Definition
Under immediate to general supervision, performs professional social work adhering to the guidelines in a county, area, regional office or institution; performs trainee-level work in child protection services or adult protective services, including case planning, monitoring services, documentation, court document drafting, and assessment of child and dependent adult safety and well-being; may perform compliance reviews/inspections to child development homes or home childcare providers; performs related work as required.
Work Examples
Applies casework and assessment principles to field casework situations, giving assistance to various clientele groups.
Provides basic social work services in programs offered by the Department of Health and Human Services; carries a full caseload.
Provides basic social work services and placement services for dependent, neglected, and delinquent children who have been committed to institutions, to assist in facilitating their reintegration into the community.
Serves as a member of an institutional interdisciplinary treatment team; provides casework and group work services.
Performs outreach activities gathering and evaluating information regarding clients or programs, developing an assistance or treatment program, and coordinating activities with relevant community agencies, as directed.
Completes or directs the preparation of necessary records and reports.
Perform pre-inspections and unannounced visits to child development homes and subsidy paid childcare homes to assess compliance.
Prepares Home Evaluation and Recommendation reports using including strengths, deficiencies, and corrective action plans.
Competencies Required
Knowledge:
Customer and Personal Service – Principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Psychology – Human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Sociology and Anthropology – Group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Administrative – Administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Communications – The science and art of delivering information.
English Language – Structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Law and Government – Laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Abilities:
Deductive Reasoning – Apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Inductive Reasoning – Combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Information Ordering – Arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Problem Sensitivity – Tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
Speech Clarity – Speak clearly so others can understand you.
Speech Recognition – Identify and understand the speech of another person.
Written Comprehension – Read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Written Expression – Communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Skills:
Active Learning – Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Active Listening – Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Coordination – Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Critical Thinking – Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Judgment and Decision Making – Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Quality Control Analysis – Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Reading Comprehension – Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Service Orientation – Actively looking for ways to help people.
Social Perceptiveness – Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Speaking – Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Writing – Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Minimum Qualification Requirements
Applicants must meet at least one of the following minimum requirements to qualify for positions in this job classification:
Four years of full-time work experience involving direct contact with people in overcoming their social, economic, psychological, or health problems.
A total of four years of education and/or full-time experience (as described in number one), where thirty semester hours of accredited college or university coursework in any field equals one year of full-time experience.
Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a degree in any field.
Current, continuous experience in the state executive branch that includes one year of full-time work as a Social Work Associate.
Notes
Within a period of time after hire, as determined by the appointing authority, employees in this class may be required to obtain a Chauffeurs License and endorsements.