Family Services Caseworker Trainee; Statewide

Introduction

When you join the Maryland Department of Human Services (DHS), you join a team of more than 5,000 employees across the state dedicated to positively changing the lives of more than 1 million Marylanders each year. We do this by providing economic support, preventive services, and caring for children and adults. We aim to deliver services so that we more quickly meet the needs of the people we serve.

At DHS, we grapple with hard questions to find new ways to foster a culture of bold innovation. We do this to ensure that in Maryland, we leave no one behind. This recruitment has been reopened to allow for additional application submissions. If you have already applied and been approved for this recruitment , please do not reapply; your application remains under consideration.

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STATEWIDE This Statewide recruitment has been opened to establish a list of eligible candidates to be used to fill current and future vacancies occurring in our Local Departments of Social Services throughout the State. Please indicate the counties in which you are willing to accept employment on your application.

A Family Services Caseworker Trainee is the entry level of work providing direct social services to troubled individuals or families that are designed to sustain and improve the social, health, economic, behavioral and emotional functioning of customers. Employees in this classification do not supervise other positions. Employees in this classification receive close supervision from a Licensed Social Worker. Employees in this classification may be required to work evenings and on weekends.

Work is performed in customers’ homes, schools, hospitals and other community settings. Employees may be required to deal with potentially hazardous situations.

Examples of Work:

• Learns to assist customers in identifying, developing and using their potential capabilities and community resources to resolve social, health, emotional, behavioral and economic problems;
• Learns to interview customers to obtain information needed to determine eligibility for social services;
• Learns to assess case situations and make recommendations to supervisor regarding individualized plans of service;
• Learns to provide limited counseling and crisis intervention services to customers;
• Learns to establish and maintain personal contact with other social services agencies and community resources to facilitate the referral of individual customers;
• Learns to check public records, such as birth records, for data and to verify information such as income, kinship and residence;
• Learns to prepare and manage case records and reports concerning information secured and services rendered;
• Learns to testify in legal proceedings regarding family service cases;
• Learns to develop and implement a personalized training plan to maintain and upgrade knowledge and skills related to the delivery of direct services;
• May learn to provide on-call coverage;
• May learn to participate in the investigation of suspected child or adult abuse or neglect;
• May learn to make recommendations for placement of children in foster and adoptive homes;
• May learn to participate in the initial investigation of fatalities that result from suspected abuse or neglect;
• Performs other related duties.

Applicants must meet all minimum (and selective) qualifications to be considered, and to appear on the list of people eligible for hire. Please read all requirements before applying.

Education:

A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in an appropriate behavioral science, such as: child development, sociology, social work, psychology, counseling, nursing, criminology, juvenile justice, human growth and development, human services, mental health or human resources management that includes at least 30 credit hours in human services or human development. (Please clearly indicate your bachelor's degree major on your application.)

Experience:

None.

Note:

These requirements are established by the Social Services Administration by authority provided in Human Services Article Title 4, Subtitle 301 Section (b) (1) of the Annotated Code of Maryland. The Department of Budget and Management, Office of Personnel Services and Benefits does not have the authority to accept substitutions or equivalents.

Employees in this classification may be assigned duties that require the operation of a motor vehicle. Employees assigned such duties will be required to possess a motor vehicle operator’s license valid in the State of Maryland.