Social Worker III START Program

Buncombe County is hiring for one START Social Work III position. This individual will report to a START Social Work Supervisor III. This START team consists of 3 START Social Work III positions and 3 START Family Mentors.

The START Social Work III position works as part of a dyad on the team. The Social Work III position will be partnered with a START Family Mentor to co-work child welfare cases that have been identified to need mandated Child Protective Services.

This position will work Foster Care cases. The START model is an intensive intervention model for substance-abusing parents and families involved with the child welfare system that integrates addiction and recovery services family preservation community partnerships and best practices in child welfare and substance use disorder treatment. START aims to address system issues that result in barriers to families being able to access services in a timely manner. Specialized training or experience working with families with young children impacted by Substance Use Disorder is preferred.

This position will start in-person. Over time a hybrid schedule will be allowed depending on how quickly the employee becomes familiar with the role and demonstrates reliability. The employees must relocate or reside within a 2-hour drive from 200 College Street Asheville NC 28801 within 6 months of hire. Typical work schedule: M-F business hours (8:00 am to 5:00PM) After Hours nights and weekends.

Purpose of the position:

The purpose of this position is to provide permanency planning services to children and resource families to ensure a safe and permanent placement of children in agency custody.

Minimum Education Training and/or Experience (required at time of hire): Masters degree in Social Work; or a Bachelors degree in Social Work and one (1) year of directly related experience; or a Bachelors degree in Criminal Justice Sociology Psychology or Human Services and two (2) years directly related experience; or Bachelors degree in another field and three (3) years of directly related experience; or an equivalent combination of training and experience. *BSW and Social Work Collaborative Students preferred.

Additional Training and Experience: English/Spanish bi-lingual speakers preferred. Certificate of completion of the NCDHHS Pre-Service Training: Child Welfare in North Carolina is preferred.

License or Certification Required by Statute or Regulation: A current valid North Carolina drivers license.

Essential Functions of the position:

• Ensure children who cannot safely return to their birth families achieve a safe and legally secure placement via adoption or guardianship.

• Provide services through which a plan for temporary substitute care appropriate to a childs needs is evaluated arranged maintained and supervised in Court sanctioned placement or a licensed facility when the childs own family is unable to care for him/her adequately due to safety/risk factors.

• Provide direct services to children and their pre-adoptive caregivers to ensure the protection safety and permanency of the children.

• Assess prepare place and monitor children cleared for adoption.

• Provide state mandated case management services for children in DSS Legal Custody.

• Develop and monitor service plans with families and provide or refer services as needed.

• Make recommendations to the court including services needed progress and barriers to permanent plan.

• Establish rapport with children families and appropriate professionals/non-professionals in the community to provide a strengths-based family centered approach in working with families throughout child welfare involvement.

• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Knowledge Skills Abilities:

• Ability to prioritize identify and assess risks problems and needs often in stressful situations with clients who are hostile emotionally confused and resistant; Ability to effectively de-escalate individuals.

• Knowledge of medical behavioral and socio-economic problems and their treatment.

• Knowledge of numerous funding sources and how to utilize them.

• Knowledge of basic criminal justice procedures elements of medical and mental disorders personality theory family systems dynamics interpersonal relations and cultural differences values and lifestyles.

• Skills in establishing constructive relationships with resistant clients and utilizing family-centered SW practice.

• Skills and counseling in interviewing and the ability to express ideas clearly and concisely and to plan and execute work effectively; and skills in creating resources when none are readily available.

• Thorough Knowledge of social work principles techniques and practices and their application to specific casework and community problems.

• Thorough knowledge of agency procedures and resources community systems and resources manual material state and federal regulations permanency planning philosophy and laws governing protective services for children.

In order to uphold internal pay parity and equity salaries are non-negotiable for new and current Buncombe County employees. All new employees are paid according to their years of relevant education and experience above minimum requirements for the position and employees have the opportunity to obtain pay increases via cost of living increases and promotions.

Buncombe County Government realizes the importance of a diverse professional workforce and the need to foster a responsive and innovative organizational culture one that fully engages all of our employees honoring and building on each employees unique experiences opinions and perspective.

It is the policy of Buncombe County to provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all persons regardless of race natural hair or hairstyles ethnicity creed color sex sexual orientation gender identity or expression national origin or ancestry marital or familial status pregnancy veteran status religious belief or non-belief age or disability or any other legally protected class under federal or NC State law. EEO practices and employment decisions regarding recruitment hiring assignment promotion and compensation shall not be based on any of these protected addition the County expressly prohibits any form of workplace harassment or discrimination.