Child & Family Services Case Manager

Job Description

The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Division of Family Well-Being and Protection, Bureau of Child Protective Services, is seeking a Child & Family Services Case Manager (Job Classification: Social Worker
2) to join our team. This position is located in Cedar Rapids. This is a full-time opportunity, Monday – Friday with typical hours from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Paid overtime is pre-approved by leadership and may include after‑hours and weekend on‑call rotation. The primary purpose for this position is to work with families in which child abuse and/or neglect has occurred.

The focus is to decrease the likelihood of continued abuse while preserving families. We do our best to keep families together; however, there are times in which this is not possible. In those circumstances, children may have to be removed from parental custody and placed in another home, preferably still with family. As a Social Work Case Manager, there will be times in which you will have to remove children, a process that can be difficult and challenging.

• Assess the ongoing risk to children, develop safety plans, assess the strengths and needs of the child and family, and make recommendations to various county attorneys and courts.
• Frequent interaction with law enforcement, medical/mental health community partners, schools, etc.
• Apply Iowa Code, agency policy, and sound professional judgment to highly complex situations involving crises and or chronic abuse or neglect.
• All cases assigned require home visits, detailed interviews, and thorough narrative documentation.
• Troubleshoot problematic situations to find innovative solutions to present to administration and the supervisor; confront crisis situations and high stress situations in a calm and orderly manner; maintain confidential information as required by the agency and assure safety is a top priority for all in the office.
• Obtain information from a wide variety of sources, including written materials, telephone conversations, computer databases, and be able to read and interpret the data.
• Identify rules, principles, or relationships that explain reasonable facts, data, or other information for analysis and draw accurate conclusions.
• Interact in a team environment to manage group processes, facilitate, and encourage cooperation, pride, trust, and group identity; foster commitment and team spirit.
• Work with others to achieve goals.
• Within an office environment, provide Division support to a large segment of the agency through managing internal and external requests for information and legislative reviews, requiring comprehension of request, independent judgment, and adherence to agency formatting of timely response or communication.
• Interact with employees and customers in a positive customer service manner to resolve problems and answer inquiries; customers may include correspondence, telephone, or walk‑ins to the local office.
• Work or be on standby during nights and weekends on a rotational basis.

• Successfully manages a full case load.
• Strong observational and analytical skills, as well as the ability to respectfully engage families as partners in planning for safety and establish a working relationship with families.
• Excellent judgment and communication skills with the ability to provide good written documentation in a timely manner.
• Ability to develop case plans, use critical thinking skills, prioritize work and work under pressure.
• Ability to use independent judgment to make sound decisions, demonstrate integrity and confidentiality, and a strong work ethic.

To ensure the Service Area is providing the best service to the residents of Iowa, applicants should demonstrate exceptional customer service skills, integrity, and a strong work ethic.

Preference will be given for education or experience which correlates directly with the requirements and duties of the position.

• Health, Dental, and Vision Coverage:
  Health and dental insurance packages to keep you and your family healthy at a low cost with outstanding coverage.
• Paid Time Off:
  Vacation (96 hours/year to begin, increasing with years of service), sick leave…