Neighborhood Networks Social Services Specialist II

This position supports the Division of Children, Youth and Families (CYF), and will be located in the Fairfax Region. If you are looking to work in a diverse community to strengthen the well-being of children and families, then this opportunity may be ideal for you. 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.
Please note: This job announcement may be used to also fill future full-time Social Services Specialist II positions for the Neighborhood Networks program located in other DFS regions.
ABOUT THIS POSITION: Under general direction of the Neighborhood Networks Social Services Supervisor, this position performs tasks independently to protect children and build family resilience as articulated by local, state, and federal policies and laws. Work hours are Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., however, evening and/or weekend work is required. The SSS II is a part of Neighborhood Networks (NN) within the Child Abuse & Neglect Prevention Services Program and performs the following duties and responsibilities:

• Provides wrap around case management services to families identified and referred by partner Fairfax County Public elementary schools and community partners as needing additional support;
• Works in coordination with the schools and other professionals to assist families and children to increase their natural networks of support, raise the level of family functioning and strengthen family relationships to ensure family stability and promote the success of their school-age children;
• Conducts a comprehensive assessment of families' strengths and needs;
• Assess and addresses immediate crisis needs;
• Coordinates and participates in family service planning meetings, where the family develops goals;
• Supports the family by implementing service plans with measurable goals and objectives;
• Supports families to overcome barriers and achieve improvement in functioning;
• Refers, arranges, and advocates for services that the family needs;
• Conducts home visits with families for the purpose of assessment and monitoring of services and outcomes;
• Works with the family to develop a natural support system which may include both formal and informal supports;
• Participates in multi-disciplinary team meetings held at Fairfax County schools;
• Enters client information into computer systems while maintaining client records;
• Utilizes social work tools such as but not limited to genograms, ecomaps and financial worksheets;
• Represents the Prevention Program in staffings such as case consultations and Review, Evaluate, and Direct (R.E.D) team, other meetings, and events as needed;
• Works a flexible schedule to include evenings and weekend dependent upon the needs of the program; and
• Performs other duties as assigned to ensure child safety and improve outcomes in families.

The primary purpose of the CYF Division is to ensure child safety and improve outcomes in families. To ensure that the division can carry out its purpose and meet the agency's responsibilities related to child safety, permanency and wellbeing, the CYF director may reassign this position's related work duties and responsibilities within the job class. At the discretion of the CYF director, the Neighborhood Networks Social Services Specialist may perform related work duties and responsibilities within the job class to ensure that the Division can carry out its purpose and meet the agency's responsibilities related to child safety, permanence, and wellbeing. May need to work a flexible schedule to include evenings and weekends and may be required to be on-call rotation that includes evening, overnight, weekend, and holiday hours which may require immediate response into the field.(The illustrative duties listed in this specification are representative of the class but are not an all-inclusive list. A complete list of position duties and unique physical requirements can be found in the position job description.)

• Conducts comprehensive clinical assessments and prepares and implements service plans;
• Works with clients to develop a plan of service to meet social, health, emotional and economic needs. With the client, formulates objectives and identifies actions to resolve the clients' problems;
• Advocates for and assists families and individuals in obtaining services (e.g., mental health, intellectual disability, alcohol and drug, housing referrals, financial assistance for basic needs, home based services, training and medical services);
• Works with the community to identify families, children and individuals needing Social Services and coordinates these services using a wrap-around approach;
• Communicates and works with colleagues, clients and the community in a manner that supports the agency and program goals and objectives;
• Participates as a contributing member on interagency, multi-disciplinary teams, community groups and professional organizations;
• Collaborates and contributes to child specific teams on non-agency cases as assigned to assist in identifying community resources and services for families;
• Participates, collaborates and contributes to Comprehensive Services Act activities for families on caseload;
• Provides training and community education on a variety of social work topics;
• Assesses and authorizes purchase of Social Services to qualifying clients that will help to meet their social, health, emotional and economic needs;
• Conducts home visits to families for the purpose of monitoring, counseling and supervision;
• Uses automated technology and hard copy files to maintain and update case data, notes, documents, records, contacts and summaries of information.
• Maintains case notes, documents and records, enters and updates case load data, contacts and summaries of information;
• Prepares and provides reports on casework;
• Performs or reviews initial assessment of client's presenting need and conducts additional assessment as necessary to develop a coordinated service plan that establishes goals, tasks, and time frames with appropriate county and community-based service providers;
• Addresses, and if necessary diffuses, initial crisis situation with clients, assesses safety issues and refers clients to emergency services as needed (e.g., mental health services, child protective services, adult protective services, women's shelter, homeless shelter);
• Demonstrates expertise in community service resources to identify, classify and describe services that address a broad array of client service needs-collaborates with service delivery professionals from all disciplines to identify service resource information requirements-translates those requirements into an automated catalog of resources necessary for client referrals and the development of client service plans;
• Negotiates, facilitates, and coordinates the creative use of limited community-based service alternatives and assists staff from other county human service agencies in creative use of community resources;
• Consults with community-based organizations (CBO) staff on resources and service strategies that support service area work with individuals and families.

(The knowledge, skills and abilities listed in this specification are representative of the class but are not an all-inclusive list.)

• Knowledge of the principles and practices of social work;
• Knowledge of current social service problems and methods/approaches to address issues;
• Knowledge of regulations and guidelines relating to the assigned area of social service specialization;
• 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.

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.
Contingent upon the area of assignment, some positions within this class may require specific certification(s) prior to employment and/or the ability to acquire necessary certification(s) within a specified time period following employment. The certifications are identified in the position description and employment advertisement.
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.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in social work (BSW) 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 working in multi-disciplinary teams and networking to access community-based resources.
• Experience with school personnel; either working with or collaborating with them.
• Proficient knowledge with Microsoft office suite to include Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
• Working knowledge of services offered within the child welfare setting (child protective services, foster care, adoption, family prevention, permanency planning, or domestic/sexual violence)

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, and community events outside the office.
Ability to operate a motor vehicle to attend meetings and events not accessible via public transportation. Ability to use automated technology.
Ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
Ability to lift up to 15 pounds.
All duties may be performed with or without reasonable accommodations.
SELECTION PROCEDURE:
Panel interview and may include a practical exercise.
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.
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Employment Type: FT Hourly W BN