Foster Care and Adoption Specialist II (Social Services Specialist II)
This position includes a signing bonus of $2,500 (full-time) for new county hires.
If your goal is to build a career that makes a difference, consider joining the dedicated practitioners in the Division of Children, Youth, and Families (CYF) of the Department of Family Services (DFS). We are seeking a dynamic Foster Care and Adoption (FC&A) Social Services Specialist II to join our dedicated, multi-disciplinary team. In this role, you would provide clinical casework services to support the permanency of children in foster care as well as their parents and caregivers. We hire only the most caring and motivated individuals to serve families and children in our community. Learn more about the culture of DFS, meet our director and some of our employees, watch videos about our programs, and check out the great health benefits offered by Fairfax County.
This ad will be used to fill positions in multiple locations throughout the county.
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.
Are you a recent college graduate?* We have a tremendous opportunity for candidates who may not yet have the required experience. Please check out our Underfill Requirements section of this ad for details. *Note - for you to be considered, you will need to have attained your degree at the time of application.
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 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.
As an integral member of the FC&A Program, performs a vital role to achieve permanent living arrangements for children in foster care and adoption. Work hours are Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., however, evening and/or weekend work is required.
Duties and responsibilities include the following:
- Conducts face-to-face contacts and attends home visits to ensure children in foster care and adoption are safe and that their physical, emotional, and educational needs are being met
- Conducts comprehensive assessments to include but not limited to the following areas: safety, permanency, and wellbeing; educational, social, and independent living skills; substance abuse, and developmental concerns; family relationships such as parent-child conflict and domestic violence; assessing the family (i.e., parenting capacity, family relationships, social supports, physical health challenges and disabilities, and basic needs such as shelter, food, and clothing)
- Collaborates with the parents, prior custodians, foster parents, and children when appropriate, to develop a family-centered, solution focused service plan ensure safety, permanency, and wellbeing of the children in foster care
- Coordinates and collaborates with foster families and others to deliver services (i.e., home-based family and individual counseling, health insurance and medical care, parenting support, and domestic violence interventions) to children and parents/family members
- Responds and intervenes in emergency crisis around placement of children in foster home, congregate care facilities, and trial home placements with parent or relative caregivers
- Conducts court-related services to include writing and submitting service plans to court, consulting with county attorney, writing affidavits, filing petitions, and testifying in court
- Documents assessments, critical incident reports, detailed case contacts, progress notes, and service plans in a timely manner in accordance with local and state policy
- Participates in required trainings and meetings and serves as a representative on workgroups and contributes to development of written product
- Coordinates and attends intra-agency and inter-agency meetings
- May be required to be on-call rotation that includes evening, overnight, weekend, and holiday hours which may require immediate response into the field
- Performs other duties as assigned to ensure child safety and improve outcomes in families
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
- Knowledge of childhood trauma and attachment
- Knowledge of the principles and practices of social work
- Knowledge of current social service problems and methods/approaches to address issues
- 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 maintain professional ethics and confidentiality of client information
- Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with a variety of individuals
- Ability to schedule and manage workload sufficiently to meet deadlines.
This position may be filled as an underfill at the Social Services Specialist I level. Underfill requirements are noted below in the Employment Standards section.
Note: All Fairfax County Government employees are expected to adhere to the Standards of Conduct. In maintaining a drug free workplace, employees are prohibited from manufacturing, distributing, possessing, using or being under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs while at work or on county premises.
Employment Standards
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a bachelor's degree, plus two years of professional social work experience. A master's degree in a related field may be substituted for one year of the required experience.
UNDERFILL REQUIREMENTS:
This position may be underfilled as a Social Services Specialist I (Grade S20; $51,873.74 - $86,455.41 Annually). The employment standards for the Social Services Specialist I are: Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a bachelor's degree.
Underfill candidates must be able to meet the minimum qualifications of the Social Services Specialist II within two years of the job announcement's closing date of 4/7/23.
CERTIFICATES AND LICENSES REQUIRED:
Valid driver's license.
NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
The appointee to this position will be required to complete a criminal background, a driving record check, and a Child Protective Services check to the satisfaction of the employer.
This position is considered essential personnel and will be required to report to work during times designated countywide as approved for unscheduled leave regardless of the emergency situation (i.e., weather, transportation, other disaster).
All newly hired employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 (two weeks after the last required dose) as a condition of employment or obtain approval of a medical or religious exemption prior to their start date. Proof of an exemption or vaccination status will be required during the pre-employment onboarding process. New employees who obtain an exemption from the vaccine mandate for medical or sincerely held religious beliefs may be subject to a weekly testing requirement. Vaccinated employees and employees with a medical or religious exemption will complete the attestation online on their first day of employment or shortly thereafter.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Master's in social work (MSW) degree or a related human services degree
- Experience in performing case management services in a child welfare setting (child protective services, foster care, adoption, family prevention, permanency planning, or domestic/sexual violence)
- Experience in child welfare and/or mental health
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:
Work requires performing tasks with risks of secondary traumatic stress (STS).
Ability to navigate through and make decisions in stressful and crisis situations
Sufficiently mobile to make home visits, attend meetings, court appearances and community events outside the office.
Ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
Ability to use automated technology.
Ability to lift, carry, and diaper infants.
All duties may be performed with or without reasonable accommodations.
SELECTION PROCEDURE:
Panel interview; may include practical exercise.
This job announcement is listed with a closing date of 4/7/23 and interested applicants are advised to submit their applications as soon as possible. Interviews will be conducted on a regular basis throughout the recruitment with candidates whose qualifications best fit our needs. If your application is received later in the recruitment process, it may not be reviewed or considered. The application process may close prior to the currently advertised closing date when the position has been filled.
The population of Fairfax County is very diverse where 39.8% of residents speak a language other than English at home (Spanish, Asian/Pacific Islander, Indo-European, and others) and we encourage candidates bilingual in English and a foreign language to apply to this opportunity.
Fairfax County Government prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetics, political affiliation, or military status in the recruitment, selection, and hiring of its workforce.
Reasonable accommodations are available to persons with disabilities during application and/or interview processes per the Americans with Disabilities Act. Contact 703-324-4900 for assistance. TTY 703-222-7314. DHREmployment@fairfaxcounty.gov EEO/AA/TTY.