Family Services Specialist II

Hiring Range: $67,508.74 to $90,428.52

Full Time or Part Time: Full Time

Additional Detail

The City of Alexandria is bordered by Washington D.C. and the Potomac River, Arlington and Fairfax counties, and Maryland. Thesmall city has a cosmopolitan feel with 150,000 people living within its 15.75 square miles. At the Department of Community and Human Services, we provide essential safety net services to help city residents enjoy a sense of well-being, safety and self-sufficiency. Our behavioral health programs provide compassionate services that support self-determination and recovery.

The beauty of our diverse and resilient people and our commitment to race and social equity, coupled with a historic district dating to 1749, charming waterfront, vibrant arts community and unique places for foodies and shopping, make the City of Alexandria a uniquely wonderful place to live, work and play. We invite all qualified candidates to learn more and apply for our
Family Services
Specialist II
position.

This the specialist level in the class series for Family Services. Employees specialize in program areas and assume more complex duties such as: interviewing/investigating in cases involving suspected child/adult abuse/neglect, out-of-home placements, guardian ships, emergency protective orders, and adoptions; testifying in legal proceedings; and placing children in foster/adoptive homes. Employees have contacts with others and influence outcomes by participating on task forces, strategic planning, mentoring, teaching, and conducting outreach.

Programs areas generally include Adult/Adult Protective Services, Child Protective Services, Foster Care, and Adoptions. Additionally, in some agencies, positions may be partly dedicated to Child Care and Employment Services in addition to other program areas.
The Family Services Specialist III is distinguished from the Family Services Specialist IV class by the latter’s functioning as a lead worker, or an expert resource specialist.

A Family Services Specialist II provides intensive and specialized, culturally competent social work services to individuals and families.

Alexandria DCHS utilizes a racial equity approach in all decision making.

This position uses social work theory to provide intensive and specialized culturally competent social work services to identify, engage, assess, and train prospective resource families. Resource families—which include foster parents, foster-to-adopt families, and kinship caregivers—are critical partners for child welfare professionals because they provide care for children who cannot live with their parents, and they can play a supportive role in reunification.

Telework may be available with appropriate consideration given to work assignment location, and in accordance with current City policy.

Examples of Duties:

• Provides approved curriculum to resource parent and fictive kin applicants;

• Assesses applicants understanding of training materials, assess their ability to participate in the resource parent program and their ability to provide a safe, nurturing home for a child in need;

• Prepares written resource home assessments and ICPC assessments utilizing information gathered through training, face to face interviews, collateral interviews and visits to the home and monitors homes after initial approval;

• Provides case management of resource homes including entering contacts into OASIS statewide system, teaming with the placement coordinator on placement options and support of families, adding families to the Resource Home data base, and gathering statistical data;

• Provides supportive counseling to resource families in identifying and resolving emotionally challenging decisions;

• Provides crisis intervention on a timely basis to…