Job description

Essential Job

Functions:

· Receives cases from investigators after children are removed from their homes, placed in CPS conservatorship, and placed in care outside their homes.

· Determines each child’s needs and ensuring that appropriate referrals for testing, evaluations, records, or further assessments are made. Ensures all services are focused on achieving positive permanency.

· Working with children, families, and communities to plan for a child's permanency.

· Identifying potential permanency resources for the child through ongoing contact with parents, family members, and other individuals the child and family identify as important to them.

· Searching for potential kinship providers throughout the case. Completing home studies of a child's family members or family friends (kinship providers) who might care for the child.

· Meets with the parents to assess risk and safety issues, identify behavior changes necessary to achieve child safety, referring parents to appropriate services to address the identified needs to move towards positive permanency. Discusses with parents their progress towards making changes to behaviors that pose dangers to their child(ren).

· Meets with children, parents, family friends, or foster homes in public as well as in their own homes.

· Collaborates with a Placement Team, including Kinship staff, for placements, as needed.

· Participates in meetings and conferences at times and places convenient for the family members as well as everyone involved in the case.

· Visits children monthly to assess the child’s feeling of safety in their current home, to plan for permanency, and to discuss their needs, wishes, and progress while in care

· Attends and participates in court hearings about the child and family. This includes contacting the parties in the case before hearings, preparing court reports, and testifying in court on the child’s needs, the family’s progress, and the department’s efforts to achieve permanency for the child.

· Keeps the child’s, parents, caregivers, court-appointed attorney and guardian ad litem(s) informed about the child’s circumstances and significant events.

· Works with the department's attorney to prepare for contested-court hearings and trials.

· Works with kinship caregivers and foster parents to ensure that they have what they need to care for the child or youth placed with them i.e., keeping them informed about developments in the case, returning phone calls, and in some areas of the state being available 24 hours a day / 7 days a week at certain times.

· Transitions children home during reunification services and provides support to the family until the legal case is closed.

· Supervises adoptive placements until the adoption is final or until the case is transferred to an adoption caseworker.

· Using effective time-management skills to make sure all key tasks are done.

· Documents case records by completing forms, narratives, and reports to form a written record for each client.

· Develops and maintains effective working relationships between Child Protective Services staff and law enforcement officials, judicial officials, legal resources, medical professionals, and other community resources.

· Performs other duties as assigned and required to maintain unit operations.

· Promotes and demonstrates appropriate respect for cultural diversity among coworkers, clients, and all work-related contacts.

· Attends work regularly in accordance with agency leave policy.

Child Protective Services Specialist I: An accredited Bachelor's degree OR accredited Associate's degree plus two (2) years of relevant work experience OR 60 accredited college credit hours plus two (2) years relevant work experience OR 90 accredited college credit hours plus one (1) year of relevant work experience.

Examples of relevant work experience in social, human, or protective services include paid or volunteer work within social service agencies or communities providing services to families or other at-risk populations.

Child Protective Services Specialist II: Employed as a Child Protective Services Specialist I for 9 months AND have received Child Protective Services Specialist Certification OR currently employed as a Child Protective Services Specialist II in Texas Department of Family and Protective Services OR previously employed as a Child Protective Services Specialist II in Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.

Community-Based Care (CBC) is a new way to provide services than traditional foster care because it gives local communities the flexibility to draw on local strengths and resources and find innovative ways to meet the unique and individual needs of children and their families. CBC includes many of the services that Child Protective Services (CPS) normally provides. This includes foster care, case management, kinship, and reunification services. A single contractor in each designated community area creates a network of services, foster homes, and other living arrangements and, when ready, provides case management for each child and their family as well. CPS works with each contractor (Single Source Continuum Contractor or SSCC) to carefully manage the transition from traditional foster care to community-driven care. Full implementation of CBC is projected for the year 2029 across the state of Texas. With open proposal options, any given community or regional area may be selected for CBC transition. This position along with your job duties and function will shift form a state position with Texas Department of Family Protective Services to the SSCC, which is a private and non-profit agency serving the same foster care population. After the transition, your office location is subject to change within your same county which is expected to occur before 2029.

Child Protective Services Specialist III: Employed as a Child Protective Services Specialist II for 9 months AND have received Advanced Child Protective Services Specialist Certification OR currently employed as a Child Protective Services Specialist III in Texas Department of Family and Protective Services OR previously employed as a Child Protective Services Specialist III in Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.

Child Protective Services Specialist IV: Employed as a Child Protective Services Specialist III for 24 months AND have received Senior Advanced Child Protective Services Specialist Certification OR currently employed as a Child Protective Services Specialist IV in Texas Department of Family and Protective Services OR previously employed as a Child Protective Services Specialist IV in Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $3,816.65 per month

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Employee discount
• Flexible schedule
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Professional development assistance
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Holidays
• Monday to Friday
• On call
• Overnight shift
• Overtime
• Weekend availability

Ability to commute/relocate:

• Athens, TX 75751: Reliably commute or planning to relocate before starting work (Required)

Education:

• Associate (Required)

Experience:

• Social work: 2 years (Required)

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Wharton, TX 77488

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