Social Worker I or II - Children's Social Services Division

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Social Worker I or II - Children's Social Services Division

Salary

$66,019.20 - $90,064.00 Annually

Location

Multiple Locations, MN

Job Type

Full Time

Job Number

24-00065

Department

Community Services Dept

Division

Social Services Childrens Division

Opening Date

06/20/2024

Closing Date

7/7/2024 11:59 PM Central

• Description

• Benefits

• Questions

JOB SPECIFICS

Washington County Community Services is hiring child protection social workers for our Hiring, On-boarding and Training Team. This position will begin training in child protection while awaiting a vacancy on one of the five child protection teams. There are two front end teams (Intake/Investigations and Family Assessments) and three ongoing child protection teams (including some specialty areas such as concurrent permanency planning and adolescent services). Front end services are fast faced and respond to reports of child abuse and neglect. Those positions involve engagement with families, safety planning, written assessments, connecting families to services and working with several external partners, including the court system. Ongoing child protection services includes voluntary and court involved families, working with children, youth and their parents or caregivers, including kids who are in their home and kids in out of home placement. Parents may be struggling with mental health, chemical health, school attendance, abuse, neglect, parenting issues, or other issues that have led to needing services and support. For all areas of child protection, safety of all family members is a priority, along with permanency and wellbeing. Someone who enjoys helping family systems, finding natural supports, locating community resources and services, examining risk vs. safety, working collaboratively, and believes in family preservation whenever safely possible would be a good fit for this position.

This is a new way for Washington County to onboard child protection social workers, so the ideal candidate will be flexible with working through this new process, be willing to provide feedback on what is going well and what needs improvement and can be open to working in any area of child protection. This position will require strong skills at engagement, time management, organization, and the ability to respond calmly and appropriately in high emotion situations. The ability to be timely and accurate at documentation is critical in child protection. Child protection positions require strong working relationships with parents, courts, Guardians ad Litem, relatives, foster care providers, schools, and mental health professionals. There will be occasional evenings involved and transporting children in and out of Washington County. The ideal candidate for this position will be flexible and able to providing support and empathy for parents going through the child protection system. This position will support families in an equitable manner while still meeting the statutory guidelines.

There is flexibility in primary office location between Cottage Grove, Stillwater and Forest Lake.

DESIRABLE EXPERIENCE:

• Master's Degree in Social Work (or closely related field)

• Experience interacting with and providing services to individuals from a variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds

• One year of paid social work experience in a county agency

• Work experience as a Social Worker in Child Protection

• Paid work experience as a social worker working with children and families

• Experience using SSIS

SELECTION TECHNIQUE: Your training and experience will be rated based on the required application material submitted and the top scoring candidates will be forwarded to the hiring department for further consideration.

HOURS / DAYS: 8:00 - 4:30 Monday - Friday at the Stillwater Office. Work schedules (hours and days) and location are subject to change based on department needs. Flexible Work environment available based on experience.

ANTICIPATED HIRING RANGE: $66,019.20 - $90,064.00 Annually (This position may be hired at the Social Worker II (https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/washingtonmn/classspecs/811901?keywords=social%20worker&pagetype=classSpecifications) level, depending on qualifications.)

E-Verify Participation: Washington County participates in the federal E-Verify program. This means that Washington County will provide the Social Security Administration (SSA) and, if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with information from each new employee's Form I-9 to confirm work authorization. If the Government cannot confirm that you are authorized to work, Washington County is required to give you written instructions and an opportunity to contact DHS and/or the SSA before taking adverse action against you, including terminating your employment. Employers may not use E-Verify to pre-screen job applicants and may not limit or influence the choice of documents you present for use on the Form I-9.

E- Verify Participation Poster (https://web1.co.washington.mn.us/NeoGovNotices/HR/2024/E-Verify_Participation_Poster_Eng_Es.pdf) (Download PDF reader) (https://get.adobe.com/reader/)

Right to work Poster (Download PDF reader) (https://get.adobe.com/reader/)

JOB SUMMARY

The Social Worker I is an entry level position responsible for identifying and assessing complex individual, family and community problems and strengths, selecting case work, group methods or community resources and implementing plans to protect vulnerable people, promote independence and prevent abuse or neglect.

A Social Worker I may be assigned duties in any of the following units: Family/Children, Licensing, Chemical Health, Adult Mental Health, Development Disabilities, Adult Family Services, Adult Protection, Minnesota Family Investment Program/WorkForce Center or Housing.

EMPLOYMENT CRITERIA

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: This position requires a Bachelor's Degree in social work or related field, or equivalent.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS: A Master's Degree in Social Work or related field and one year of related experience as a Social Worker is highly desirable.

Bachelor's Degree in Social Work or related field and four years of full-time work experience as a Social Worker in a public human services agency and/or a private human services agency that contracts services with a public human services agency. A Master's Degree in Social Work or related field may substitute for up to one year of required Social Worker experience. Required Social Work experience must have occurred after receipt of Bachelor's Degree.

Additional requirements for specific unit assignments will be identified when a vacancy occurs.

CORE COMPETENCIES (http://www.co.washington.mn.us/DocumentCenter/View/5174) CORE COMPETENCIES, JOB SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES REQUIRED FOR SUCCESSFUL JOB PERFORMANCE

Core Competencies (http://www.co.washington.mn.us/DocumentCenter/View/5174) outline essential business and professional traits necessary to perform this job.

