Family Services Specialist I

A $2,500 hiring bonus is being offered for this position.  Hiring bonuses shall only be for new hires of original employment or reemployment as defined in Human Resources Policy No. 5.0. 

• $500 will be awarded in the first paycheck.
• $750 will be awarded upon completion of the six (6) month interim performance evaluation with an overall rating of “Meets Expectations”.
• $1,250 will be awarded upon completion of the employee’s one (1) year probationary period and a performance evaluation with an overall rating of “Meets Expectations”.

Virginia Beach Department of Human Services is seeking candidates for the position of Human Services Family Services Specialist I in the Foster Care & Adoptions Unit.  This position is primarily responsible for providing case management duties for children and families receiving foster care and adoptions services.

The successful candidate will be motivated, and skilled at partnering with families to ensure child safety, well-being, and permanency. The ideal candidate has a successful record of ensuring permanency for children.

Representative Duties:

• Provide case management services for families that have complex challenges.
• Manage an active foster care and adoptions caseload. The workload reflects cases with serious social and family challenges where the children have been separated from their caretakers due to abuse and/or neglect. Individual will provide and manage direct services to clients who present challenges that require a high level of skill and ability.
• Casework activities utilize the New Generation PRIDE, Virginia Beach Practice Model and Virginia Practice Model tenets and competencies.
• Make well-informed decisions on behalf of children.
• Facilitate team meetings to build a positive rapport with the children and families being served.
• Refer clients to Family Assessment & Planning Teams.
• Engage with children and families to ensure that specific needs are addressed.
• Conduct initial and continuous assessments of foster homes to ensure the foster parents and perspective adoptive parents qualify to meet the children’s physical and emotional needs.
• Coordinate service delivery toward the attainment of permanency for children.
• Partner with the Virginia Department of Social Services and private organizations to match children with adoptive families.
• Ensure Full-Disclosures are completed in a timely manner.
• Eliminate barriers to permanency.
• Provide support to natural supports that may be willing to accept children into their home as kinship care providers.
• Ensure that reunification services are provided by linking the children and families to services in the community, both formal (community providers) and informal (family, friends, neighbors, church, school, etc.) resources to strengthen the family while ensuring the safety of the children.
• Prepare narratives, court reports, home studies and social histories; testify in court hearings; present cases to the Family Assessment and Planning Team.
• Team with, and coordinate community resources to effectively address client needs; monitor and evaluate progress of families to ensure the safety and well-being of their children.
• Conduct community visits that may require traveling out of state or out of the Virginia Beach geographical area.
• Participate in Family Partnership Meetings.
• Utilize family engagement and crisis intervention skills; organize records; use computer to complete work assignments within required time frames and maintain compliance with state law and policy.
• Follow federal, state, and local guidelines associated with child safety, well-being, and permanency.
• Perform other professional responsibilities as assigned.