Family Services Specialist IV

New LHRC External Career Site•King and Queen Court House, VA

15d

About The Position

King and Queen County is a very rural county that was established in 1691. The county is named for King William III and Queen Mary II of England. The county has a total area of 326 square miles, of which 315 square miles is land and 11 square miles is water. Measuring 72 miles in length, it is known as the longest county in the state of Virginia. Driving through the County, there are many farms and breath-taking natural scenery to enjoy. King and Queen County contains no incorporated towns or cities, and remains one of Virginia’s most sparsely-populated counties. The population is approximately 7000. If you desire to work in the country, King and Queen County is the perfect setting for you. King and Queen County is seeking a compassionate Family Services Specialist IV seeking to make a difference in the lives of children, families, and vulnerable adults. Are you looking for a flexible work environment in a rural county where you can do meaningful work helping people every day? Do you thrive in a team-based approach to human services? Do you want to work with a community of dedicated professionals? If you do, we are looking for you. This is an opportunity to work in a county that appreciates their employees and values excellent service to their residents. Our ideal candidate will work well independently and collaboratively with a team, demonstrate a passion for working with the community and a desire to help people achieve their goals. 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

Comprehensive knowledge of: social work principles and practices; human behavior and motivational theory; laws, policies, and regulations relating to human services program areas; investigating and interviewing techniques; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders; principles and processes for providing customer and personal services to include needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of satisfaction; principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance; and therapeutic treatment technique. Some knowledge of supervisory practices and principles if required in specific assignment.
Skill in: operating a personal computer and the associated software; and the operation of a motor vehicle.
Demonstrated ability to: provide guidance and training in program areas to other employees if required in specific assignment; write court reports, home studies, evaluations, mediation agreements, letters, committee reports, presentations, and general information; make clinical judgments, assess clients’ needs, and formulate plan of action; communicate effectively both orally and in writing; interview, assess needs, counsel and refer clients to other resources as needed; investigate high profile cases; testify in court proceedings; develop and present training programs and other presentations; interpret program laws, policies and regulations; develop and implement service plans in order to insure the delivery of appropriate services to the client; analyze case information to make sound judgments within the framework of existing laws, policies, and regulations; respond to the client's emotions in order to accomplish services objectives; develop speeches and represent the agency on program training and workshops; work in stressful situations and maintain diplomacy; plan and manage own work activities including service delivery preparing reports, and correspondence, record keeping responsibilities and related activities; establish and maintain effective relationships with others; and stay abreast of current trends and developments in the social work field.
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. Possession of a BSW or MSW degree and a Commonwealth of Virginia Social Worker license are desirable.

Nice To Haves

Work experience with a Local Department of Social Services (LDSS) in Family Services.
Experience conducting family assessments and investigations.
Possession of a BSW or MSW degree.

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