Position Information
SOCIAL WORKER I - SALARY
$25.57 p/hour, $4,432.13 p/month, $53,185.60 p/year
Performs basic social services casework; identifies client needs for more intensive casework services and provides referrals; carries a caseload of moderately difficult cases; manages a caseload of increasingly difficult cases; and performs other related work as assigned.
Working under close supervision, Social Worker I is the entry/trainee class in the professional Social Worker series. Employees in this class are learning casework methods, procedures, policies and carry a limited non-complex social services caseload under close supervision and receive in-service training; are given close and constant supervision while learning social work principles, social service programs, basic case work methods and techniques, and departmental rules, regulations and procedures. Typical assignments are within child welfare and adult services programs; however, at the agency's discretion positions may be assigned to employment services to perform social services case work for employment services clients as required by department needs. As requisite skill and knowledge is developed, greater independence and the full scope of responsibility is exercised. Unless a position is permanently allocated to the Social Worker I level due to the nature of the work, employees are expected to advance to the Social Worker II after one year of satisfactory performance at the trainee level.
SUPERVISION EXERCISED AND RECEIVED
Incumbents in the Social Worker I/II classification receive direct supervision from a Social Worker Supervisor, or other higher-level supervisor or manager.
This position qualifies for a Hiring Incentive, the Hiring Incentive is 10% of the annual rate of pay. The hiring incentive will be made in three (3) payments as described below. The first payment of 50% will be made to an employee within the next available pay period following the date of hire. The second payment of 25% will be made within the next payroll following the 12th month of employment. The third payment of 25% will be made within the next payroll following two (2) years of employment. Social Worker I – Annual Salary is $53,185.60 estimate total Hiring Incentive would be $5,318.56The Hiring Incentive is only available on the initial, first time hire of the employee, past and current employees are not eligible. The employee must remain employed with the County for two (2) years or repay the hiring incentive on a pro-rated basis.Examples of Duties
Duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:
(Note: For Social Worker I, duties are performed at the entry/trainee level.)
- Conducts interviews with clients, family members, and others in their home, in the office, or via telephone to assess the basic social, physical, and mental needs of clients and obtain health information in order to identify and provide social services
- Performs case studies and evaluates individual and family case information to assess the safety of children and adults; determines appropriate types and methods of treatment
- Assesses reports of suspected abuse; may be required to work on-call; may provide information to law enforcement or district attorneys
- Develops and carries out culturally sensitive non-complex to moderate treatment plans for an assigned caseload in conformance with agency, state and federal requirements; assists clients and family members to develop strategies to accomplish case plan goals
- Refers clients to other staff members, or to community resources for direct and intensive services and specialized counseling as necessary; advocates on the clients' behalf for most appropriate services including enabling services
- Assists applicants and recipients in utilizing available resources
- Interprets policies, rules, and regulations of the agency to applicants, clients and others within the scope of their responsibility
- Makes home visits in connection with casework assignments
- Prepares and maintains case records and databases; communicates decisions, timelines, recommendations and case plans to clients, families and service providers
- May testify in court
- May be assigned to specialized functions
- 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
- Provides community outreach for various agency programs
- Maintains client confidentiality; performs all duties in conformance with the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics
- Performs related duties as assigned
EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS
Note: The level and scope of the knowledge and skills listed below are related to job duties as distinguished between the two levels in the Definition Section.
