Social Worker III - Permanency Planning

About us

The Department of Social Services Cherokee County, North Carolina, provides critical stabilizing and life saving services in Cherokee County, NC. We are agile, inclusive, and innovative. Our goal is to Serve the citizens of Cherokee County in such a manner that all citizens are safe, and all citizens thrive and grow. We offer a wide array of benefits such as Food and Nutrition, Energy, Medicaid, Adult Services, Child Protective Services, Adoptions, Foster Care, and Foster Parent recruitment and training, and Child Support services.

Our work environment includes:

• Modern office setting
• Growth opportunities
• Safe work environment
• On-the-job training
• Casual work attire
• Work-from-home days
• Flexible working hours

Primary Purpose of Position:

The Social Worker for Permanency Planning position involves assessment and providing interventions to strengthen, preserve and /or reunite families after children have come in to agency custody. This person will be developing family services case plans with the family; helping families improve the conditions in the home that caused agency intervention while ensuring a stable, safe, nurturing, and appropriate temporary living arrangement for children removed from their homes. Work involves providing, arranging for and coordinating interventions and services as needed for children ages birth to 18 years of age who have been abused, neglected and/or dependent and to their parents or caregivers in order to focus on child safety and protection, family preservation/reunification and the prevention of future abuse, neglect and/or dependency. Work may include any aspect of work as a foster care social worker including foster family recruitment, licensing and training.

Work Schedule

Regular Working hours for this position are from 8:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M. Monday through Friday with one hour for lunch. Some overtime and flex time may be required to meet the requirements of the job and to meet families’ needs. This position is also required to staff Red Cross Shelters if disasters occur.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES

The Primary purpose of this position is to provide broad support to the Family and Children's Services Division; specifically, Foster Care and Child Protective Services, and to provide direct services to the clients and families served by the Family and Children's Services Division. This employees time is spent is spent conducting social work activities such as one-on-one counseling contact and case management for children in foster care and their parents, searching for absent parents, locating kin and family members, supervising parent child visits, participating in permanency planning, adoption committee, and CFT meetings. This position may provide specific individual coaching to parents as parents begin to implement the skills learned in parenting programs or through external sources. This employee may provide pre-teaching in parenting skills prior to the visit, observes and coaches' parents during the visits, and may provide post visit feedback and coaching to parents. Other duties include provision of instruction concerning child development, safe discipline, budgeting, appropriate personal care, etc. in accordance with the treatment plan, at the discretion of the social worker; clearly, specifically, and concisely, documents contacts and interactions with children and families; discusses contacts, including issues of concern and/or progress regarding families, and assists the social worker in monitoring of family service plans and safety plans. This position helps with special projects for families and children at Christmas and Thanksgiving or in emergency situations; and maintains a relationship with local resources, including food banks and other nonprofit agencies that provide needed assistance for families such as food, clothing, shelter, and assistance with utility bills. This position may deliver community presentations, assist in recruitment and training for foster parents, and a host of other social work activities.

Participating in supervision sessions, team Unit Meetings and training.

Required Minimum Training (Must match State classification spec)

a. MSW from an accredited school of social work

b. Master's degree in counseling or human services field and one year of directly-related experience

c. BSW from an accredited school of social work and completion of the Child Welfare Collaborative **(Child Welfare positions only)

d. BSW from an accredited school of social work and one year of directly-related experience

e. Bachelor’s degree in a human services field from an accredited college/university and two years of directly-related experience

f. Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college/university and three years of directly-related experience

In the event we are unable to recruit a qualified SW III a lesser qualified applicant may be hired in a work-against status at a lower rate of pay. Salary would be based on qualifications

Note: This job description is intended to provide a general overview of the position. Duties, responsibilities, and qualifications may be subject to change based on the specific needs of the organization.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: From $53,189.00 per year

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Retirement plan

Work Location: In person