Social Worker / Social Worker Trainee

Job Title : Social Worker / Social Worker TraineeDepartment : Hiring Range : 29.51 - 34.45Posted Internally and Externally

Buncombe County's Social Work Division has multiple Social Worker vacancies. We are looking for team members who are ready and willing to grow with us! This posting is for ongoing recruitment in the Foster Care & Adoptions and Family In-Home Social Work divisions.

This position will be hired as a fully-qualified Social Worker or Social Worker Trainee depending on candidate qualifications.

The pay rate for Social Worker Trainee is $26.77 / hour and Social Worker is $28.65 / hour to $33.45 / hour depending on education and experience above minimum qualifications.

As Social Worker Trainee, candidates will be hired with the expectation that to continue employment the selected candidate will successfully advance to a Social Worker position once the employee is fully qualified.

At that time the selected candidate will be promoted and compensated as such.

We are committed to building an inclusive workforce that is representative of our diverse community. If you are interested in this position but are not certain if you meet the exact qualification requirements, we encourage you to apply.

Buncombe County uses a substantial equivalency standard to determine if applicants are qualified.

Purpose of the position :

The primary purpose of this position is to provide direct adoption & Foster Care services to children and resource families to ensure a safe and permanent placement of children in agency custody.

Family In-Home Services provides direct services to children and families to ensure safety and prevent removal from families.

Essential Functions of the position :

Ensure children who cannot safely return to their birth families achieve a safe and legally secure placement via adoption or guardianship.

Provide services through which a plan for temporary substitute care appropriate to a child’s needs is evaluated, arranged, maintained and supervised in Court sanctioned placement or a licensed facility when the child’s own family is unable to care for him / her adequately due to safety / risk factors.

Provide direct services to children and their pre-adoptive caregivers to ensure the protection, safety and permanency of the children.

Assess, prepare, place and monitor children cleared for adoption.

Provide state mandated case management services for children in DSS Legal Custody.

Develop and monitor service plans with families and provide or refer services as needed.

Make recommendations to the court, including services needed, progress and barriers to permanent plan.

Establish rapport with children, families and appropriate professionals / non-professionals in the community to provide a strengths-based, family centered approach in working with families throughout child welfare involvement.

Performs other related duties as assigned.

Social Worker Trainee Minimum Education, Training and / or Experience : To be qualified as a Social Worker Trainee a candidate will have a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Criminal Justice, Sociology, Psychology, or Human Services or related field from an accredited college or university.

• Social Worker III Minimum Education, Training and / or Experience : Master's degree in Social Work; or a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and one (1) year of directly related experience;
• or a Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice, Sociology, Psychology, or Human Services and two (2) years directly related experience;

or Bachelor’s degree in another field and three (3) years of directly related experience; or an equivalent combination of training and experience.

BSW and Social Work Collaborative Students preferred.

Additional Training and Experience : English / Spanish bi-lingual speakers preferred.

License or Certification Required by Statute or Regulation : A current, valid North Carolina driver's license.

Engage and work collaboratively with children and family members who have often experienced significant trauma, are angry and / or scared.

Promote and demonstrate competency and respect for cultural diversity among clients, coworkers, and all other work-related contacts.

Demonstrate the ability to work in an emotionally charged environment and conduct home visits in isolated or high crime areas, involving exposure to substandard and unsanitary living conditions.

Assess protective capacities of caretakers, develop Family Service Agreements, and identify and advocate for resources and community supports to minimize risk and provide for safety of the child.

Assist parents to identify behaviors that led to child abuse and / or neglect and support parents to identify ways to make the necessary behavioral changes.

Document all relevant and appropriate information gathered during services and complete all required forms accurately and in a timely manner.

Utilize critical thinking skills to identify and address immediate threat to the child which may include :

Working with families to identify family supports who can assist with keeping the child safe

Testifying in court to seek emergency protective services

Placing children in substitute care

Supervise Visits to maintain connections between children and Caretakers

Removing child from caretakers.

In order to uphold internal pay parity and equity, salaries are non-negotiable for new and current Buncombe County employees.

All new employees are paid according to their years of relevant education and experience above minimum requirements for the position and employees have the opportunity to obtain pay increases via cost of living increases and promotions.

Buncombe County Government realizes the importance of a diverse professional workforce and the need to foster a responsive and innovative organizational culture, one that fully engages all of our employees, honoring and building on each employee's unique experiences, opinions, and perspective.

It is the policy of Buncombe County to provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all persons regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, physical or mental disability, age, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other legally protected class under federal or NC State law.

In addition, Buncombe County expressly prohibits any form of workplace harassment or discrimination.

Applicants for employment are invited to participate in the affirmative action program by reporting their status as a protected veteran or other minority.

In extending this invitation, we advise you that : (a) workers (applicants) are under no obligation to respond but may do so in the future if they choose;

b) responses will remain confidential within the human resource department; and (c) responses will be used only for the necessary information to include in our affirmative action program.

We are a company that values diversity. We actively encourage women, minorities, veterans and disabled employees to apply.

Refusal to provide this information will have no bearing on your application and will not subject you to any adverse treatment.