Knowledge of:
- Principles and practices of organization, workload management and time management
- Principles and practices of note taking, report writing, 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
- Role and responsibilities of social workers
- Principles of interviewing and problem-solving methodology
- Basic public welfare programs on the Federal, State, and local level
- General principles of public assistance policies and programs
- Developing and preparing court report, case plans, case narratives and safety plans in automated computer systems
- Entering and retrieving data and narratives from automated computer systems
- Basic 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 of a social worker
- Community organization and the social problems calling for the use of public and private community resources
- Basic principles involved in the nature, growth, and development of personality and in-group processes
- The 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, Alzheimer's, and the terminally ill
- The strategies and protocols surrounding crisis intervention techniques such as voice modulation and assessing the potential for suicide
- Basic psychopathology, the different types of mental illness diagnoses, how mental illness affects human behavior and mental health services and treatments utilized by clients
Ability to:
- Understand and learn the agency programs, policies, and procedures
- Obtain facts and recognize the relevance and significance
- Organize and maintain work detail
- Establish and maintain effective client rapport and professional working relationships with agency staff, clients, and others
- Communicate effectively, both orally (phone and in person) and in writing
- Analyze situations and adopt effective courses of action
- Interpret and explain to the applicant, recipient, 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
- Work effectively in emotionally charged or stressful settings/emergencies
- Operate a personal computer and other office equipment and software
- Analyze data, interpret and apply directions, rules, policies, procedures and regulations, and develop appropriate responses
- Accept and use constructive feedback
- Interact professionally and respectfully with clients including difficult, hostile, or distressed clients
- Respect cultural differences
- Work with cases varying in difficulty /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
Minimum Qualifications Pattern 1: Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university; OR Pattern 2: Successful completion of thirty (30) college semester units or forty-five (45) quarter units from an accredited college or university, including fifteen (15) semester units or twenty-two and a half (22.5) quarter units in social welfare, social/human services, sociology, or other social or behavioral science*; AND One (1) year of full-time experience in the Social Service Aide, Eligibility Specialist II, Employment and Training Worker II or comparable classification; OR Three (3) years of full-time experience providing direct client services to disadvantaged adults or children in a private or public agency.
*Examples of acceptable social or behavioral science courses include: anthropology, criminal justice, education, ethnic studies, history, human development, human services, law, nursing, nutrition, psychology, public health, social welfare, sociology, welfare, women's studies. Supplemental Information
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
- A valid driver's license will be required at the time of interview. Individuals who do not meet this requirement due to a disability will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
- Positions require pre-employment screening, including background checks, and fingerprinting.
- Government agencies accessing US government information, which includes 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 is required for all Social Services positions. Background requirements consist of three components which include fingerprinting, citizenship verification, and local law enforcement checks. Applicable agencies must conduct investigations during time of hire and ensure a reinvestigation is conducted 5 years from the date of the previous background investigation for each employee that has access to federal tax information.
- Lake County is required to verify Employment and Education if a conditional offer of employment is made to an applicant.
- Lake County offers: Flexible Office Hours available for most positions; Monday Friday with a variety of schedules between 6:30am - 7:00pm.
- Work remotely from home available for some positions upon Lake County Department of Social Services approval.
EXAMINATION INFORMATIONService Wide Online Training & Experience Examination – Weighted 100%
The Training & Experience Examination is designed to elicit a range of specific information regarding each candidate’s 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 score. 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.
ELIGIBLE LIST INFORMATION
A departmental open eligible list will be established for the county of Lake. 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 TEST 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 mssprogram@calhr.ca.gov or 916-909-3701 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.
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.
ABOUT LAKE COUNTYNestled inland and to the north of the San Francisco Bay Area, Lake County is rich with geographic history and landmarks. Lake County is home to Clear Lake, which is said to have been formed more than 2 million years ago and is the largest natural freshwater lake in the state of California. As a neighboring county to Napa, Lake County is renowned for growing premium wine grapes, pears, and walnuts, and as certified by the State's Air Resources Board, has the cleanest air in California. Also found in Lake County is Mount Konocti, which was formed from volcanic eruptions between 100,000 and 600,000 years ago. The local economy is based primarily on agriculture, tourism, and the geothermal power industry.Benefits Merit System Services does not negotiate or determine the benefits or salaries for positions offered by its partners. For more information about benefits or salaries, please visit the listed county or child support office's website or contact their human resources department.
