Protective Services Specialist Anchorage; PCN

Protective Services Specialist 1/2

Come join the State of Alaska!

This job class uses Competency Based minimum qualifications (MQs). Please read the Competency Based MQ instructions below to learn more.

The Department of Family and Community Services, Office of Children's Services (OCS) is recruiting for full-time Protective Services Specialist 1/2 in Anchorage, Alaska. This position is open to All Applicants.

What You Will Be Doing:
As a Protective Services Specialist (PSS), responsible for Child Protection Services in the Family Services unit, the Investigations & Assessment unit, or as Generalist covering both. Services are intended to ensure the safety, permanency and well-being of children, enhance the protective capacities of parents, and strengthen the family. It is comprised of two components:
1) In-home Services and
2) Out-of-home Services. More information on Family Services can be found here:
Family Services.

This case carrying position has a wide range of duties, including investigating reports of child abuse and/or neglect, prepare plans for intervention by soliciting the cooperation of the family and others, and gather information about family dynamics/functionality, develop plans to ensure child safety while assisting parents in addressing their diminished protective factors, place children out of the home with a relative or licensed foster home when necessary, provide ongoing and/or in-home services to families, write and submit reports to the Court, work closely with Tribal/Community Partners, frequent face-to-face and telephonic contact with parents and caregivers of children in custody and make referrals to other service providers and agencies.

For more information: OCS Practice Model

Mission and Values/Culture:

The Mission of the Office of Children's Services is:
Ensuring the safety, permanency and well-being of children by strengthening families, engaging communities, and partnering with Tribes.

The Office of Children's Services strives for a diverse and inclusive workforce where safety and wellbeing are paramount and employees at all levels promote a culture where everyone is valued, treated equitably, and treated respectfully. Everything we do is underpinned by our Core Values Hope, Integrity, Respect and Empathy.

Benefits of Joining Our Team:

The Office of Children's Services is committed to an organizational culture that values each team member. We are committed to building and sustaining a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environment. We celebrate and value the diversity of our employees, partners, and families we serve.

Your first twelve months in the agency are probationary and considered a training period, with formal virtual training, on-the-job training with your supervisor, and with other colleagues.

While this is a field-based position that involves working in the community, part-time telework within the duty station may be an option upon eligibility.

Full-time benefits of this position include but are not limited to:
Insurance Benefits;
Retirement Benefits;
Paid Leave; and twelve paid holidays per year. Please see the benefits tab on this posting for more information.

The Working Environment You Can Expect:

The Office of Children's Services Anchorage Regional Office is in mid-town Anchorage. The working environment will consist of a typical office setting as well as regular field work throughout the community. Frequency of travel fluctuates and is expected to be 20%-50% of the month. Length of trips can vary 30 mins - 3 hours, depending on the situation, and can include overnight stays in rural conditions with some exposure to extreme weather conditions in the winter.

Travel in outlying areas may involve small aircraft and overnight stays.

The work we perform is critical and significantly impacts the communities we serve. As a result, the Office of Children's Services (OCS) requires staff to work after hours and on-call, work in the evenings and weekends as well as weekdays, so overtime is also an expectation when deemed necessary. OCS staff are considered essential, so are expected to work during pandemic and other natural disasters.

The typical workweek may include some caseworker visits at school or in resource family homes, virtual and in-person court attendance, and mostly working independently in an office setting.

Our teams are based around having a strong work ethic and high ethical standards, believing in treating all people with dignity and respect, as well as being self-motivated, organized and honest. We are all about getting the job done while still contributing to a positive, upbeat work environment.

For information on the Anchorage community (including schools, hospitals, housing) please review the Alaska Community Profiles.

Who We Are Looking For:

We are interested in candidates who possess some or all of the following position specific competencies:

• Stress Tolerance:
  Deals calmly and effectively with high stress situations (for example, tight deadlines, hostile…