This posting is for ongoing recruitment in the Foster Care & Adoptions and Family In-Home Social Work divisions.

Purpose Of The Position

The primary purpose of this position is to provide direct adoption & Foster Care services to children and resource families to ensure a safe and permanent placement of children in agency custody. Family In-Home Services provides direct services to children and families to ensure safety and prevent removal from families.

Essential Functions Of The Position

• Ensure children who cannot safely return to their birth families achieve a safe and legally secure placement via adoption or guardianship.
• Provide services through which a plan for temporary substitute care appropriate to a child’s needs is evaluated, arranged, maintained and supervised in Court sanctioned placement or a licensed facility when the child’s own family is unable to care for him/her adequately due to safety/risk factors.
• Provide direct services to children and their pre-adoptive caregivers to ensure the protection, safety and permanency of the children.
• Assess, prepare, place and monitor children cleared for adoption.
• Provide state mandated case management services for children in DSS Legal Custody.
• Develop and monitor service plans with families and provide or refer services as needed.
• Make recommendations to the court, including services needed, progress and barriers to permanent plan.
• Establish rapport with children, families and appropriate professionals/non-professionals in the community to provide a strengths-based, family centered approach in working with families throughout child welfare involvement.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.
  
  

Minimum Education, Training And/or Experience

• Master's degree in social work from an accredited school of social work; or
• a Bachelor's degree in social work from an accredited school of social work and completion of the Child Welfare Collaborative; or
• a Bachelor's degree in social work from an accredited school of social work and one (1) year directly related experience; or
• a Master's degree in a human services field and one (1) year of directly related experience; or
• a Bachelor's degree in a human services field from an accredited college or university and two (2) years directly related experience; or
• a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university and three (3) years of directly related experience.
• One year of work experience can be credited for completion of the social work collaborative.
  
  

Additional Training and Experience: English/Spanish bi-lingual speakers preferred.

License or Certification Required by Statute or Regulation: A current, valid North Carolina driver's license.

Successful FIH/Permanency Planning Social Workers

• Engage and work collaboratively with children and family members who have often experienced significant trauma, are angry and/or scared.
• Promote and demonstrate competency and respect for cultural diversity among clients, coworkers, and all other work-related contacts.
• Demonstrate the ability to work in an emotionally charged environment and conduct home visits in isolated or high crime areas, involving exposure to substandard and unsanitary living conditions.
• Assess protective capacities of caretakers, develop Family Service Agreements, and identify and advocate for resources and community supports to minimize risk and provide for safety of the child. Assist parents to identify behaviors that led to child abuse and/or neglect and support parents to identify ways to make the necessary behavioral changes.
• Document all relevant and appropriate information gathered during services and complete all required forms accurately and in a timely manner.
• Utilize critical thinking skills to identify and address immediate threat to the child which may include:
• Working with families to identify family supports who can assist with keeping the child safe
• Testifying in court to seek emergency protective services
• Placing children in substitute care
• Supervise Visits to maintain connections between children and Caretakers
• Removing child from caretakers.
  

Department: Health and Human Services

Location: Asheville, NC

Salary Range: $29.94 - $31.28

Transcripts are required to be submitted with your application.

To Apply: visit the Buncombe County website!