Social Worker JobID: 1484Position Type:PROFESSIONAL/ SOCIAL WORKERDate Posted:9/25/2024Location:Lehigh County, PennsylvaniaPosition Definition: TheSocial Workeris responsible for providing appropriate and adequate social work services to special needs students and their families in the Intermediate Unit and district special education programs. TheSocial Workershall work with those problems occurring at home, school, and/or in the community that affect the student’s education and adjustment in school. Relationship: TheSocial Workershall be directly responsible to the Director of Special Programs and Services, or designee, and shall report to them in all matters concerning assigned Special Education functions and other CLIU business. Qualifications: Education/Experience:Master’s Degree in Social Work from an accredited Council of Social Work Education (CSWE) program.PDE Certification as a PK-12 School Social Worker Educational Specialist.Licensed Social Worker.Two (2) years’ experience in education and/or mental health professional field, preferred.Skills/Knowledge:Demonstrates a proficient understanding and utilization of Microsoft Office Suite and other software packages for use in the Special Program and Services Department.Demonstrates the ability to work collaboratively with external and internal stakeholders.Demonstrates the ability to maintain complete confidentiality.Demonstrates excellent interpersonal skills, demonstrated by patience, understanding, and congeniality.Demonstrates excellent oral and written communication skills.Demonstrates the ability to organize, plan, and manage job responsibilities in order to complete assignments with minimal supervision.Demonstrates the ability to implement and comply with PA Individual Education Program (IEP) process.Demonstrates the ability to prioritize assigned tasks.Completes tasks with attention to detail and accuracy.Demonstrates the ability to work independently and maintain departmental deadlines.Demonstrates the ability to make professional decisions.Demonstrates the ability to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.Demonstrates accurate knowledge of federal, state, local, and mental health agency services and regulations.Possesses the skills to provide the highest level of customer service with patience and knowledge of the Department’s services.Ability to attend work regularly at assigned work hours subject to lawful leave rights and responsibilities.Physical:Ability to stand, bend, stoop, sit, lift, reach, and communicate (vision, hearing, and speech) to effectively carry out functions, duties, and responsibilities.Ability to independently ambulate in and around work areas.Ability to travel to and from assigned work locations without employer support.Ability to exhibit appropriate manual dexterity to effectively carry out functions, duties, and responsibilities.Ability to conduct a safety restraint protocol which requires:a normal degree of flexibility;the ability to stand, walk, run, and shuffle for at least several minutes;the ability to kneel on one and two knees and then stand up;the ability to bend the trunk at 45 degrees and twist to either side;the ability to grasp firmly and raise hands above the head; andthe ability to learn and correctly demonstrate multi-step physical skills.Authority: TheSocial Workerwill have the authority to perform all functions listed below in accordance with established policies and procedures. Functions/Duties/Responsibilities: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential function/duty/responsibility at acceptable standards. In accordance with both state and/or federal law, reasonable accommodations will be considered upon employee request. Essential:Consults with stakeholders to facilitate an understanding of factors in a student’s home, education, and community that affect educational experience.Conducts assessments and completes documentation of student functioning, developmental history, family and community structure, interpersonal relationships, adaptive behavior, and cultural factors that influence learning.Assists in planning of therapeutic, remedial, and behavior modification activities provided by CLIU.Participates as a member of the multidisciplinary evaluation team in assessing special needs students.Participates as a member of the Student Assistance Program and mental health provider teams.Participates in the development of intervention plans consistent with the curriculum, student needs, strengths, social and cognitive functioning, and cultural experiences.Provides supportive case work to children and their families, including, but not limited to, parent education and self-advocacy.Collaborates and consults with family, school, and community agencies for resources in areas that impact student learning (e.g., mental health, behavior management, school safety, diversity, crisis management, child abuse, neglect).Develops and implements support and prevention services for parents, students, and school personnel through individual and group counseling, workshops, and/or meeting facilitation.Maintains contacts and information regarding community agencies and services.Develops and coordinates public awareness efforts to make families and professional agencies aware of CLIU services.Accurately completes and finalizes all documents in a timely fashion to fulfill duties, including, but not limited to, IEP’s and ACCESS billing.Acts as interagency coordinator per student population assignment.Provides individual and/or group counseling to students in school, related to, but not limited to, social, emotional, and/or daily living skills.Secondary:Collaborates with teams during psychiatric consultation and evaluations of referred students.Maintains current knowledge of programs/services, such as surrogate parenting, health care options, local services providers, and other relevant PDE initiatives.This Job Description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee occupying this position. Employees will be required to perform other duties as assigned.