Family Safety Practitioner II - Protection & Preservation Services; PPS

Signing Bonus: $2,500 (full‑time) for new county hires.

Works within the Division of Children, Youth and Families (CYF) to provide clinical casework services that stabilize and support families experiencing abuse, neglect, or at risk of further harm. DFS is committed to protecting and improving the lives of all children, adults, and families through assistance, partnership, advocacy, outreach, and quality services.

Monday‑Friday, 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.; evening and/or weekend work is required. The position includes an on‑call rotation that may involve evenings, overnight, weekends, and holidays requiring immediate field response.

• Use child welfare framework to perform comprehensive assessments of children and families, including home visits.
• Assess child abuse and neglect; parenting capacity; family relationships; mental health, substance abuse, developmental concerns; social supports; physical health challenges and disabilities; basic needs such as shelter, food, and clothing.
• Collaborate with parents/caretakers, key family members, and children to develop a service plan ensuring child safety and reducing future harm.
• Coordinate with the multidisciplinary team to ensure progress toward service‑plan goals.
• Coordinate care and deliver services such as financial, food, shelter, and housing assistance; psychiatric, psychological, or mental‑health evaluations; and domestic‑violence interventions.
• Respond to and provide crisis intervention to maintain child safety and well‑being.
• Document assessments, critical incident reports, detailed case contacts, progress notes, and service plans.
• Prepare court petitions and testify in court.
• Collaborate with multi‑disciplinary professionals and facilitate family engagement activities.
• Perform additional duties as assigned to ensure child safety and improve outcomes in families.

• Knowledge of child protection laws, rules, and regulations.
• Knowledge of conducting child protective services assessment and investigation.
• Ability to interview, assess needs, counsel, and refer clients to other resources.
• Ability to assess safety, risk, and protective capacity.
• Critical‑thinking skills and ability to apply knowledge, research, and judgment.
• Ability to meet deadlines and keep up with documentation.
• Capacity to work collaboratively with families to identify solutions for parenting, behavior management, childcare, financial stability, housing, mental health, substance abuse, etc.
• Ability to develop goals and use decision‑making tools and resources for child safety and well‑being.

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Services or a related field; OR two years of appropriate and related experience in a Human Services area.
• Most recent semester of a degree program if the degree requirement is not yet met at the time of application (when in school).
• For some positions, specific certification(s) or experience may be required or required within a specific time period.

• Valid driver’s license.
• Completion of the state‑mandated training in the functional area within a specified time period.

• Completion of a criminal background check, driving record check, and a Child Protective Services check.
• Requirement to respond to county‑wide unscheduled leave emergencies (e.g., weather, transportation, disaster).
• On‑call rotation including evenings, overnight, weekends, and holidays requiring immediate field response.

• Master’s degree in Social Work (MSW) or a related human services degree.
• Three years of experience in social work, psychology, sociology, counseling, or related fields.
• Experience in the child welfare field.
• Experience working with a diverse multicultural population.
• Minimum of two years experience in child protective services intake and/or ongoing child abuse and neglect prevention.
• Minimum of two years experience in service‑plan development and care coordination.

Sufficient mobility to attend home visits, court, and meetings as well as community events outside the office. Ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing, and use automated technology. All duties performed with or without reasonable accommodations.

Panel interview; may include practical exercise.

Fairfax County Government prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetics, political affiliation, or military status in the recruitment, selection, and hiring of its workforce. Reasonable accommodations are available to persons with disabilities during application and/or interview process per the Americans with Disabilities Act.

TTY 703‑222‑7314. EEO/AA/TTY.