CPS Social Service Specialist ; SSS- Kent​/KSW

Job Title:

CPS Lead Worker - Social Service Specialist 4 (SSS4)

Location:

Kent, WA – Region 4

Closes: 05/24/2026

Salary: $73,284 – $98,520 annually. King County Premium:
The salary listed does not include the additional 5% premium granted to all King County employees. Assignment Pay:
This position will also receive 10% assignment pay, in addition to the regular base salary; the required duties include performing visits in unregulated environments, such as private residences, to conduct investigations for allegations of abuse and/or neglect to assess the safety of vulnerable children.

This Social Service Specialist 4 (SSS4) position functions as a Lead Worker over Social Service Specialists (SSS1-SSS3) who provide professional-level social services to clients involved with the Child Protective Services (CPS) unit and Family Assessment Response (FAR). The role provides advanced case management, coaching, mentoring, on-the-job training, and assistance in transitioning staff from a formal training program to fieldwork. The position assigns work, conducts case reviews, maintains efficient procedures, and acts as the unit supervisor (SSS5) in their absence, including attendance and facilitation of meetings, case staffing, and decision making.

The incumbent applies child welfare practice principles, laws, rules, and policy to lead employees within the unit, and assesses and intervenes on assigned workload on the most complex cases.

• Provides on-the-job training, mentoring, feedback, coaching, and consultation to staff.
• Serves as a lead position over Social Service Specialists and Social Service Support Specialists (SSSS, SSS1, SSS2, and SSS3 levels).
• In conjunction with the supervisor, assigns work, reviews work for efficacy, uses data to identify trends, and reviews case actions for accuracy.
• Provides feedback and reporting to the supervisor on employees’ performance and training needs.
• Provides coverage of assigned caseloads in the absence of a Social Service Specialist.
• Attends meetings and provides supervisory coverage in the supervisor’s absence.
• Prepares and provides testimony at administrative hearings, court proceedings, and criminal, civil, and administrative proceedings.
• Refers, coordinates, and monitors the delivery of services.
• Provides goal‑directed, task‑centered, and time‑limited crisis intervention to children and families.
• Utilizes shared planning activities to obtain input from others to develop and coordinate collaborative case plans.
• Trains, coaches, and supports Social Service Specialists in preparing court reports, court testimony, hearings, and proceedings.
• Provides staff with guidance and training on caseload and time management, case actions, appropriate assessment, and intervention techniques.
• Provides staff with guidance and training on applying the Safety Framework and Structured Decision‑Making process to assess risk and safety through the life of a case.
• Places dependent children in foster or other approved placements (if necessary, for the most complex cases).
• Permanency planning.
• Utilizes Fam Link to document case activities and maintain case records/files.
• Prepares and files dependency petitions, guardianship petitions, and other legal documents related to the implementation of permanent plans.
• Produces discovery.

• Seven (7) years of paid social service experience and 30 semester or 45 quarter credits in a Social Service discipline.
• Or a Bachelor’s degree in social services, human services, behavioral sciences, or a related field with 30 semester or 45 quarter credits in a Social Service discipline AND three (3) years of paid social service experience.
• Or a Master’s degree in social services, human services, behavioral sciences, or a related field with 30 semester or 45 quarter credits in a Social Service discipline AND two (2) years of paid social service experience (a two‑year Master’s degree that included a practicum may be substituted for one year of paid social service experience).
• Or one (1) year of experience as a Social Service Specialist 3.
• AND the ability to take action to learn and grow.
• The ability to take action to meet the…