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Gaston County Government

Social Worker III (Foster Care)

Gaston County Government, Gastonia, North Carolina, United States, 28054

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Gaston Social Services: Protecting, caring for and empowering children and adults who are temporarily or permanently unable to care for themselves through the administering of federal, state and county programs focused on improving the well-being of our citizens. An hourly salary range of $27.45 to $31.91 is anticipated for this position. The duties listed below are not all of the duties that may be assigned but are those that are considered as essential for an employee to perform. Responsibilities

Providing case management services for children in custody of the Department of Health & Human Services and aggressively seeking permanence for them, including 1) seeing each child, 2) attending all court hearings and preparing all necessary reports and documentation, 3) contacting and seeing all appropriate family members and collaterals, 4) coordinating and facilitating visits between child and family, 5) advocating for and obtaining all services the child needs (medical, emotional, education, as well as placement), 6) making home visits (announced and unannounced) to removal home and foster home/group facility – all of such as is required by NCDHHS-Division of Social Services Policy, North Carolina Juvenile Statute, and through local court direction. Creating a case file that captures and documents a child’s life while in foster care and away from family/caretakers. Social worker prepares pictures, correspondence, medical records, educational records, running narratives that document all DHHS activities, copies of all court paperwork and orders, Permanency Planning Team paperwork, case plans developed with caretakers, risk assessments, strengths and needs assessments, visitation plans, referrals for child or parent, release of information forms, any mental health records, visitation plans, eligibility for funding forums, all identifying information (such as birth certificates and social security numbers), social histories, home studies, parental information – assessments, criminal histories, past CPS involvements, referred programs progress notes (e.g., DV Groups, Substance Abuse, therapists, parenting groups, etc.). Transporting and accompaniment of child (and sometimes caretakers) to appointments that help to achieve the well-being or permanency goals, visitation between child and caretaker, drug screenings of caretakers, and court. Participating and preparatory work for Permanency Planning Team Meetings, Child & Family Team Meetings, Treatment Team meetings for children and mental health needs, and Care Review Meetings for oversight of treatment level and appropriate placements. Participating in weekly unit/team staffing, individual staffing (as needed), local trainings, professional development trainings, and state-mandated trainings. Preparing monthly reports capturing statistical data. Must be available to work mandatory emergency shelters & other duties/tasks as needed or assigned. Qualifications

Master's degree in social work from an accredited school of social work Master’s degree in counseling or human services field and one year of directly related experience. Bachelor's degree in social work from an accredited school of social work with a Child Welfare Collaborative (CPS positions only) Bachelor's degree in social work and one year of experience in the areas of case management, assessment and referral, supportive counseling, intervention, psycho-social therapy, or treatment planning Four-year degree in human services field with at least 25 semester hours of approved coursework and two years of experience in a related area Four-year degree and three years of related experience. A valid driver\'s license is required A copy of a transcript must be included with the application. Failure to attach your transcripts will result in your application being rejected. The applicant selected must undergo a criminal background check and pass a drug screening test prior to employment. In compliance with G.S. 160A-164.2(b), if the position being filled requires an applicant for employment to work with children in any capacity, the County must require the applicant, if offered the position, to be subject to a criminal history record check conducted by the SBI. These checks must be performed in accordance with G.S.143B-1209.26, which authorizes the SBI to provide fingerprint-based state and national criminal record checks to cities and counties.

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