• Promote a diverse, culturally competent, and respectful workplace;

• Demonstrates knowledge of the principles, techniques, practices and ethics of Social Work;

• Demonstrates knowledge of interviewing techniques and skills at conducting interviews;

• Demonstrates knowledge of relevant laws, policies and resources;

• Demonstrates knowledge of social and economic problems and family systems;

• Demonstrates knowledge of legal and court proceedings;

• Demonstrates ability to assess vulnerabilities and strengths of individuals and families;

• Demonstrates ability to develop clear and reasonable services and plans;

• Demonstrates ability to coordinate implementation of services and plans with families, other agencies and the community at large;

• Demonstrates ability to counsel and offer supportive services to individuals and families including those in crisis; and

• Demonstrates ability to apply previously acquired knowledge and skills to complex situations.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Coordinate client intake:

• Receive referrals, conduct interviews and investigate to identify and assess problems or need for intervention/service;

• Develop, write, implement and monitor strength-based individual and family service plans to correct/eliminate identified problems;

• Determine appropriate resources and referrals to community-based care and services; and

• Develop and implement abuse prevention plans to address vulnerabilities.

Determine and implement intervention services:

• Assess risks to self and others (abuse or neglect and dangerousness);

• Intervene in crisis situations;

• Coordinate and secure emergency services; and

• Negotiate and resolve conflicts.

Provide client case management:

• Collaborate and consult with others (professional staff and community agencies) regarding clients, community services or programs;

• Open and maintain client case records and files according to established standards and timelines,

• Prepare necessary correspondence, required narratives, eligibility reviews and other incoming/outgoing communication about the client;

• Provide appropriate information regarding case openings, closings, and denials;

• Provide testimony or written recommendations in county or district court or in administrative appeal hearings regarding client cases;

• Advise clients of possible resources, rights and responsibilities under programs or services; and

• Develop, coordinate and deliver program information to the general public, special interest groups and professional organizations.

Perform other duties as assigned.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Semi-sedentary involving office and outside field work. Lifting requirement may include lifting up to 20 pounds. Exposures may include but not be limited to disagreeable odors, communicable diseases, bodily fluids and behavior challenges. Use of general office equipment to include telephone, cell phone, pager, personal computer, laptop computer, electronic recorder, calculator, etc. Additional physical/mental requirements that occur may not be listed above, but are inherent in performing the position's essential functions.

This job description is intended to describe the kinds of tasks and level of work difficulty being performed by people assigned to this classification. The list of responsibilities is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. The County retains the discretion to add or change the contents of this job description at any time.

Washington County offers a comprehensive benefit package (https://web1.co.washington.mn.us/NeoGovNotices/SHR/2022/Employee_Benefits.pdf) including paid time off, holidays, medical, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurance.

For a more detailed overview of our AFSCME exempt (salaried ) benefit package, click here (https://www.co.washington.mn.us/DocumentCenter/View/50324/AFSCME-Exempt-Benefit-Synopsis-PDF) .

For a more detailed overview of our AFSCME non-exempt (hourly) benefit package, click here (https://www.co.washington.mn.us/DocumentCenter/View/55122/AFSCME-Non-Exempt-Benefit-Synopsis-PDF) .

01

Do you possess the following minimum qualifications for this position: Bachelor's Degree in Social Work or related field and four years of full-time work experience as a Social Worker in a human services agency? A Master's Degree in Social Work or related field may substitute for up to one year of required Social Worker experience.

• Yes

• No

  02

  If you answered "Yes" to the above question, you must provide a brief summary of your experience and the name of the employer(s) where you gained that experience. (If you answered "No" to the above question, enter "NA" in the text box.)

  03

  Do you have a Master's Degree in Social Work (or closely related field)?

• Yes

• No

  04

  The work performed in this role requires interaction and providing services to individuals from a variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Please check the areas below that best describe your experience:

• I have experience using a translator/interpreter for a family or person who requires this service.

• I have completed professional or educational Cultural Competence training or courses.

• My job responsibilities/duties have required specific interaction with people from different racial/ethnic backgrounds.

• I am fluent in a second language.

• I have participated in community Racial Equity, Diversity or Inclusion work.

• I have participated in professional or volunteer opportunities in diverse, multicultural, and inclusive settings.

• I have experience working with a diverse background of individuals from various socioeconomic status.

• None of the above

  05

  IMPORTANT: If you checked any of the areas listed above, you must describe your personal or professional experience that demonstrates your ability to interact with people from cultural/ethnic backgrounds other than your own. You must also provide information about where you obtained the experience, what ethnic/cultural population(s) you worked with, and the dates when you gained this experience. Credit will not be given for the answers above if this additional information is missing or incomplete. (If you answered "None of the above" to the question, enter "NA" in the text box.)

  06

  Do you have one year of paid social work experience in a county agency?

• Yes

• No

  07

  If you answered "Yes" to the above question, you must provide a brief summary of your experience and the name of the employer(s) where you gained that experience. (If you answered "No" to the above question, enter "NA" in the text box.)

  08

  Do you have work experience as a Social Worker in Child Protection?

• Yes

• No

  09

  If you answered "Yes" to the above question, you must provide a brief summary of your experience and the name of the employer(s) where you gained that experience. (If you answered "No" to the above question, enter "NA" in the text box.)

  10

  Do you have paid work experience as a social worker working with children and families?

• Yes

• No

  11

  If you answered "Yes" to the above question, you must provide a brief summary of your experience and the name of the employer(s) where you gained that experience. (If you answered "No" to the above question, enter "NA" in the text box.)

  12

  Do you have experience using SSIS?

• Yes

• No

  13

  If you answered "Yes" to the above question, you must provide a brief summary of your experience and the name of the employer(s) where you gained that experience. (If you answered "No" to the above question, enter "NA" in the text box.)

  Required Question

Agency

Washington County (MN)

Address

14949 62nd Street North Stillwater, Minnesota, 55082

Phone

651-430-6081

Website

http://www.co.washington.mn.us

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