SENIOR CHILD PROTECTIVE INVESTIGATOR - 60070811 1

State of Florida•Pensacola, FL

About The Position

This is professional work protecting children and working with families to conduct investigations of alleged abused, abandoned, neglected or exploited children. This position will assume an individual contributor role and be a model of child protection practice to other Child Protective Investigators (CPIs). Senior Child Protective Investigator duties and responsibilities are as follows.

Requirements

A Bachelor’s degree;
Must have valid Child Welfare Certification from the Florida Certification Board.
Must have a minimum of 2 years CPI experience
Must possess a valid driver’s license; and
Must possess operational private vehicle for use in the performance of daily work activities. Selected applicants are required to provide proof of vehicle registration and documentation of the appropriate insurance coverage. The Department provides a Vehicle Insurance Allowance to assist with the cost of insurance coverage due to the use of private vehicle for work purposes.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in social work from a college or university social work program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education is preferred. Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees from an accredited college or university in any other discipline are acceptable for this requirement.

Responsibilities

Conducts investigations regarding allegations of abuse, neglect, abandonment and/or special conditions for children;
Provides subject matter expertise to help less experienced CPIs build increased capacity in investigative skills
Provides case consultation and advises and/or co-investigates complex cases with other CPIs to assure appropriateness, clarity, quality and thoroughness;
Collects information through observation and interviews with the children, parents, relatives, neighbors, and other parties associated with the case, as well as analysis of criminal, past service history and other records;
Engages families to understand the family’s perspectives about family dynamics, challenges and solutions, identifies needs and determines the level of intervention needed to include voluntary services or court ordered dependency services;
Assesses danger threats, child vulnerabilities and caregiver protective capacities in order to determine whether a child is safe or not safe;
Develops with family and other persons as necessary any required present and/or impending danger plans based on analysis of danger threats in operation;
Manages and modifies safety plans as necessary during the course of the investigation;
Arranges emergency placement for any child that cannot safely remain in the home;
Notifies state attorney, law enforcement, child protection team and other required individuals as appropriate;
Provides written present and impending danger assessments;
Completes Risk Assessment on families investigated and explains risk score to family;
Conducts staffing required for families with risk scores that are High and Very High Risk;
Presents safety plan and impending danger assessment at case management case transfer staffing and participates in discussion as to recommended follow-up actions;
Provides families with services linkages to agency and community resources based on needs assessment and provides recommendations for development of case plan to Case Manager;
Conducts initial/ongoing child present and impending danger assessments;
Develops with the family a signed Present Danger Plan and a signed safety plan for any identified threats and interventions;
Schedules and gathers information for and participates in case staffing;
Prepares appropriate reports/documentation in coordination with Children’s Legal Services and provides testimony in court;
Maintains thorough documentation in the client records/appropriate information system(s) and maintains organized client files;
Reports indication of abuse, neglect and/or abandonment to the Florida Abuse Hotline;
Establishes and maintains cooperative and professional working relationships with organizations and other agencies involved with child protective investigations such as community based providers, Children’s Legal Services, law enforcement, medical personnel, schools, and other community/agency resources;
Ensures effective communication with deaf or hard-of hearing customers or companions in accordance with the ADA and/or Section 504 and shall manage service records and report this data and any resources and/or training needs to their designated program point of contact.