Family Services Specialist IV - AS/APS

New LHRC External Career Site•Woodstock, VA

About The Position

If you are looking for an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children, families, seniors and people with disabilities and want to work in a positive, strength-based, and flexible environment, consider a career in human services with Shenandoah County Social Services. We strive every day to engage with families and assist them in obtaining the tools they need to make positive and sustainable changes. We are dedicated to advocating for the people we serve and collaborating with them to strengthen their natural support system. We are committed to ensuring that our team of professionals have the tools and resources they need to provide exemplary service to the citizens of our community. Employee wellness is essential to our mission. If you are interested in starting the next chapter of your professional development in the most rewarding field, we invite you to apply with our team. Shenandoah County Social Services is located in beautiful Woodstock, Virginia approximately 30 miles south of Winchester and 30 miles north of Harrisonburg. Known for its majestic mountain views, the winding seven bends of the Shenandoah River and its small town charm, Shenandoah County is the perfect place to live and work. Title Description- This is the beginning leadership level in the occupational group for Family Services. Employees function as a lead worker for subordinate family services specialists and/or acts as an expert resource specialist. Employees serve as support for the supervisor by performing tasks such as ensuring staff coverage, workload balance, training staff, reviewing case files, and providing back-up supervision of staff. Employees may provide consultation on complex cases and may also work on complex case assignments such as individual and group therapy, crisis intervention, case management, client advocacy, prevention, and education. Employees work within established policies, procedures and guidelines with a high degree of independence, seeking supervisory assistance only in unusually complicated and difficult cases/situations. The Family Services Specialists IV class is distinguished from the Family Services Supervisor class by the latter’s spending a majority of time in supervisory activities such as handling personnel issues, problems, and evaluating the work of others.

Requirements

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 (Section 22VAC40-670-20 of the Administrative Code of Virginia).
Considerable experience in assigned program area/human services programs and completion of required training programs.
Work experience in a leadership role.
Equivalent combination of training and experience which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities.

Nice To Haves

Possession of a BSW or MSW degree and a Commonwealth of Virginia Social Worker license are desirable.
Minimum of 5 years' experience with LDSS

Responsibilities

Provides persons, families, or vulnerable populations with the psychosocial support needed to cope with chronic, acute, or terminal illnesses, neglect and abuse
Ensures that reports of suspected abuse/neglect are assigned to appropriate staff
Ensures that the local department has staff on duty 24 hours per day, seven days per week to respond to reports of abuse/neglect
Provides guidance, consultation and supervision to other staff in the absence of the supervisor
Prepares social histories and psychosocial diagnoses and develops treatment plans which identify problems, clinical methods for dealing with them, and the means by which services will be provided either within the agency or through referral to other community resources
Represents the agency in both civil and criminal court proceedings which involves interpreting laws, filing petitions, preparing court records, testifying before the court, preparing witnesses for examination, and compiling evidence
Provides direct intervention and service delivery for difficult, complex social work cases, and coordinates casework
Develops and conducts training for staff, interns and other professionals in the community
Supervises social work interns by guiding them in their service delivery, assessing their strengths and weaknesses, and communicating with the school liaison about their progress
Conducts field visits to residential facilities, consults with therapists and residential staff and participates in the staffing and planning of meetings
Functions as a lead worker providing guidance and training to other staff
May perform same functions described in Family Services Specialist III
Coordinates program functions, develops programs, and evaluates materials