Social Worker III - Adoptions

Nash County•Nashville, NC

15h•Onsite

About The Position

The primary purpose of the Adoption Unit is to facilitate the adoption of children who are legally cleared or whose permanency plan has been changed to adoption. This role provides case management services to children who are neglected, abused, and/or dependent, and offers counseling to prospective placement families. The unit also recruits, assesses, and trains prospective placement families using the Trauma Informed Partnering for Safety and Permanence: Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting (TIPS-MAPP) curriculum. The social worker's role encompasses providing problem pregnancy services to birth families, evaluating a child's needs (including eligibility for Adoption Assistance benefits), and assessing prospective families' ability to meet a child's needs. The agency is committed to finding the best home for every child cleared for adoption, protecting the rights of all parties involved, and assisting adoptive parents before and after the Decree of Adoption. Responsibilities may include completing relative/stepparent/independent adoptive home assessments and submitting required reports to the court.

Requirements

Thorough knowledge of social work principles, techniques, and practices and their application to complex casework and community problems.
Considerable knowledge of family and group dynamics and a range of intervention techniques.
Considerable knowledge of developmental stages and tasks, human behavior, and socioeconomic problems and their treatment.
Considerable knowledge of governmental and private organizations and other resources within the community.
Considerable knowledge of laws, regulations, and policies which govern Child Protective Services.
General knowledge of methods and principles of casework supervision and training.
Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with clients, associates, administrative superiors, and various organizations.
Ability to supervise, train, or orient prospective adoptive and foster parents, lower-level employees, students, or interns.
Ability to express ideas clearly and concisely — orally and in writing.
Ability to plan and execute work effectively.
Ability to operate an automobile.
Ability to use a personal computer and access the State Network.
Ability to effectively function under stress and to deal with conflict situations and personalities.
Ability to function with a high level of autonomy.
Master’s degree in social work from an accredited school of social work; OR Bachelor's degree in social work from an accredited school of social work and completion of the Child Welfare Collaborative; OR Bachelor’s degree in social work from an accredited school of social work and one year of directly related experience; OR Master’s degree in a human service field and one year of directly related experience; OR Bachelor’s degree in a human services field from an accredited university and two years of directly related experience; OR Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university and three years of directly related experience.
Minimum North Carolina automobile liability insurance.
Valid North Carolina driver’s license.
Completion of preservice training.

Nice To Haves

Experience with the Trauma Informed Partnering for Safety and Permanence: Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting (TIPS-MAPP) curriculum.

Responsibilities

Facilitate the legal clearance of children, including termination of parental rights, obtaining consents to adoption, and denial of paternity.
Present cases, provide court testimony, and make recommendations regarding case disposition.
Consult with supervisors, staff attorneys, co-workers, service providers, and other experts on agency custody cases.
Complete an assessment/evaluation of the child and prepare a pre-adoptive summary, including birth and developmental history, background information, medical records, and psychological reports.
Provide counseling to children prior to adoptive placement, including positive reinforcement, behavior modification, and grief counseling.
Help children understand their biological heritage and placement history and arrange pre-placement visitation with adoptive families.
Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of prospective adoptive families to determine their capacity to parent an adoptive child.
Assess families' readiness to parent and the characteristics of a child who would benefit from their home, using the TIPS-MAPP curriculum.
Gather necessary documentation for pre-placement assessments, including applications, financial information, medical records, criminal background checks, fingerprint results, reference letters, and divorce decrees.
Present assessments to prospective families for review and correction, and then to agency committees for approval.
Circulate finalized assessments to other agencies to determine the appropriateness of child placement.
Provide assistance to adoptive families to ensure a child's physical, mental, and emotional needs are met.
Provide counseling to adoptive parents on child development, coping with abnormalities, resolving guilt, separation, and attachment issues.
Help families understand children's low self-esteem and encourage patience and sensitivity.
Utilize interventions such as problem identification, client advocacy, problem-solving, role-playing, environmental guidance, therapy, cognitive trauma-focused therapy, behavior enactments, and positive reinforcement.
Document the progress of children in adoptive placements and submit reports to the placement county.
File necessary reports with the court until the child's adoption is completed.
Communicate with other agencies to recruit adoptive families for children cleared for adoption.
Circulate Pre-adoptive Summaries among DSS agencies and licensed private adoption agencies.
Utilize recruitment resources such as the Adoptive Resource Exchange, NC Kids, and AdoptUSKids.
Share information about waiting children with social workers in other counties and agencies.
Provide casework intervention and counseling to individuals with unplanned pregnancies to explore alternatives like abortion, adoption, or parenting.
Assist individuals in obtaining and utilizing other needed services, such as maternity home placement, health services, Medicaid, housing, and daycare.
Complete applications for State Maternity Home Funds.
Speak to community groups about the agency's adoption program.
Attend Adoption Orientation Meetings to provide information on pre-placement assessment requirements, adoption laws, policies, procedures, and waiting children.
Gather medical and psychological information regarding a child's special needs and make recommendations for Adoption Assistance benefits.
Complete documentation for initial eligibility and assist with managing vendor payments for authorized services.
Manage Medicaid benefits for eligible children.
Determine eligibility for Foster Care funding, At-Risk Medicaid Case Management Services, state Maternity Home Funds, and AFDC-Emergency Assistance.
Manage funds by authorizing payments when the agency is the representative payee for Social Security and Supplemental Security Income.
Represent the Unit on interagency teams and community boards.
Obtain at least twenty-four hours of training annually after initial training.
Work in emergency shelters and/or perform related disaster tasks.
Perform other reasonable tasks requested by their immediate supervisor.