Child Protective Services (CPS) Lead Specialist (Social Services Specialist III)

Job Announcement
This position includes a signing bonus of $2,500 (full-time) for new county hires.
Appointees to this position are eligible for an environmental stipend. This stipend will be paid out at a rate of $138.46 per pay period and will be in effect until further evaluation of the position class warrants other considerations.
Do you want to be a part of a team that makes a difference in the lives of children and families? As a Child Protective Services (CPS) Lead Specialist, you will engage with parents and their children who are at risk of or victims of abuse or neglect and strengthen families so they can safely care for their children. You also will have a lead role in a team guiding and supporting other CPS specialists. This life-changing work involves taking decisive and appropriate actions when a child needs protection, analyzing complex information, and employing intervention services and strategies to achieve the best outcomes for children.
We are looking for people who are committed to children's safety and family preservation, possess good critical thinking and decision-making skills, thrive in a fast-paced environment, and demonstrate good leadership skills. While this job is challenging and may have long and sometimes unconventional hours, this is more than a job-it is an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children and families.
Duties of the CPS Lead Specialist:
In this job, you will be supported by a team of caring people working together to keep children safe and strengthen families. You will make an impact by:

• Assessing allegations of child abuse and neglect, which includes interviewing children, parents, and other involved parties, often in their homes or community spaces
• Using our practice model to comprehensively assess children and their families, including assessments of protective, risk, and safety factors
• Taking appropriate actions based on informed decisions and relevant policy to keep children safe and support families. This may include creating and monitoring safety plans, connecting families with services, providing brief clinical interventions to address immediate concerns, de-escalating tense situations, supporting families' decisions for alternate living arrangements, or separating children and placing them in foster care.
• Collaborating with other professionals to gather and share information and inform decision-making.
• Taking legal action when needed to ensure children are safe. This includes preparing and filing court paperwork and attending and testifying in court hearings.
• Documenting interactions and observations related to assessments and decision-making in a timely manner.
• Providing supervisory assistance in the absence of the supervisor and serving in a lead role in the team guiding and supporting other team members.
• Assisting on the CPS Hotline and screening new referrals of child abuse and neglect (if applicable)
• Supporting practitioners who are providing clinical casework services to children and their families as part of in-home or family support services (if applicable)

What you need to be successful:

• Knowledge of child protection laws, rules and regulations
• Knowledge of conducting child protective services assessments and investigations
• Ability to manage conflict and cope with pressure in a professional manner
• Ability to work flexible hours as needed, including on-call rotation covering evening, weekend, and holiday hours
• Ability to work collaboratively
• Knowledge of child development and family functioning
• Ability to use critical thinking skills to analyze information and develop goals for the safety and well-being of children
• Ability to partner with families to address issues such as parenting, financial stability, mental health, substance abuse, intimate partner violence, etc.
• Ability to work with individuals and families across cultures
• Strong verbal and writing skills
• Ability to plan and organize your work while adjusting to changing situations and priorities
• Commitment to learning about process, policy, best practices and our practice model and apply the learning to daily tasks.

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 and visit the One Fairfax webpage here.
Finally, click here to learn more about learn more about our Department of Family Services, meet our director and some of our practitioners, watch a short video to learn more about this position, read the top 5 reasons to come work with us, and check out the great benefits, including excellent paid leave, health plans, and retirement plans. In addition to the many county benefits, working with us gives you access to supervision towards becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, our Child Welfare Institute onboarding academy, and practice guidance grounded in the Safe & Connected practice model.
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.
The Department of Family Services is greatly committed to the professional development of staff. The HR Professional Development and Training Team includes dedicated staff and in-house clinical training offerings in support of the clinical licensure requirements and overall professional development of staff seeking to increase their clinical practice capabilities.
This positing can be used to fill multiple positions at the various county offices in Alexandria, Fairfax, and Annandale in both regional and the mobile units.

Employment Standards

MINIMIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a bachelor's degree, plus three years of professional social work experience. A master's degree in a related field may be substituted for one year of the required experience.
CERTIFICATES AND LICENSES REQUIRED:
Valid driver's license.
NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
The appointee to the position must satisfactorily complete a criminal background check, a driving record check, and a Child Protective Services check.
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).
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master's degree in social work (MSW) or a related human services degree
• Experience in performing child protective investigations, foster care and/or family preservation
• Experience in working with the court system and family group facilitation
• 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)

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 travel outside the office for client contact, court appearances, community events, and to conduct family assessments and investigations of allegations of child abuse and neglect. Ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing. Ability to use automated technology. Must be able to operate a motor vehicle, and make use of personal vehicle. All duties performed with or without reasonable accommodations.
SELECTION PROCEDURE:
Panel interview, may include practical exercise.
This job announcement is listed with a closing date of 11/22/24 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 38.7% 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. EEO/AA/TTY.

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