Social Service Specialist - Safety

Social Service Specialist – Safety Unit, Jones County, MS
$38,210.22 – $47,715.60 Annually

The Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services has a position available for a Frontline Social Service Specialist within Safety Unit. The 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.

• 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).
• Investigate reports of child maltreatment (abuse, neglect, exploitation) through the Mississippi Centralized Intake and Assessment, including human trafficking, maltreatment in care, and child fatalities.
• Conduct home visits, visits to other settings, and structured interviews.
• Conduct safety and risk assessments to determine safety of children and make ethical, fact‑based recommendations for continuation of services.
• Monitor safety plans and make referrals for services as appropriate.
• Prepare for, attend, and testify 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, and finalize completed investigations with all supporting documents uploaded to a shared drive.
• Send 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.
• Travel in personal vehicle (mileage reimbursed based on DFA guidelines).
• Perform work beyond assigned geographic area and/or special assignments.
• Use data to manage and plan the workday for timely initiation and completion of work.
• Be on‑call after work hours and on weekends in designated coverage area.
• Other duties as assigned.

This position includes 4 weeks (every other week) of on‑site training and 4 weeks of on‑the‑job training and requires passing a comprehensive test prior to continuation of employment and/or advancement.

MUST HAVE VALID DRIVER'S 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.

• 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.
• 0–2 years of experience.
• Social worker’s license may be required by appointing authority.
• Salary may be based on education and qualifications.
• MUST HAVE VALID DRIVER'S LICENSE AND INSURANCE.

Location:

210 East Capitol Street, Suite 800, Jackson, Mississippi 39201.