Job Overview
General Statement
The Senior Social Worker, under general supervision, performs advanced, professional level casework providing protective, investigative, counseling and case management services for children who at risk for neglect and/or abuse. Employees are assigned to local departments of Social Services and provide social work services including treatment and immediate response to crisis situations for at-risk children in the most complex cases in the departments. Work involves investigation of alleged neglect and abuse, substantiation of the alleged neglect or abuse as prescribed by federal and state guidelines, providing expert testimony in court hearings, and following-up with case management and preventive services for clients. Employees analyze situations and determine appropriate courses of action immediately or in short time spans and often under very stressful conditions. Employees may provide group, family or individual treatment to clients of any age and any developmental, mental, medical, substance abuse, financial or family problem. Employees may have combined investigative and treatment roles or may have separate functions depending on the size and organizational structure of the departments of Social Services.
The primary function of this Senior Social Worker position will be to facilitate Child & Family Team meetings for the child welfare unit, including Investigations, In-Home, and Foster Care. As the primary CFT Facilitator, this Senior Social Worker position also requires tracking and ensuring the Shared Parenting meetings occur, maintaining the master CFT calendar, as well as gathering and providing monthly statistics around CFT’s for each area.
There is a potential for this Senior Social Worker position to also, at times of high demand, necessitate some of the following listed child welfare functions.
Essential Functions
Provides Case Management and Foster Care Services for children who have been neglected and/or abused.
Provides Social Work services including treatment and immediate response to crisis situations for at risk children and families.
Manages a caseload of clients in the most difficult and complex cases.
Provides treatment in group, family or individual therapy to clients of any age and/or with any developmental, mental, medical, financial, substance abuse or family problem including abused, neglected or homeless children.
Performs clinical and social investigation, assessment of individuals and family dynamics, and crisis intervention.
Knowledge of social work principles, techniques and practices and their applications to complex casework, treatment, and investigation of abuse or neglect of children.
Knowledge of policies and procedures as evidenced by the ability to cite the authority of federal and state law.
Knowledge of individual and group behavior, family dynamics, and medical, behavioral and/or psychosocial problems and their treatment theory.
Knowledge of governmental and private organizations and resources in the community.
Exercises considerable judgment in determining whether abuse or neglect has occurred, to what extent and how it occurred.
Selects appropriate treatment for the family and clients, requiring significant understanding of their personalities based on assessments and interviews.
Facilitates Child and Family Team meetings.
Provides referrals for treatment and placement in foster care or residential facilities.
Provides expert testimony in court hearings as to the progress of the case.
Conducts home visits at least once a month for each foster child assigned to the case.
Attends school meetings to advocate for the educational needs of the children served.
Maintains contact with parents, therapist, GAL, CDSA, CC4C, attorneys, medical providers, substance abuse agencies, domestic violence agencies, and relatives as it relates to the needs of the child and family.
Attends Therapy appointments and Doctor/ Medical appointments with children, and to obtain medical forms completed by a doctor.
Completes strengths and needs monthly and Family Reunification assessments for cases where the plan is Reunification.
Interacts and motivates a resistant involuntary client population and the public who may not agree with the laws, rules or policies of the process or the programs.
Prepares documentation such as written investigative reports for the court, case records and treatment plans.
Testifies as an expert witness.
Employs advanced case management interview techniques to establish a supportive relationship and involves families in the initial assessment for the need of services.
Assesses the risks and safety of the client environment during daylight hours, after dark and in high crime areas.
Employs expert negotiation skills in the most complex cases.
Analyzes and assesses child development safety issues in relation to risk factors.
Analyzes tense family situations and make decisions about removing children when the decision has to be made with limited direct information and limited access to consultation.
Communicates effectively and establishes supportive client relationships.
Performs under occasional stress and when confronted with persons acting under stress.
Maintains high-quality communication and interacts with other County Agencies, co-workers, and the general public.
Operates small office equipment, including copy machines or multi-line telephone systems.
Operates computers for data entry, word processing and/or accounting purposes.
