Social Services Specialist III - Foster Care

Job Announcement

This position includes a signing bonus of $2,500 (full‑time) for new county hires.

Do you aspire to make a meaningful difference in the lives of children and youth in foster care? Are you energized by a dynamic, fast‑paced work environment where every day brings new challenges? If so, we invite you to join our team! We seek individuals dedicated to children's permanency, safety, and well‑being, who excel in critical thinking, decision‑making, and leadership. This challenging role offers a unique opportunity to positively impact the lives of children and families.

This position works within the Division of Children, Youth and Families (CYF) as part of our Placement and Resource team. This team is in the Foster Care & Adoption, Resource & Support program. Due to the important function of this team, this position requires participation in after‑hours support for the division.

As a placement coordinator, you will be at the forefront of the decision‑making process for the placement of children entering foster care or requiring re‑placement. Your role will involve evaluating the needs and challenges of each child, while also considering the strengths, limitations, and availability of foster families. Additionally, you will work to place children in out‑of‑home placements — when necessary, based on their specific treatment needs.

As an agency, DFS is committed to strengthening the well‑being of its diverse community by protecting and improving the lives of all children, adults, and families through assistance, partnership, advocacy, outreach, and quality services. To learn more about DFS and its Mission, Vision, and Values, please .

Under general direction of the supervisor of the Placement and Resource Team, this position’s duties and responsibilities include:

• Matches children with appropriate foster homes, ensuring information accuracy and completeness, and coordinates with CPS and foster care staff.
• Assesses the condition and needs of children and communicates with foster parents and agencies to arrange placements.
• Manages placement resources, maintains knowledge of foster homes and agencies, and coordinates potential placement options.
• Maintains a detailed database of referrals, children demographics, and tracks referral dispositions.
• Prepares and maintains reports on referral activities, case assignments, and characteristics of children entering foster care.
• Enters and updates information on foster homes in the OASIS system and manages related paperwork.
• Provides crisis intervention, training, and mentorship to social services specialists, and assists with administrative functions.
• Participates in team decision‑making meetings, evaluation of program services, and planning of appreciation events for foster parents.
• Participates in an on‑call after‑hours rotation that includes evening, overnight, weekend, and holiday hours.
• Performs other duties as assigned to ensure child safety and improve outcomes for families.

• Knowledge of child protection laws, rules, and regulations.
• Knowledge of foster care and adoption laws, rules, and regulations.
• Ability to interview, assess needs, counsel, and refer clients to other resources as needed.
• Ability to provide excellent customer service to members of the community whom the agency serves, as well as community partners and internal agency staff.
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
• Ability to learn, retain, and apply both state and federal law and policy for foster home providers.
• Ability to work independently.

Grow your career with Fairfax County! With more than 16,000 employees, Fairfax County is a diverse workforce offering employees stimulating and challenging opportunities across a broad scope of career opportunities. As a Fairfax County employee, you impact the well‑being of our community every day.

This is an exciting time to join Fairfax County Government as we shape racial and social equity policies in the county through the One Fairfax Policy. Using this framework, we intentionally consider equity when making policies or delivering programs and services. To learn more, we highly…