Social Services Specialist III - Healthy Families

Job Announcement

• Conduct home visits to support parent-child relationships, healthy development, and family functioning.
• Promote nurturing parent-child interaction and attachment through activities and support.
• Encourage healthy childhood growth and development, including milestones, health, safety, nutrition, and school readiness.
• Enhance family functioning by building trust, supporting family well-being, and providing resources and strategies for self-sufficiency.
• Conduct virtual visits when in-person visits are not feasible due to special circumstances.
• Participate in and document group meetings as home visits when applicable.
• Collaborate with multi-disciplinary team members.

• Work collaboratively with team members from other Children, Youth, and Families
  programs and community partners.
• Partner with families and community stakeholders to strengthen community prevention
  programs and build protective factors.

• Currently based in Annandale but subjected to change.
• Regular travel throughout Fairfax County.
• Travel for conferences and trainings in and outside of Virginia.
• Occasional evening and weekend hours required.

• Be part of a mission-driven organization committed to the well-being of families.
• Be part of a team dedicated to impactful community work.
• Enjoy a collaborative and supportive work environment.

Illustrative Duties

(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.)

Assists the supervisor in planning and carrying out training for new staff, providing guidance to staff;
May directly supervise staff, and covers for the supervisor in their absence;
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;
Conducts home visits to families for the purpose of monitoring, counseling and supervision;
Makes assessment of risks posed to clients in accordance with state and local policies, and works to ensure risks are eliminated or minimized;
Works with the community to identify families, children and individuals needing services and to coordinate these services using a wrap-around approach;
Advocates and assists families and individuals in obtaining services (e.g., mental health, intellectual disability, alcohol and drug, housing referrals, home based services, training and medical services);
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;
Provides training and education on a variety of social work topics;
Uses automated technology and hard copy files to maintain and update case data, notes, documents, records, contacts and summaries of information;
Manages and maintains program data and outcomes.

Required Knowledge Skills and Abilities

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

Thorough knowledge of the principles and practices of social work;
Thorough knowledge of current social service problems and methods/approaches to address issues;
Thorough knowledge of regulations and guidelines relating to the assigned area of social service specialization;
Knowledge of casework supervision practices and procedures;
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;
Ability to provide guidance, direction, supervision and coaching to less-experienced staff;
Ability to provide management and oversight of a program or project.

Employment Standards

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Minimum of a bachelor's degree in a human services field OR minimum of a bachelor's degree in any field with a minimum of two years of appropriate and related experience in a Human Services area (Section 22VAC40-670-20 of the Administrative Code of Virginia).

Contingent upon the area of assignment, some positions within this class may require specific certification(s) or experience prior to employment and/or the ability to acquire necessary certification(s) within a specified time period following employment. The certifications and preferred qualifications 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 check, a driving record check, and a Child Protective Services Registry check to the satisfaction of the employer.

Bilingual in English & Spanish.

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).

Works a flexible schedule to include evenings and weekends. May be required to be on-call rotation that includes evening, overnight, weekend, and holiday hours which may require immediate response into the field.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
Master’s degree in social work or a field related to counseling, psychology, or marriage and family therapy.
Three years of experience in social work, psychology, sociology, counseling, or related experience.
Experience conducting home visits.
Continuous full-time child welfare or case management experience.
Experience working collaboratively with school professionals, community stakeholders and other service providers.
Experience working with a diverse multicultural population.

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. Ability to stand, stoop, bend, stretch, walk, climb, sit and type on a keyboard. Ability to lift up to 35 pounds. Ability to use automated technology. Sufficiently mobile to regularly visit family homes, branch offices, attend meetings and events outside the office. The ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing. All duties performed with or without reasonable accommodations.

SELECTION PROCEDURE:
Panel interview and may include a practical exercise.

Fairfax County is home to a highly diverse population, with a significant number of residents speaking languages other than English at home (including Spanish, Asian/Pacific Islander, Indo-European, and many others.) We encourage candidates who are bilingual in English and another language to apply for 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. TTY 703-222-7314. DHREmployment@fairfaxcounty.gov EEO/AA/TTY.

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