Completes assigned work on or before deadlines in accordance with directives, County policy, standards and prescribed procedures. Identifies or assists in identifying alternative solutions to problems or situations. Stays abreast of social work theory, techniques and practices, individual and group behavior, social problems, medical and mental illness, family dynamics, coping behavior, crisis intervention, and treatment of various medical and mental diseases and social issues.
Follows all guidelines set forth, which include state and federal laws, program rules, directives, policies and regulations, professional ethics and quality assurance standards.
Collaborates with members of multidisciplinary teams, protective services committees and supervisors. Legal precedents are used in some settings.
Conducts assessments with new and veteran employees to provide feedback and develop training goals.
Develops training curriculum and oversees onboarding process for new Social Workers.
Develops and fosters connections with community partners by facilitating meetings and trainings to update partners on agency and policy changes.
Conducts quality assurance reviews for Child Protective and Child Welfare Services programs, as well as develops and implements program improvement strategies based on the results of the quality assurance reviews.
Provides assistance to investigative, in-home and foster care teams when they are short staffed.
Participates in case staffing’s with supervisor twice a month to provide updates as to the status of each case.
Maintains case data and documentation through various computer programs.
Performs other related duties as assigned.
Minimum Qualifications
Education and Experience:
Requires a Master’s Degree from an accredited school of social work and *one year of social work experience; or a Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited school of social work and *two years of social work or counseling experience; or Master’s degree in a counseling field and two years of social work or counseling experience; or a four-year degree in a human services field or related curriculum and three years of social work or counseling experience; or graduation from a four-year college or university and four years of experience in rehabilitation counseling, pastoral counseling or a related human service field providing experience in the techniques of casework, group work or community organization; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Requires a Master’s Degree from an accredited school of social work and *one year of social work experience; or a Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited school of social work and *two years of social work or counseling experience; or Master’s degree in a counseling field and two years of social work or counseling experience; or a four-year degree in a human services field or related curriculum and three years of social work or counseling experience; or graduation from a four-year college or university and four years of experience in rehabilitation counseling, pastoral counseling or a related human service field providing experience in the techniques of casework, group work or community organization; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
- One year of work experience can be credited for completion of the NC Child-Welfare Education collaborative Pre-service training or licensure as a Clinical Social Worker.
Licenses or Certifications:
Must have a valid Driver’s License and be able to maintain a safe driving history as defined by the Union County Vehicle Use Policy.
INSURANCE PROGRAMS
HEALTH INSURANCE
All full-time employees and their eligible dependents can participate on the first day of the first full month of employment. You must sign up for coverage within your first 30 days of employment or wait until the annual enrollment period. Health Reimbursement Account Preventative Care Coverage Prescription Coverage Vision Coverage
DENTAL INSURANCE
All full-time employees and their eligible dependents can participate on the first day of the first full month of employment. You must sign up for coverage within your first 30 days of employment or wait until the annual enrollment period.
LIFE INSURANCE
Basic Term life Insurance in the amount of one times the annual salary is provided for all full-time and regular part-time employees. Additional coverage is available for purchase through payroll deduction for the employee and eligible dependents.
FINANCIAL PROGRAMS
RETIREMENT
Membership in the North Carolina Local Government Employees Retirement System is a requirement for all full-time and regular part-time employees. Employees contribute six percent (6%) of their annual compensation before it is taxed. If you leave County service before retirement, you may withdraw your retirement contributions or elect to freeze your contributions in anticipation of future local government employment. If you have five (5) years of service, you are 100% vested in the NCLGERS.
NC401(k)
The NC401(k) supplemental retirement program is available to full-time and regular part-time employees. The County establishes this 401(k) account for each eligible employee and makes a five percent (5%) contribution based on biweekly earnings. Employees may elect to make voluntary contributions through payroll deduction.
457 DEFERRED COMPENSATION
The 457 Deferred Compensation program is available to all employees through payroll deduction. Deferred compensation is a voluntary investment plan to supplement retirement income and to defer taxable income.
FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNTS
Options are available to regular full-time and regular part-time employees who wish to use pre-tax dollars for eligible medical, pharmacy, dental, vision, and daycare expenses. The Flex Debit Card program gives you instant access to your account funds.
Health Care Spending Account – Section 125 of the IRS Code allows yearly voluntary enrollment to set aside pre-tax dollars for eligible health care expenses.
Dependent Care Spending Account – Section 125 of the IRS Code allows yearly voluntary enrollment to set aside pre-tax dollars for eligible dependent care expenses.
DIRECT DEPOSIT
Deposit of your paycheck will be made to checking or savings accounts in a bank of your choice.
CREDIT UNION
Local Government Federal Credit Union membership is available to all employees. Once you join, you can remain a member for as long as you choose. Immediate family members such as: spouse, children, stepchildren, brothers, sisters and parents can all become members.
BB&T@WORK
The BB&T@Work Program offers UNION COUNTY employees FREE and DISCOUNTED banking services including:
Free checking with direct deposit
Bonus interest rates on savings accounts, CDs and IRAs
BB&T Check Card with VISA Extras rewards BB&T
Online Banking and much more…
LEAVE PROGRAMS
VACATION LEAVE
Vacation leave is accrued based on creditable years of service in the Local Government Employees Retirement System.
SICK LEAVE
For full-time County employees, sick leave accrues at eight (8.0) hours per month. Regular part-time employees accrue prorated sick leave based on a percentage of the full-time rate. Your unused sick leave balance can be applied as creditable service toward a service retirement under the guidelines of the NCLGERS.
SICK LEAVE TRANSFER FROM OTHER AGENCIES
Unused sick leave earned from another North Carolina Governmental Agency and/or entity, will be accepted and transferred to the County as follows: twelve (12) sick leave days will be transferred and added to the employees active sick leave balance after completion of six (6) months of employment. The remaining balance of sick leave documented for transfer at the time of employment will be recorded in the employees permanent personnel file. On the fifth anniversary of employment with the County, the remaining balance of transferred sick leave will be added to the employees active sick leave balance.
HOLIDAYS
There are 11 County recognized holidays per year with 1 floating holiday available.
MILITARY LEAVE
Annual Training – 10 paid workdays granted.
Active Duty – 20 paid workdays granted.
CIVIL LEAVE
Paid leave is provided to full-time or regular part-time County employees called for jury duty or as a witness of the court for the federal or state government, or a subdivision thereof.
FAMILY & MEDICAL LEAVE ACT
Federal law provides job protection and continuation of existing paid health insurance during 12 weeks of leave, paid or unpaid, to an eligible employee for qualifying events. These events can include birth or adoption, and serious illness of an immediate family member, or of the employee.
PAID PARENTAL LEAVE
Parental Leave provides the employee paid leave for the first eight weeks of approved FML for the birth of a son or daughter, or placement with the employee of a son or daughter for adoption or foster care.
ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE
Educational Leave is available to regular full-time and regular part-time employees when participating in a job-related, short course, such as an update, not to exceed ten (10) consecutive working days.
VOLUNTEER TIME OFF
Volunteer Time Off will provide employes with 16 hours of paid time per calender year to volunteer at approved Union County community partner agencies.
OTHER PROGRAMS
EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
The Employee Assistance Program is open to all employees and their dependents. It is a confidential service provided at no cost to the employees of the County. EAP provides certified counselors who administer assessment and brief therapy to employees who want help with a variety of personal and work-related issues such as stress, parenting concerns, grief, alcohol/drug use, family problems, financial concerns, and work-related problems.
AQUATIC AND FITNESS CENTER
We believe that staying healthy is more than just exercising regularly and eating well. Individual and family discount membership and monthly dues are available to full-time and regular part-time employees through payroll deduction.
NATIONAL COLLEGE SAVINGS PROGRAM
The National College Savings Program is open to all employees. The Program is designed to provide certain tax advantages, encourage and facilitate saving to pay the costs of attending eligible institutions.
More Information
- Salary Offers $50,460 - $78,213 a year
