Social Worker Iii (Child Welfare Services), Grade 24

Montgomery County is located adjacent to Washington, DC and with over one million residents, is the most populous County in the State of Maryland. The County is also the most diverse County in the State and ranks among the top ten most diverse Counties in the nation. Montgomery County contains many major U.S. government offices, scientific research and learning centers, and business campuses.

The Department of Health and Human Services is responsible for delivery of the County’s public health and human services that the needs of our community’s most vulnerable children, adults and seniors. The Department provides services through more than 120 programs at more than 20 locations. With over 2,000 employees, the Department of Health and Human Services is the largest County Department.

As a department, we believe health and wellness of the county can only be achieved by ensuring that every resident has fair opportunities to reach their fullest potential. This means access to quality housing, transportation, education, employment, health care, human services, safe neighborhoods and healthy food. HHS’ provides critical services for residents who face a variety of obstacles in achieving their full potential. HHS plays an essential role in building a healthy and strong community.

If you are interested in working for the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, we invite qualified candidates to apply for our Social Worker III position.

About the Position:

This recruitment will establish an eligible list to fill current and future vacancies.

This recruitment is for multiple Social Worker III positions within the Department of Health and Human Services, Child Welfare Services (CWS) division. Positions may be Full-Time, Part-time, Merit, Temporary, Term, and/or Grant Funded. The term positions may be used to assist Child Welfare in providing uninterrupted services. Social Worker III employees provide a wide variety of services to a culturally and linguistically diverse population of children and families involved with CWS to develop and implement service agreements that strengthen families and reduce the risk of child maltreatment. These positions require the ability to attend meetings or perform work at locations at a primary work site as well at outside the office. Employees must have some flexibility in their schedules to meet urgent workload needs.

The following units within CWS provide these services:

SCREENING UNIT is the Child Protective Services (CPS) Hotline that receives calls regarding child abuse and neglect and determines if a CPS intervention is needed.

ASSESSMENT UNIT investigates and assesses reports of alleged child abuse and neglect.

CONTINUING Family Preservation SERVICES provides In-Home services to families where abuse and neglect have occurred.

OUT OF HOME PLACMENT SERVICES provides case management and permanency planning for children who have been placed in foster care or relative placement.

ADOPTION SERVICES preparesthe child, who is under the guardianship of the Department, for placement in a legal, permanent family situation.

RESOURCE HOME focuses on licensing and monitoring of foster/resource homes, the coordination of foster care placements and the facilitation of family team decision meetings.

INDEPENDENT LIVING (Transitioning Youth) PROGRAM prepares older foster children for transition from foster care to living independently.

Bilingual applicants in the Spanish/English languages are encouraged to apply. If the candidate selected for this position possesses multilingual skills, he/she will be required to successfully pass an examination assessing oral communication, reading comprehension, and interpreting skills. For Advanced proficiency, the candidate must also pass an examination requiring translating text from Spanish to English and vice versa and written communication.

Selected candidates for this position will be subject to a pre-employment medical exam, drug and alcohol screening and criminal history records check through the Maryland State Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. Candidates will also be checked through the Maryland Registry for Child Abuse and Neglect and federal and state sex offender registries. Any applicant who fails the medical exam, background check or whose name appears on either of the registries may be disqualified from employment for this position.

OHR reviews the minimum qualifications of all applicants, irrespective of whether the candidate has previously been found to have met the minimum requirements for the job or been temporarily promoted to the same position. This evaluation is based solely on the information contained in the application/resume submitted for this specific position/IRC.

Montgomery County Government is an equal opportunity employer, committed to workforce diversity. Accordingly, as it relates to employment opportunities, the County will provide reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, in accordance with the law. Applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the Office of Human Resources via email to OHR@montgomerycountymd.gov. Individual determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made in accordance with all applicable laws.

Montgomery County Government also provides hiring preference to certain categories of veterans and veterans/persons with a disability. For more information and to claim employment preference, please refer to the Careers webpage on Hiring Preference.

All applicants will respond to a series of questions related to their education, relevant experience, knowledge, skills and abilities required to minimally perform the job. The applicant's responses in conjunction with their resume and all other information provided in the employment application process will be evaluated to determine the minimum qualifications and preferred criteria status. Based on the results, the highest qualified applicants will be placed on an Eligible List and may be considered for an interview. Employees meeting minimum qualifications who are the same grade will be placed on Eligible List as a "Lateral Transfer" candidate and may be considered for interview.

If selected for consideration for this position, you may be required to provide evidence that you possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities indicated on your resume.

Montgomery County Ethics Law: Except as provided by law or regulation, the County's "Public Employees" (which does not include employees of the Sheriff's office) are subject to the County's ethics law including the requirements to obtain advanced approval of any outside employment and the prohibitions on certain outside employment. The outside employment requirements of the ethics law can be found at 19A-12 of the County Code. Additional information about outside employment can be obtained from the Ethics Commission website.

Education: Possession of a Masters Degree in Social Work (MSW) from an accredited college or university that meets the criteria of graduate social work program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education

Experience: Two (2) years of professional experience rendering social work services.

Equivalency: See Maryland Board requirements.

License:

Must be licensed as a Licensed Certified Social Worker/Clinical (LCSW-C) by the Maryland State Board of Social Work Examiners prior to appointment. Note: There will be no substitutions for this requirement.

Possession and maintenance at all times of a valid Class C (or equivalent) driver's license from the applicant's state of residence when required for job-related duties.

There is no Preferred Criteria. All applicants will be reviewed by OHR for minimum qualifications. Those applicants who meet minimum qualifications will be rated Qualified, placed on the Eligible List, and may be considered for an interview.

Preference for interviews will be given to applicants with experience in the following:

• Bilingual Proficiency: Spanish
• Providing services to children and families
• Verbal and Written Communication
• Knowledge of Policies, Procedures, Compliance and Confidentiality, and Regulations for Child Welfare Services