Licensing Caseworker

Overview

The Social Service Worker 2‑Licensing and Facilitation Caseworker is responsible for conducting comprehensive foster‑adopt home assessments, including home visits, interviews, documentation, and certification recommendations, while maintaining compliance with state systems and standards. The position coordinates child placements, supports foster parent recruitment, training, and public outreach, and collaborates closely with caseworkers, supervisors, and community partners. Additional duties include participating in on‑call coverage, assisting with overflow child welfare cases involving assessments and investigations, crisis intervention, and service linkage to ensure child safety and stability.

• 30% Conduct foster‑adopt home assessments, comprising home visits, interviews, and extensive consultations with all family members; observe family interactions and assess overall level of functioning; recommend certification/approval or denial based upon home study findings. Maintain case records and supporting documentation (e.g., police reports, references, safety audits, and home study reports). Enter completed home studies into SACWIS and other electronic data management systems.
  
  Provide assistance with kinship assessments and home studies to determine eligibility for the Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP). Seek and maintain Ohio Assessor qualifications.
• 30% Conduct placement searches and coordinate with agency foster homes, netw… (continues as in original text).
• 30% Plan, implement, and evaluate foster parent recruitment activities; increase public awareness through development and evaluation of recruitment materials, advertisements, fliers, inquiry packets, and public presentations; assist with planning and implementation of foster parent orientation and ongoing training; develop and facilitate orientation classes; coordinate annual training; develop individualized training for foster parents.
• 10% Participate in ongoing training, supervisory/staff meetings, staff consultations, and other related management support tasks. Participate in weekend and night coverage on a rotating basis. Assist with overflow case assignments by assessing the validity of complaints accepted according to DCY rules and agency policy of abuse, neglect, and dependency; conduct interviews at various locations; complete assessments in SACWIS; gather evidence; work with community partners;
  
  provide interventions to alleviate crisis and reduce risks to children.

• A bachelor’s degree in human services‑related studies, or
• A bachelor’s degree in any field and have been employed for at least two years in a human services occupation, or
• An associate’s degree in human services‑related studies, or
• Been employed for at least five years in a human service‑related occupation.
• Applicant must have a valid driver’s license.

Per Section  of the Ohio Revised Code, applicants of a Public Children Services Unit must have one of the qualifications above. For employment to continue, a person described in options 2, 3, or 4 must obtain a job‑related bachelor’s degree not later than five years after the date employment commences. All liability and responsibility for determining “human services‑related studies” or “human services‑related occupation” rests with the employing agency.

Per Section  of the Ohio Revised Code, each caseworker shall complete at least ninety hours of in‑service training during the first year of continuous employment, and thereafter thirty‑six hours annually in areas relevant to the caseworker’s duties, covering topics such as recognizing and preventing child abuse and neglect, assessing risks, interviewing persons, investigating cases, intervening, and providing services to children and families.

The position requires the safety of children or adults and involves determining imminent risk of harm. The person in this role may encounter physical, mental, and/or sexual abuse situations, potentially leading to injuries, temporary disabilities, or, in extremely rare cases, permanent disability or death. The job may involve exposure to environmental factors such as cold, heat, noise, fumes, vibration, and dirt, as well as lifting or transporting children, and exposure to contagious diseases.

Protective clothing is not required, but special precautions are necessary when contacting families suspected of abuse or neglect.