Caseworker

Starting Compensation:

$51,573.68/Annually

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Job Description:

Caseworker Position Summary:

• Lancaster County Children & Youth Social Service Agency is seeking professional individuals to join our Casework team in their Intake, Family Support and Permanency Departments.

• If you have a passion for working in an environment that serves to help others, apply today!

• The Lancaster County Children and Youth Social Service Agency is a public child welfare agency mandated to provide protection services to Lancaster County's children and their families.

• The Agency investigates all reports of child abuse and neglect and provides intervention services to address safety threats and risk factors and stabilize the family.

• The Agency's mission is to address the safety, permanency and well-being of children and youth at risk of abuse and neglect.

Intake Division:

• The caseworker in the intake unit conducts thorough investigations of referrals of abuse and/or neglect, following the PA Juvenile Act, the PA Child Protective Services Law, DPW regulations and agency policy.

• This caseworker provides emergency or short-term services required during the course of the investigation and makes recommendations for long-term service planning.

Family Support Division:

• The Family Support unit provides casework services to families whose children are at risk of, or who have been exposed to, neglect, physical abuse and/or sexual abuse.

• The caseworker assists the families in following through with plans to address concerns regarding drug and alcohol abuse, mental health challenges, domestic violence, housing, and parenting skills in order to help caregivers improve their functioning and to prevent repeated abuse and neglect.

• The caseworker makes every effort to work with the families toward the goal of stabilizing and strengthening them so that they may remain a family unit and meet their children’s needs for safety and well-being. Most cases are successfully closed after the family has completed their Family Service Plan goals.

• The caseworker is responsible for providing services to approximately 15 to 25 families.

Permanency Division:

• This is a casework position with the Permanency department of the Lancaster County Children & Youth Agency.

• The caseworker supervises, coordinates, and provides services to families of children who are placed in kinship homes, resource homes, group homes and residential facilities.

• Many of the youth have had various acting out behaviors ranging from truancy, sexual abuse, and neglect to violence against other people.

• Many of the parents exhibit multiple challenges in functioning as parents or in managing their own lives.

• With the assistance of the supervisor, the caseworker is required to prioritize activities to fulfill the demands of the job and maintain quality services to all clients.

• For all cases, the caseworker is responsible for creating and implementing written, court-approved case plans for children and their families.

• The caseworker is responsible for making referrals for services to complete the tasks on the plans to achieve permanency.

• The caseworker supervises clients’ progress on their plans, develops written reviews of progress and presents those reviews to the Court.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Six months of experience as a Caseworker Trainee; or

• Successful completion of the County Social Caseworker Intern Program; or, A bachelor’s degree with a social welfare major; or,

• A bachelor’s degree which includes or is supplemented by 12 college credits in sociology, social welfare, psychology, gerontology, criminal justice, human services, or other related social sciences and one year of professional social casework experience in a public or private social services agency: or,

• Any equivalent combination of experiences and training which includes 12 college credits in sociology, social welfare, psychology, gerontology, criminal justice, human services, or other related social sciences.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Demonstrate an understanding of the PA Juvenile Act, the Child Protective Services Law, and DPW Regulations.

• Have an understanding of the corollaries of child abuse and neglect; ability to identify these factors in families and to interpret them for case disposition and planning.

• The ability to gather and analyze information in such a way that consequent judgments maximize the safety of children and minimize unwarranted intrusion into family privacy.

• Knowledge and ability to use crisis intervention modality to initiate and deliver short-term services.

• Thorough knowledge of child development and family dynamics.

• Ability to establish relationships that facilitate meaningful involvement, and the ability to relinquish the relationship at case transfer or closing. 

• Ability to complete clear, concise written and verbal communication as related to record keeping, court testimony, service planning, dealing with community professionals, etc.

• Organization and time management skills to meet competing demands for client contacts, record   keeping and related duties.

• Flexibility and energy to meet the unpredictable and emergency nature of caseload demands.

• Attitude of cooperation to enhance team functioning within the unit and to contribute to overall Agency goals.

REQUIRED LICENSES/CERTIFICATIONS/CLEARANCES

• Must pass pre-employment drug screening test.

• Must have acceptable background check that includes FBI clearance, PA State Police Criminal history and ChildLine clearances.

• A valid driver’s license and acceptable driving history in accordance with County policy.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS/WORK ENVIRONMENT

• Does not pose a threat to the health and safety of the department

• Must have the ability to work independently.

• Must have the ability to transport self to various locations for meetings, visits and other appointments.

• This position will require the ability to conduct home visits and other appointments and to access those locations with reasonable accommodations.

• This position has been identified as having the potential for exposure to Hepatitis B.

The County of Lancaster offers comprehensive benefits to our employees.  Read more about our benefits here.

Lancaster County Government provides Equal Employment Opportunity for all persons regardless of race, religion, age, sex, national origin, genetic information or disability. The County also observes all applicable laws regarding Veterans status. The County reflects this action in all areas of employment and compensation practices and policies. Employment with the County is based upon the ability to perform the job as well as dependability and reliability once an individual is hired.