Sr. Social Worker; Adult Guardianship

Position Overview

The Forsyth County Department of Social Services is seeking to hire a Sr. Social Worker for its Adult Guardianship program who will be responsible for decision‑making for individuals who have been adjudicated incompetent by the courts. This includes medical decisions, decisions about where the individual will live, vocational or educational pursuits, general care, comfort, and maintenance of the person. These decisions are made on behalf of the agency’s director who serves as the actual guardian of the person.

This is a mandated position, as the agency director does not have the ability to refuse appointments made by the court.

Work is performed under general supervision and is evaluated by observation, discussion, and review of reports and case records.

The Adult Guardianship Unit handles caseloads of adults over the age of 18 who are elderly, physically, or mentally disabled. While challenging at times, this position offers a unique opportunity for social workers to experience the gratification of working with vulnerable adults, often establishing long‑term working relationships with both the person subject to guardianship and their family members.

An employee in this class provides professional‑level social work by delivering intensive services in serious and complicated cases that require a wide range of social work skills. Responsibilities include investigating alleged neglect or abuse; conducting in‑depth assessments of family dynamics and needs; assessing and treating patients and/or families with acute to severe medical and emotional disorders and mental illnesses; serving as an expert witness at court hearings;

delivering advanced social work activities for complex case referrals involving a highly vulnerable client population; and building community capacity to assist families and groups in preventing and alleviating social problems through social change.

There is periodic need for flexibility with work hours, such as with major medical procedures that often occur before work hours or crisis situations that may take place at the end of the work day. Though handling the after‑hours on‑call phone for Adult Protective Services or Guardianship emergencies is currently conducted by an after‑hours unit, social workers may occasionally be called after hours for consultation.

Social workers may be assigned cases working with either the aging/medically fragile population or the mental health population, or both.

Primary work hours are Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. with some flexibility in scheduling. The position rotates the duties of Adult Services Intake with other social workers on a regular basis.

• Master's degree in social work from an accredited school of social work
• Bachelor's degree in social work from an accredited school of social work and completion of the Child Welfare Collaborative
• Bachelor's degree in social work from an accredited school of social work and one year directly related experience
• Master's degree in counseling in a human services field and one year of social work or counseling
• Bachelor's degree in a human services field from an accredited college or university and two years directly related experience
• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university and three years of directly related experience
• Valid driver's license required (must make use of county vehicles for field visits on a regular basis)

• Bilingual candidates (English/Spanish) preferred.
• This position has been identified to interact with children and must comply with NC G.S. 153A-94.2(b) “requires the applicant to be subject to a criminal history record check conducted by the SBI.” Checks must be conducted in accordance with G.S. 143B-1209.26.

• Thorough knowledge of basic social work principles, techniques, and practices and their application to complex casework, group work, and community problems.
• Comfort with working with vulnerable adults and sincere interest in their care and protection.
• Ability to react quickly to incoming reports and be efficient in case management documentation and meeting state‑mandated case processing time frames.
• Keen assessment skills, professional judgment abilities and ethical standards, and strict adherence to statutes, policies and procedures.
• Excellent written and verbal skills.

• Collaborating with the family to provide ongoing assessment of their needs.
• Reviewing and monitoring progress on established goals.
• Referring families to appropriate community resources.
• Completing required documentation and paperwork.
• Working within the guidelines of state‑mandated time frames.
• Writing court reports and presenting the information in court.