Social Services Specialist Iii - Fairfax, United States - Fairfax County Government

Fairfax County Government

Verified Company

Fairfax, United States

1 week ago

Posted by:

Mark Lane

beBee recruiter

Description

Salary
- $69, $115,540.88 Annually
Location

FAIRFAX (EJ27), VA
Job Type
FT Hourly W BN
Job Number

Department

Family Services
Opening Date
06/15/2024
Closing Date
6/28/2024 11:59 PM Eastern
Pay Grade
S25
Posting Type
Open to General Public
Job Announcement:

This position includes a signing bonus of $2,500 (full-time) for new county hires.

Are you committed to ensuring the long-term stability, health and safety of children who have exited the child welfare system? This position works within the Division of Children, Youth and Families (CYF) to support adoptive parents and kinship guardians who are permanently caring for children formerly in foster care.

If you are looking to work in a diverse community to strengthen the permanency and well-being of children and families, then this opportunity may be ideal for you.

Grow your career with Fairfax County

With more than 16,000 employees, Fairfax County is a diverse workforce offering employees stimulating and challenging opportunities across a broad scope of career opportunities.

As a Fairfax County employee, you impact the well-being of our community every day.

This is an exciting time to join Fairfax County Government as we shape racial and social equity policies in the county through the One Fairfax Policy.

Using this framework, we intentionally consider equity when making policies or delivering programs and services.

To learn more, we highly encourage you to watch the Becoming One Fairfax—An Introduction to Key Concepts video by clicking here and visit the One Fairfax webpage here.

The Department of Family Services (DFS) is committed to strengthening the well-being of its diverse community by protecting and improving the lives of all children, adults, and families through assistance, partnership, advocacy, outreach, and quality services.

To learn more about DFS and its Mission, Vision, and Values, please click here.

This position is a member of the Foster Care and Adoption, Resource and Support Program, based in the Fairfax office.

Under general supervision of the Social Services Supervisor, performs tasks independently to protect children and build family resilience as articulated by local, state, and federal policies and laws.

Working hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., however, evening, overnight, weekend, and holiday hours may be required. Occasional travel is required to our regional offices in Reston, Annandale, and South County. Occasional driving to other county locations and outlying areas is also required.

Duties and responsibilities include the following:

Providing supportive counseling and crisis intervention to adoptive and kinship families via telephone or in-person
Using traumainformed practice and a strengthbased approach to help and guide parents to find the most beneficial services
Monitoring appropriateness and progress of residential care, home based services, outpatient counseling, and other services provided to families through post adoption services
Determining eligibility for subsidy and negotiating agreements for services with adoptive families
Advocating for families during negotiations with the Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS)
Responding to requests provided by the VDSS for adoption record disclosures and searches
Employing advanced clinical skills to share sensitive information with adoptees, birth family members, and adoptive parents
Completing reports of investigation for adoptive families in Fairfax County when ordered by the Court.
Ensuring all paperwork is completed accurately and deadlines are met
Maintaining client data, case records, and correspondence in electronic databases and filing systems
Collecting and analyzing data for the unit to improve outcomes
Providing subsidy policy interpretation to peer and child welfare staff
Contributing to the development of protocols and procedures to ensure that the unit effectively meets the needs of youth and families
Functioning as a leader and mentor to other team members.
Providing supervisory coverage and support to the team in the absence of the supervisor
Attending supervision, unit and program meetings, work group meetings, training sessions, interdepartmental meetings, red team, and case consultations
Performing other duties as assigned

KNOWLEDGE SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

Knowledge of child protection laws, rules, and regulations;
Knowledge of foster care and adoption laws, rules, and regulations;
Ability to interview, assess needs, counsel, and refer clients to other resource as needed;
Ability to analyze case information and to reach sound decisions on the basis of such information;
Ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing;
Ability to use automated technology to establish and maintain case records;
Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with a variety o