Family Safety Practitioner III - Adult Protective Services

• Conducts investigations in response to reports of abuse, neglect, and/or exploitation involving older adults and incapacitated adults in their own homes, community, and facility settings.
• Serves as the policy expert and contributes to the development of policy, protocols, and procedures.
• May coordinate contracts related work to perform APS services with the assistance of the Supervisor and Program Manager and manage a county credit card for emergency expenditures. The contract work may be related to Home Base Care services.
• Assesses the need and extent of protective services required and in collaboration with the client, their support systems, and other public and private service providers, arranges for the necessary services to prevent/ameliorate the abuse, neglect, or exploitation.
• Responds to emergency cases to stabilize the situation.
• Attends court hearings and provides professional testimony.
• Coordinates the daily activities of team to include staff supervision support.
• Provides limited oversight of administrative functions/requirements associated with quality assurance and evaluation of the program for its impact/effectiveness and making recommendations for changes or improvements.
• Serves as a consultant, trainer, and policy expert for division social workers and staff from other agencies.
• Serves as a resource and member of interdisciplinary teams and work groups.
• Makes public presentations to promote community awareness of services available to prevent and address abuse, neglect, and /or exploitation.
• Provides assistance to the unit supervisor and covers in the supervisor's absence

To ensure that the department can provide these mandated services, related work duties and responsibilities within the job class may be moved or reassigned. In addition, the position may require being part of an on-call rotation for protective, preservation, critical well-being, and/or permanency for mandatory services that includes evening, overnight, weekend, and holiday hours which may require immediate response into the field.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Minimum of a bachelor's degree in a human services field OR minimum of a bachelor's degree in any field with a minimum of two years of appropriate and related experience in a human services area (Section 22VAC40-670-20 of the Administrative Code of Virginia).

In order to be evaluated for positions in the Family Services Occupational Group, individuals who do not meet the degree requirement at the time of application for employment must be in their last semester of a degree program that will meet the requirements listed above.

Contingent upon the area of assignment, some positions within this class may require specific certification(s) or experience prior to employment and/or the ability to acquire necessary certification(s) within a specified time period following employment. The certifications and preferred qualifications are identified in the position description and employment advertisement.

CERTIFICATES AND LICENSES REQUIRED:
Valid driver's license.
Positions within this class are required to complete the state mandated training in the functional area within a specified time period.

NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
The appointee to the position must satisfactorily complete a criminal background check, driving record check, and a Child Protective Services check.

This position is considered essential personnel and will be required to report to work during times designated countywide as approved for unscheduled leave regardless of the emergency situation (i.e., weather, transportation, other disaster).

Schedule requires evenings and weekends as needed.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master's degree in social work (MSW)
• Four years of experience in social work, psychology, sociology, counseling, or related experience.
• Two (2) years of experience in Adult Protective Services or two (2) years of direct experience in the field of aging, long-term care, and/or working with people with disabilities.
• Experience conducting home/field visits.
• Experience providing case management.

Fairfax County is home to a highly diverse population, with a significant number of residents speaking languages other than English at home (including Spanish, Asian/Pacific Islander, Indo-European, and many others.) We encourage candidates who are bilingual in English and another language to apply for this opportunity.

Reasonable accommodations are available to persons with disabilities during application and/or interview processes per the Americans with Disabilities Act. TTY 703-222-7314. DHREmployment@fairfaxcounty.gov EEO/AA/TTY.