FAMILY SERVICES SPECIALIST

FAMILY SERVICES SPECIALIST - 60075448

Date: Jan 3, 2025

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Requisition No: 841861

Agency: Children and Families

Working Title: FAMILY SERVICES SPECIALIST - 60075448

Pay Plan: Career Service

Position Number: 60075448

Salary: TBD per DCF Salary Policy

Posting Closing Date: 01/17/2025

Total Compensation Estimator Tool (/compcalculator. myflorida. com/)

Child Protective Family Services Specialist

Department of Children and Families

Suncoast Region / Hillsborough County

Current employees will be compensated in accordance with the DCF salary policy.

What you will do:

This is advanced professional work assessing and developing Child Protective Investigators (CPIs) to ensure possession of the appropriate level of professional competencies. This position will work in cooperation with CPI Supervisors and management in promoting the development of knowledge, skills, and their application for CPIs.

Organizes and facilitates real time and virtual based CPI pre-service classroom trainings.

Assists in facilitating in-service classroom training opportunities and dissemination of these training sessions.

Observe and document investigator casework activities in providing protective investigations, assessment of service needs, and referrals to service providers.

Reviews casework, assessments, and safety plans with investigators, and provides consultation and direction to ensure appropriateness, clarity, quality, thoroughness, and proper documentation.

Provides real-time support/guidance by scheduling field assessments (random and scheduled) during investigative activities conducted by CPIs to provide on-the-job training.

Assist in providing guidance to investigators by coaching, motivating, modeling, and providing other mentoring initiatives.

Coach and assist CPIs with documenting aspects of investigations (i. e. , chronological entry of case summaries), in which support was provided to investigators, by updating the appropriate information systems.

Observe, analyze, and evaluate individual CPI performance to determine their effectiveness and level of competency and provide recommendations to regional management regarding actions to improve performance.

Serves as member of leadership team responsible for developing system-based solutions to CPI training and development issues or concerns.

Based on field experience and observations, provide recommendations to the Department's Program Office on enhancements to both CPI pre-service and in-service training to ensure the development and maintenance of a comprehensive and relevant training curriculum.

Serves as a subject matter expert in child protective investigations.

Establishes and maintains cooperative working relationships with organizations and other agenices involved with child protective investigations such as community based providers, Children's Legal Services, law enforcement, medical personnel, schools, and other community/agency resources.

Travel to observe field work or provide in-service or pre-service instruction is required.

Required to assist with training pre-service when needed as well as facilitate in-service trainings regularly, and as such need to earn at Child Welfare Trainer certification.

How you will make an impact :

• Observe and document investigator casework activities in providing protective investigations, assessment of service needs and referrals to service providers.

• Review casework, assessments, and safety plans with investigators, and provide consultation and direction to ensure appropriateness, clarity, quality, thoroughness, and proper documentation.

• Assists CPIs in determining and facilitating appropriate service referrals and supports during the investigative process.

• Serves as a subject matter expert in child protective investigations.

• Manage or assist in special projects, for either ongoing or one-time assignments.

Minimum Qualifications:

• A bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited college or university.

• At least 2 years of experience as a Child Protective Investigator.

• Must be trained and practicing Florida's Safety Practice method.

• Current/Active Child Welfare Certification credentials from the Florida Certification Board.

• Must possess a valid driver's license.

• Must possess operational private vehicle for use in the performance of daily work activities. Selected applicants are required to provide proof of vehicle registration and documentation of the appropriate insurance coverage. The Department provides a Vehicle Insurance Allowance to assist with the cost of insurance coverage due to the use of private vehicle for work purposes.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Excellent critical thinking skills.

• Highly competent with data collection and analytics.

• Knowledge of theories and practice in Child Protection.

• Knowledge of professional ethics relating to child protection and counseling.

• Knowledge of family-centered interviewing and counseling techniques.

• Knowledge of investigative techniques.

• Knowledge of interviewing and observation techniques.

• Skill in considering child development in guiding placement of children.

• Ability to recognize indicators of abuse and neglect.

• Ability to conduct risk and safety investigations.

• Ability to plan, organize and coordinate work assignments.

• Ability to understand and apply relevant laws, rules, regulations, policies and procedures.

• Ability to actively listen to others.

• Ability to communicate effectively.

• Ability to maintain well-executed case files.

• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others.

• Ability to utilize computer systems.

• Ability to write accurate investigative reports.

Candidate Profile (application) must be completed in its entirety.

• Include supervisor names and phone numbers for all periods of employment.

• Account for and explain any gaps in employment so that the hiring process is not delayed.

• Experience, education, training, knowledge, skills and/or abilities as well as responses to pre-qualifying questions must be verifiable to meet the minimum qualifications.

• It is unacceptable to use the statement 'See Resume' in place of entering work history.

• If you experience problems applying online, please call the People First Service Center at ***.

Benefits of Working for the State of Florida:

Working for the State of Florida is more than a paycheck. The State's total compensation package for employe.