s degree in any field accompanied by a minimum of two years of appropriate and related, full-time equivalent experience in a human services related area.
A minimum of two years of appropriate and related, full-time equivalent experience.
A valid driver’s license and a driving record that is in compliance with City Driving Standards.
Emergency Duty (On-Call) participation is required to comply with mandated responsibilities as listed under Section 63.2-1503,B; Section 63.2-900; and 63.2-1604-63.2-1610, Code of Virginia.
Employees may be expected to work hours in excess of their normally scheduled hours in response to short-term departmental needs and/or City-wide emergencies.

Nice To Haves

Current experience working for Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) or have prior VDSS experience in Child Protective Services (CPS)
Experience in Child Welfare
Experience or knowledge of OASIS
Experience writing service plans, reports, or other related types of reports
Experience in assigned program area and completion of required training programs or equivalent combination of training and experience which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities.

Responsibilities

Investigate CPS referrals concerning allegations of child abuse/neglect, assess child safety and risk utilizing a variety of structured decision-making tools, interviews, and observations.
Prepare court documents related to child safety and appear in a variety of court hearings to testify in cases.
Make sound decisions pertaining to child safety to include removing children from their home and placing children with relatives or in foster care.
Collaborate with law enforcement, mental health professionals, and emergency medical services partners when conducting CPS investigations and assessments.
Support a demanding caseload to include investigations and family assessment referrals.
Model professional behavior and best practices from the Virginia Services Practice Model.
Complete tasks related to Child Protective Services Intake procedures.
Conducts interviews or investigations and makes client/family assessments; formulates and implements plan; screens interstate referrals; sends out and reviews home study information.
Provides individual and group counseling for client and family.
Prepares purchase orders for client services, and negotiates provider rates; confirms provider availability and service authorization; verifies client information; processes invoices for payment.
Interacts/coordinates with other agencies, organizations, or family/community members to provide services for client and family/prior custodians; makes referrals for other social services.
Conducts home visits to supervise, observe, and document family interactions, activities, and environment; establishes schedule with parents/prior custodians for child visitation.
Provides direct services to clients/families including teaching basic living, parenting, budgeting, or employment skills, providing mediation counseling, and accompanying clients to appointments.
Collects and compiles information/data, and prepares periodic and special reports; maintains files/records for area of responsibility; develops program forms.
Provides emergency services/crisis intervention for clients/families; protects clients through court involvement; testifies at local, state, and judicial appeals; provides client placement as needed.
Conducts pre-service foster parent orientations and classes to evaluate/screen applicants; recruits and conducts training classes and orientations for volunteers.
Provides information to public on eligibility requirements and available services for assigned area.
Performs routine office tasks such as dictating case notes, data entry, typing correspondence or forms, filing, faxing, telephoning, or photocopying.
Conducts training classes for service providers; certifies and recertifies approved providers; attends professional workshops and seminars to improve professional skills.
Rotates through various service provider roles in such areas as CPS, foster care, and adoption.