Job Description

Supplemental Information



Department MISSION
DCFS is working to keep children safe, helping individuals and families become self-sufficient, and providing safe refuge during disasters.

Department VISION
We care for the well-being and safety of Louisiana\'s people. Department VALUES Treating all people with dignity, compassion and respect, while providing services with integrity.

Department VALUES
Treating all people with dignity, compassion and respect, while providing services with integrity



This vacancy is located in the Ouachita Parish Child Welfare office in Monroe, LA.



Child Welfare Specialist 3 has a Special Entrance Rate (SER): $24.35/hr.


This position may be filled as a probational appointment or a job appointment that may last up to 48 months. Job appointments may convert to probational appointments. Also, it may be filled as a detail and promoted within 12 months.

You must include all relevant education and experience on your official State application.

Resumes cannot be submitted in lieu of completing an application.

The duties that you describe in the Work Experience section of your application will be reviewed by State Civil Service as part of the process in determining if you meet the minimum qualifications for this job.

Your experience WILL NOT be evaluated based on the job title alone. You must describe your actual duties. If you are a current employee of the State of Louisiana it is important that you indicate in the \xe2\x80\x9cDuties\xe2\x80\x9d section for each job the specific programs that you worked in to receive credit for that experience.

List all prior employment. Work experience left off of your electronic application or only included in an attached resume will not be credited. Resumes WILL NOT be accepted in lieu of completed education and experience sections on your application. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

No Civil Service test score is required in order to be considered for this vacancy.

To apply for this vacancy, click on the "Apply" link above and complete an electronic application, which can be used for this vacancy as well as future job opportunities. Applicants are responsible for checking the status of their application to determine where they are in the recruitment process. Further status message information is located under the Information section of the Current Job Opportunities page.


Applicants qualifying based on college training or receipt of a baccalaureate degree will be required to submit an official college transcript to verify credentials claimed prior to appointment. Please make every effort to attach a copy of your transcript to your application. The transcripts can be added as an attachment to your online application. The selected candidate will be required to submit original documentation upon hire .

DCFS is an "Equal Opportunity Employer" and Louisiana is a "State as a Model Employer for People with Disabilities".

For further information about this vacancy contact:
April Aulds
DCFS Human Resources
april.aulds.dcfs@la.gov

Qualifications

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Any of the following will qualify:


1. A baccalaureate degree plus three years of professional level experience in administrative services, social services, or health services.


2. A baccalaureate degree plus three years of law enforcement or investigatory experience.


SUBSTITUTIONS:
Six years of full-time work experience in any field may be substituted for the required baccalaureate degree.


Candidates without a baccalaureate degree may combine work experience and college credit to substitute for the baccalaureate degree as follows:


A maximum of 120 semester hours may be combined with experience to substitute for the baccalaureate degree.


30 to 59 semester hours credit will substitute for one year of experience towards the baccalaureate degree.
60 to 89 semester hours credit will substitute for two years of experience towards the baccalaureate degree.
90 to 119 semester hours credit will substitute for three years of experience towards the baccalaureate degree.
120 or more semester hours credit will substitute for four years of experience towards the baccalaureate degree.


College credit earned without obtaining a baccalaureate degree may be substituted for a maximum of four years full-time work experience towards the baccalaureate degree. Candidates with 120 or more semester hours of credit, but without a degree, must also have at least two years of full-time work experience to substitute for the baccalaureate degree.


A baccalaureate degree in social work; psychology; psychiatric nursing; psychiatry; mental health counseling; rehabilitation counseling; psychological counseling; criminal justice; sociology; applied sociology; human services counseling; education with a concentration in special education; family and consumer sciences with a concentration in child, family and social services; guidance and counseling; human development counseling; social services counseling; vocational rehabilitation; or human services from an accredited institution will substitute for one year of experience.


Graduate training in one or any combination of the above fields will substitute for a maximum of one year of the experience on the basis of thirty semester hours for one year of experience.


A master\'s degree in the above fields will substitute for one year of the required experience.
A Juris Doctorate will substitute for one year of the required experience.
Graduate training with less than a Ph.D. will substitute for a maximum of one year of the required experience.
A Ph.D. in the above fields will substitute for two years of the required experience.


Specialized college course work will substitute for a maximum of two years of the required experience.


NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENT:
A valid driver\'s license and access to a personal vehicle.


NOTE:
The incumbent of this position must not have been convicted or pled nolo contendere to a crime listed in R.S. 15.587.1 (c).


NOTE: Any college hours or degree must be from an accredited college or university.
Job Concepts

FUNCTION OF WORK:
To provide advanced child welfare services for the safety, permanency, and well-being of children and families as mandated by state and federal laws.

