Protective Services Worker – Adult Protective Services - San Francisco Human Services Agency (2940) (X00049)

This is the entry-level class in the Protective Services Worker series. Adult Protective Services (APS) is a state-mandated program administered by the City and County of San Francisco (CCSF) HSA and DAS. Under general supervision by the APS program the Protective Services Worker (PSW) receives and responds to reports of suspected elder and dependent adult abuse including neglect self-neglect and financial abuse. The PSW performs professional investigations and case management services to victims of abuse. This includes activities related to evaluating the level of harm or risk of harm to the person and the estate of an elder or dependent adult; assessing biopsychosocial functioning including the medical condition cognitive/psychological status and adequacy of care and support system; orchestrating ongoing services to maximize the use of community resources and to help protect victims from further harm once the case is closed.

Essential Duties and Functions

According to Civil Service Commission Rule 109 the duties specified below are representative of the range of duties assigned to this job class and are not intended to be an inclusive list.

1. Conducts unannounced visits to see elders and dependent adults in their living environment.
2. Investigates the allegations and conducts a risk assessment through interviewing the victim family relatives neighbors and others to assess for immediacy.
3. Arranges for immediate protective interventions and emergency services as necessary including medical assessments emergency shelter or in-home protection e.g. acts as a liaison on the medical aspects of the case with providers of services and other agencies that provide medical care until the immediate dangers are resolved.
4. Gathers documents and reviews important detailed financial personal and confidential information and writes investigative reports findings and service plan notes.
5. Conducts a needs assessment for clients in need of protective services.
6. Develops a Service Plan and organizes the initial care plan as appropriate including supported decision-making activities.
7. Provides counseling for clients and significant others to alleviate the identified problems and to implement the service plan to restore optimum social functioning and health adjustment within the clients capacity; assists them in order to address personal and environmental difficulties which perpetuate poor health and dysfunction and interfere with self-care and self-protection.
8. Monitors the Service Plan and follows up through field visits and telephone contacts with clients relatives and other concerned individuals until the service goals have been achieved.
9. Assists with multidisciplinary team meetings with healthcare providers hospitals and the Public Health/Mental Health Department and other City agencies involved to further their understanding of significant social and emotional factors underlying the clients health social or environmental problems.
10. Designs interventions in collaboration with medical professionals social service providers law enforcement or other relevant systems by contributing with information to help determine the level of care and services pertinent to the clients welfare.
11. Provides education to individuals and agencies on the role and authority of APS.
12. Conducts public presentations about casework in a confidential multi-disciplinary setting; collaborates and cooperates with the community and the CCSF partner agencies.
13. Uses a personal computer to prepare review and maintain records correspondence and reports; manages case documentation in an APS database; maintains timely email correspondence.

Qualifications :

1. Education: 

Possession of a Masters Degree in Social Work from a school accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE);

OR

Masters Degree from a two (2) year counseling program from an accredited college or university. (Qualifying Masters Degrees in counseling include Marriage and Family Therapy Clinical Counseling Mental Health Counseling Addiction Counseling and Counseling Psychology that included a supervised field placement as part of the course curriculum);

AND

2. Experience:

Satisfactory completion of two semesters of graduate field placement which involved the provision of direct services to elders and/or dependent adults and/or adults with physical cognitive or mental health disabilities in one of the following or closely related areas: Adult Protective Services intensive case management such as MSSP/Linkages medical social work in a hospital or clinic mental health program/agency home health agency or alcohol and drug counseling and treatment program;

OR

Six (6) months post-baccalaureate professional work experience which involved the provision of direct services to elders dependent adults or adults in one of the areas previously described.

***Please note: With your application please provide a copy of your Masters Degree diploma or transcripts. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable. Please upload to your application as an attachment.***

Note: Applicants who will receive their Masters degree by the end of the current semester/quarter may submit a written request to be placed on the eligible list under waiver pending receipt of the Masters degree; for these applicants appointment referral is contingent upon verification of the required education and experience.

Applicants must meet the Minimum Qualifications requirements by the time the application is submitted unless applicants provide a written request to be placed on the eligible list under waiver pending receipt of the Masters degree.

Applicants who meet the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed to advance through all of the steps in the selection process.

Special Requirements

The essential duties of this position require incumbents to: work nights weekends and holidays on a limited basis; drive normally within the City of San Francisco and occasionally outside City/County limits as necessitated by case work; to get in and out of vehicles climb flights of stairs to complete home visits; lift food boxes weighing up to 30 pounds; and complete visual assessments of elders/dependent adults and their home environments.

Note: All positions require possession of a valid California Class C drivers license and clear Motor Vehicle Record (MVR).

Verification of Experience and/or Education: Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required information on how to verify education requirements including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency can be found at Falsifying ones education training or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

All work experience education training and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications.

Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application.

Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility disqualification or may lead to lower scores.

SELECTION PROCEDURES    

After application submission candidates deemed qualified must complete all subsequent steps to advance in this selection process which includes the following:

Written Examination Multiple Choice (100%): 

Candidates who meet the minimum qualification will be invited to a written multiple choice exam designed to measure knowledge skills and/or abilities in job-related areas which may include but are not limited to: ability and skill to assess knowledge of psycho-social functioning development individual psychodynamics family dynamics and social systems; knowledge of socio-economics factors; knowledge of and ability to apply relevant laws; ability to assess the clients functioning safety and to develop an appropriate case plan.

Score Banking: Scores attained on the Protective Services Worker Exam for Adult Protective Services will be banked for two years starting from the date of the examination. This means that during this two-year time period candidates need not take this test again. However after one year a candidate has the option to either (a) keep the same score and apply their test score to the other announcement or (b) re-take the test. Re-testing is permitted no sooner than one year from the date of the test. If a candidate opts to re-test the re-test score becomes the candidates official score since it is the most recent.

If a significant modification is made to this exam in the future the application of banked scores may no longer be appropriate. In such a rare circumstance candidates with banked scores would be required to re-take the exam sooner than the two-year period specified above should they apply to another job opportunity where the modified exam is used.

The above test component is considered standardized and therefore test questions and answers are not available for public inspection or review.

Candidate scores on this examination may also be applied to other announcements involving other job titles when directed by the Human Resources Director.

A passing score must be achieved on the Written Multiple Choice Examination in order to continue in the selection process.

• Information About The Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview  
• Equal Employment Opportunity 
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Veterans Preference
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

How to Apply

Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process. Visit and begin the application process.

Select the Im Interested button and follow instructions on the screen 

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment and therefore it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up-to-date. Also applicants must ensure that email from CCSF is not blocked on their computer by a spam filter. To prevent blocking applicants should set up their email to accept CCSF mail from the following addresses (@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and @).

Applicants will receive a confirmation email that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process please contact the exam analyst Miguel Campos-Salas by telephone at or by email at  

All of your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex race age religion color national origin ancestry physical disability mental disability medical condition (associated with cancer a history of cancer or genetic characteristics) HIV/AIDS status genetic information marital status sexual orientation gender gender identity gender expression military and veteran status or other protected category under the law.