Social Services Specialist - Safety

Frontline Social Service Specialist

The Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services has a position available for a Frontline Social Service Specialist position within Safety Unit. The Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services (MDCPS) is committed to protecting and nurturing Mississippi's at-risk children and families. MDCPS offers a variety of positions statewide, including social work positions providing case management services and working with potential foster families, supervisor positions providing clinical and administrative support, and agency support positions such as policy development, human resources, information technology, program management, training, and budgeting/finance.

Working with MDCPS will give you the chance to make a life-changing difference for Mississippi's most vulnerable children and families.

This is a non-state service (NS14), time-limited position. Receive investigation assignments and conduct historical checks of records to determine if individuals in the reports have had prior agency involvement. Recognize signs and symptoms of child maltreatment (Abuse, Neglect, Exploitation). Investigates reports of child maltreatment (Abuse, Neglect, Exploitation) of children that are reported through the Mississippi Centralized Intake and Assessment including human trafficking, maltreatment in care, and child fatalities through conducting home visits, visits to other settings where children/families live and other structured interviews.

Conducts safety and risk assessments to determine safety of children and make ethical and fact-based recommendations for continuation of services. This includes monitoring safety plans and making referrals for services as appropriate. Prepare for, attend, and testifies in court hearings and administrative appeals on investigations. Participate in collaborative internal team meetings. Schedule and attend forensic interviews, autopsies, and other meetings regarding investigations.

Document initial and ongoing work in accordance with established protocols, practices, and policies. This includes finalizing completed investigations with all supportive documents uploaded to a shared drive and sending final notifications per policy. Serve as mentor and peer support for new staff to the unit. Participate in scheduled staffing and other meetings. Build professional relationships and collaborate with law enforcement, legal and other stakeholders to support the agency's work in the investigation process.

Requires routine travel in personal vehicle (mileage reimbursed based on DFA guidelines). May require work beyond assigned geographic area and/or special assignments. Use data to manage and plan the workday for timely initiation and completion of work. On-call after work hours and on weekends in designated coverage area. Other duties as assigned. This consist of 4 weeks (every other week) of on-site training and 4 weeks of On-The-Job Training, and must pass a comprehensive test prior to continued employment and/or advancement.

MUST HAVE VALID DRIVERS LICENSE AND INSURANCE

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 Preferred Qualifications Typically requires a Bachelor's Degree and 0-2 years of experience. Appointing authority may require social worker's license. A 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. In this position, the salary maybe based on Education and Qualifications.

VALID DRIVERS LICENSE AND INSURANCE