LEVEL OF WORK:
Advanced.

SUPERVISION RECEIVED:
Broad from a Child Welfare Supervisor or equivalent level supervisory position.

SUPERVISION EXERCISED:
Functional supervision may be provided to Child Welfare Specialists 1 or 2 on complex and sensitive investigations or cases.

LOCATION OF WORK:
Department of Children and Family Services.

JOB DISTINCTIONS:
Differs from Child Welfare Specialist 2 by presence of lead worker duties and/or regular assignment of advanced assignments.

Differs from Child Welfare Supervisor by the absence of direct supervision over Child Welfare Specialists.
Examples of Work

EXAMPLES LISTED BELOW INCLUDE BRIEF SAMPLES OF COMMON DUTIES ASSOCIATED WITH THIS JOB TITLE. PLEASE NOTE THAT NOT ALL TASKS ARE INCLUDED.

May perform the following duties based upon program assignment:

FOSTER CARE
Provides supportive counseling and other services for clients; arranges for the provision of services from community resources based on the case plan.

Interviews and establishes working relationships with children and families. Participates in developing case plan goals/objectives with the family and formalizing it in conferences and agency staffing.

Composes correspondence to compile social summaries and/or assessments. Prepares and submits appropriate reports and affidavits to the Court and/or District Attorney on cases, and testifies in court proceedings.

Serves as the agency liaison to other social service, educational, or law enforcement agencies.

May serve as the sole assistant supervisor of any child welfare unit by performing any of the following: accepting and/or assigning cases to workers, reviewing, and/or approving routine correspondence, compiling and reporting caseload statistics, serving as the child welfare representative on panels, and serving as the Child Welfare representative at public speaking events.

May serve as lead worker by participating in the training of new Social Services Specialists and/or Counselors, modeling onsite visits with new workers, and providing technical assistance and case consultation.

Prepares and submits material to the Regional Attorney for termination of parental rights, abandonment or voluntary surrender, when this action is determined to be in the best interests of the child.

CHILD PROTECTION INVESTIGATION
Obtains identifying information, determines if the report meets intake requirements, determines the current status of the child to evaluate the extent of any danger/risk, determines priority level of the report, and prepares complaint form to give to supervisor for assignment.

Conducts investigations of allegations of abuse and/or neglect of children; manages routine or specialized investigations.

Carries a caseload of complex cases in which abuse and/or neglect has been validated requiring highly specialized diagnosis, assessment, intervention techniques and complex service plans.

Evaluates and provides those services required for the child\'s immediate safety during the investigative process and makes appropriate referrals to family services or community resources.

Presents investigative findings to child death review, citizen review, and internal child fatality review panels.

Prepares and submits appropriate affidavit reports to the Court and/or District Attorney, and testifies at court proceedings.

May serve on 24-hour on-call duty to respond to child abuse/neglect reports.

ADOPTION SERVICES
Recruits adoptive homes for children who are legally available for adoption and do not have an adoptive resource.

Completes assessment of children available for adoption and prepares children and families for adoptive placement.

Completes comprehensive background history that is made available to children and adoptive families.

Represents the agency in juvenile court proceedings by presenting service plans and progress reports on children in caseload.

FAMILY SERVICES
Carries a caseload of selected complex cases in which abuse, and/or neglect has been validated requiring highly specialized diagnosis, assessment, intervention techniques and complex service plans.

Assesses service needs in response to identified problems and directly provides intensive intervention to families and children in a complex/specialized caseload.

Conducts regular home visits with the family to assess safety and risk factors and to determine further treatment needs.

FOSTER CARE
Provides specialized child welfare services to a caseload of children placed in residential care for various reasons.

Participates in developing case plans and objectives with the family in conferences and agency staffings, prepares cases for presentation to the multi-disciplinary team for consultation, and coordinates with other professionals regarding the needs of the child, family, and/or parent.

Interviews and establishes working relationships with children and families and composes correspondence to compile social summaries and/or assessments.

Prepares and submits appropriate reports and affidavits to the Court and/or District Attorney on cases in compliance with state laws and agency policy, and testifies in court proceedings.

Continuously assesses safety of the child and service needs of the child(ren) and families through interviews, observations and other information sources.

HOME DEVELOPMENT
Prepares and conducts extensive orientation and training for potential foster and adoptive homes identified for a specific child and for relative placements.

Acts as a leadworker and provides supervision as needed.

Through written home studies, examines and evaluates information gathered about families, housing, and environment in relation to agency criteria and licensing regulation for certification of prospective adoptive and foster homes.

Evaluates for annual recertification for foster and adoptive homes. Develops and implements a corrective action plan for any deficiencies.

Maintains listing of all foster and adoptive homes in area and recommends resources to workers placing children.