Social Worker III Adoptions

Typical duties of an Adoption Social Worker include:Handling difficult adoptions casework tasks working independently with county welfare departments community partners attorneys judges and other representatives of the court system; interviewing adoptive parents and children to obtain information on personal issues in difficult or emotional situations; maintaining contact to monitor the progress of the child and family through the entire process; interacting with families to assess identify needs and make appropriate referrals to services; making decisions and preparing full factual reports to the court with recommendations for or against granting petitions for adoption and recommending alternate plans when needed; completing the many various forms required for the finalization of the adoption; explaining decisions or recommendations to family members; handling different issues that may arise after the adoptions are finalized; reports to an Adoptions Supervisor and/or Program Manager.

For a detailed job description click here: Issues:As an Adoptions Social Worker you may encounter customers who are emotionally charged. You may be required to take action that conflicts with your own values. You must be able to accept the familys differences and interact with them in a non-judgmental manner.

Ideal Candidate:The ideal candidate for this position will work closely with team members of the agency community partners and extended family members and will have excellent written and oral communication skills must be able to complete work accurately; be highly organized and able to prioritize tasks. The ideal candidate will also maintain a calm and professional demeanor and demonstrate exceptional customer service and be able to work independently.

• Carries a caseload of more difficult types of social services cases requiring a high degree of technical competence such as situations where environmental forces affect family life
• Receives and responds to reports of suspected abuse; obtains information from reporters; personally investigates and assesses situations to protect vulnerable adults and children and recommends alternate placement; may provide information to law enforcement or district attorneys; may be required to work on-call; may testify in court
• Performs case studies evaluates individual and family case information to assess the safety of children and adults; determines appropriate types and methods of treatment
• Develops and carries out social treatment plans for an assigned caseload; ensures all services are delivered in a respectful culturally sensitive and appropriate manner and
• Counsels or provides guidance and support to individuals and/or families with more complex or specialized needs including Adult Protective Services crisis intervention special medical or legal needs and other social services
• Refers clients to other staff members
• Makes a diagnosis of client problems and follows through with the social treatment plans with a high degree of independence
• Interprets policies rules and regulations to client applicants and others
• May act as a lead worker to a small group of social service workers or service employees
• Assists applicants and recipients in utilizing available resources for individual needs
• Makes home visits in connection with casework assignments
• Develops and prepares court report case plans case narratives and safety plans in automated computer systems
• Enters and retrieves data and narratives from automated computer systems
• Prepares and maintains case
• Participates in in-service training and other staff development activities to increase knowledge of the social work processes and achieve technical competence
• Receives casework consultation from professionally trained staff members
• May be required to testify in court
• Works with community organizations and makes referrals to outside resources
• Provides self-help information education and services; works with clients and caregivers to develop and improve caregiving and independent living skills
• Obtains and evaluates police medical and psychological reports
• Maintains client confidentiality; performs all duties in conformance with the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics
• Performs related duties as assigned

• Principles and practices of organization workload management and time management
• Principles and practices of note taking report writing and English composition grammar punctuation and spelling
• Phone etiquette and interview techniques
• Socio-economic conditions and trends
• Basic principles of individual and group behavior
• Current issues in the field of social welfare
• Principles of analysis and problem-solving methodology
• Basic public welfare programs on the Federal State and local level
• General principles of public assistance policies and programs
• Principles and techniques of interviewing and recording of social casework
• Laws rules and regulations governing the operation of the public welfare agency and the role and responsibilities of a social worker
• Community organization and the social problems calling for the use of public and private community resources
• Current problems and methodology in the field of public social services
• Medical legal economic and social management needs of individuals and families with special medical needs such as HIV disease drug dependency the medically fragile child Alzheimers and the terminally ill
• Strategies and protocols surrounding crisis intervention techniques such as voice modulation and assessing the potential for suicide
• Psychopathology the different types of mental illness diagnoses how mental illness affects human behavior and mental health services and treatments utilized by clients
• Signs stages and dynamics of abuse and the effects of abuse on child/adult development and behavior
• Signs and symptoms of alcohol and drug use/abuse in adults and children and the effects on families
• Standards for maintaining clients safely in home; options for placement; effects of removing clients from unsafe situations

• Communicate effectively with others in writing in person and over the telephone
• Analyze data interpret directions procedures and regulations and develop appropriate responses
• Perform job duties under stressful conditions
• Respond appropriately to situations
• Maintain confidential information in accordance with legal standards and/or county regulations
• Understand and apply the agency program policy and procedures
• Obtain facts and recognize the relevance and significance
• Organize and maintain work detail
• Establish and maintain effective working relationship with agency staff clients and outside organizations
• Analyze situation and adopt effective courses of action
• Apply the principles of psychology and family relationships to engage individuals and families in social services
• Recognize signs of abuse for children elderly and dependent adults; assess risk factors and potential dangers to clients
• Apply existing laws rules and regulations to welfare department operations
• Interpret and explain to applicants recipients or others public social service programs policies rules and regulations
• Develop skill in interviewing case recording and interpretation
• Work within a community setting and effectively use appropriate resources and services
• Maintain confidentiality in accordance with legal standards and/or county regulations
• Communicate effectively both orally and in writing
• Operate a personal computer and other office equipment and related software
• Act appropriately in emergency and stressful situations
• Interact professionally and respectfully with clients including difficult hostile or distressed clients
• Respect cultural differences
• Work with difficult or complex cases/clients including clients with dual diagnoses potentially dangerous clients or legally complex cases
• Analyze data from multiple sources interpret and apply complex directions rules policies procedures and regulations and develop appropriate responses

