Social Service Team Lead - Wellbeing and Permanency

Job Details

Social Service Team Lead - Wellbeing and Permanency

This listing closes on 8/31/2026 at 11:59 PM Central Time (US & Canada).

Employer:

State of Mississippi

Salary: $50,791.10 - $51,811.10 Annually

Location:

24 - HARRISON COUNTY, MS

Job Type: Full-Time

Job Number: harri

Department: 0681 - CHILD PROTECTION SERVICES

Opening Date: 08/24/2026

Closing Date: 8/31/2026 at 11:59 PM Central Time (US & Canada)

• This is a non-state service, time-limited position.
• Conducts ongoing safety and risk assessments that identify and address safety concerns throughout the life of the case.
• Identifying safety concerns and implementing safety plans.
• Gather demographic information on child and family to conduct ongoing diligent search efforts to locate the child/family when unable to make contact and as needed to achieve timely permanency.
• Ensures that frequency and quality of visits with children and families are adequate to ensure safety, permanency, and well-being.
• Identifies the physical, educational, and mental/behavioral health needs of children, parents, and foster parents and ensures identified needs were effectively addressed through collaboration with internal and external supports.
• Establishes permanency goals for the child(ren) through coordination with local youth court.
• Ensures foster care placements and/or living situations are stable and in the best interests of the child(ren) and are consistent with achieving established permanency.
• Makes concerted efforts to achieve permanency for children in a timely manner and consistent with regulations contained in the Adoptions and Safe Families Act.
• Ensures siblings in foster care are placed together unless a separation is necessary to meet the needs of one of the siblings.
• Maintains child's connections to his or her neighborhood, community, faith, extended family, tribe, school, and friends when safe to do so.
• Documents case management activities within time frames established by policy.
• Prepare professional court reports and provide professional recommendations in court proceedings.
• Celebrates positive outcomes with child(ren) and family.
• Utilizes privately owned vehicle for work-related travel and duties.
• Routinely serves on after-hours on-call duty for foster care and in-home service needs.
• Embraces ongoing learning and professional development opportunities.
• The incumbents receive training related to job content, and MUST PASS a comprehensive test prior to continued employment and/or advancement.

• Professional commitment to and caring about clients and the larger profession of child welfare.
• Personal resilience and strong self-efficacy beliefs about the ability to work with clients to produce positive client outcomes.
• Efficient organizational and time management skills.
• Good oral and written communication skills.
• Positive work morale.
• Ability to be flexible in thinking and problem solving.
• Realistic expectations about the difficulty and challenges of the work.
• Ability to handle an often-unpredictable work environment.

Minimum qualifications must be met.

• MUST HAVE A VALID DRIVERS LICENSE AND INSURANCE

• Typically requires a Bachelor's Degree and 2-4 years of experience. Appointing authority may require a Master's Degree and/or social worker's license.
• Bachelor's Degree from an accredited four-year college or university in social work, social services, psychology, educational psychology, sociology, nursing, criminal justice, counseling, marriage and family therapy, family studies or a related field.
• 2-4 years of experience in a human service-related field.
• Salary is determined by employee's education and experience.

• Health/Prescription Insurance:
  Eligible employees have the opportunity to participate in the state’s health and prescription insurance program. Employees may select either single or family coverage with affordable co-payments.
• Wellness Benefits:
  Employees are eligible for a wellness and health promotion program. This plan provides annual benefits for certain services with first-dollar coverage with no deductible.
• Life Insurance:
  All eligible employees receive an…