Examination Information
The Training & Experience Examination is designed to elicit a range of specific information regarding each candidates knowledge skill abilities and potential to effectively perform the duties relative to the classification. Responses to the questionnaire will be assessed based on pre-determined rating criteria. All applicants must complete the entire examination to receive a order to obtain a position on the eligible list candidates must receive a minimum rating of 70% on the examination. Examination administration and processing time is approximately two weeks after the closing date of the job bulletin.

If conditions warrant an Experience and Education examination may be conducted in lieu of the Training and Experience examination. Please review the Experience and Education examination information below:

Eligible List Information

A departmentalopen eligiblelist will be established for the county of Tehama. The list will be utilized for 12 months after it is established unless the needs of the service and conditions of the list warrant a change in this period.

Retest Period

Once you have taken the examination you may not retest for SIX (6) MONTHS from the established eligibility date.

Special Testing Arrangements

Special testing arrangements may be made to accommodate applicants for disability military or religious reasons. If you require such arrangements please contact CalHR at or upon notification that your application has been approved. Documentation from medical military school or church officials outlining the accommodation request must be received by our office a minimum of five business days prior to a scheduled examination.

Education Documents

If you are using education to meet the minimum qualifications you must attach your transcripts to your application. Applicants with foreign transcripts must provide a transcript evaluation that indicates the number of units to which the foreign course work is equivalent. Transcripts and evaluations may be unofficial; official transcripts may be required upon appointment. Please redact birthdates and social security numbers.

General Information

This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship. Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without the need for visa sponsorship by the start date of employment.

MSS reserves the right to revise the examination plan to better meet the needs of the recruitment if the circumstances under which this examination was planned change. Such revision will be in accordance with civil service laws and rules and all competitors will be notified.

If you meet the requirements stated on this bulletin you may take this examination. Your performance in this examination will be rated against predetermined rating criteria. All competitors who pass will be added to the eligible list. Meeting the entry requirements does not assure success in the examination or placement on the eligible list.

General Qualifications: Applicants must possess essential personal qualifications including integrity initiative dependability good judgement the ability to work cooperatively with others and a state of health consistent with the ability to perform the assigned duties of the class. A medical examination may be required. As part of the hiring process a background investigation may be required.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The Merit System Services program is committed to equal employment opportunity for all regardless of age ancestry color disability (mental and physical) exercising the right to family care and medical leave gender gender expression gender identity genetic information marital status medical condition military or veteran status national origin political affiliation race religious creed sex (includes pregnancy childbirth breastfeeding and related medical conditions) and sexual orientation.

Benefits
This position offers the following benefits:

• Represented by the Joint Council bargaining unit.
• 96 hours of vacation per year increasing upon continuous years of service.
• 96 hours of sick leave per year.
• 14 paid holidays plus one 8-hour personal holiday.
• CalPERS retirement plan 8% employee contribution.
• The County pays approximately 80% of premium for medical dental and vision plan (including a $30000 life insurance plan for employee). For the employee and entire family the current employees share of the insurance plan is $234.54 per month.
• Annual salary step increase based upon satisfactory performance and completion of 2080 hours (Steps A to E).
• Deferred compensation plan with the County matching the employees deposit up to $60 per month.
• Supplemental insurance plans are available.
• Employee Assistance Program is provided to all employees at no cost by the County.

Additional Information
ADA/EEO/DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE
As a condition of employment Tehama County Social Services will require:
A valid drivers license will be required at the time of appointment. Individuals who do not meet this requirement due to a disability will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Proof of ability to work in the United States
Pre-employment drug testing and physical
Government agencies accessing US government information which include federal tax information must ensure that background investigation requirements for all agency employees and contractors that have access to federal tax information are consistent to the IRS background investigation requirements for access to federal tax information. A background check may be required if the position requires access to these types of records. Background requirements consist of three components which include fingerprinting citizenship verification and local law enforcement checks. State agencies must conduct investigation during time of hire and ensure a reinvestigation is conducted 10 years from the date of the previous background investigation for each employee that has access to federal tax information.

About Tehama County

Beautiful Tehama County is in the heart of northern California midway between Sacramento and the Oregon border. Based on the shores of the Sacramento River and in the shadows of Mount Lassen Tehama County boasts some of the lowest housing costs in California along with short commute times to work. The County is home to a myriad of recreational activities.