Senior Social Worker - Child Protection, CORE/Onboarding (Hybrid)

Position Description

Anoka County Community Social Services and Behavioral Health (CSS/BH) currently has a full-time position available as a Senior Social Worker in our CORE (Collaborative Reunification) program. CORE is a voluntary, intensive reunification program for families who are working with Ongoing Child Protection. CORE partners with parents to identify protective factors and barriers to reunification. CORE assists with developing strategies to navigate safe parenting and building intentional connections that will support families reuniting and remaining together. This role is also the hub for internal onboarding, tool development, and maintaining training materials to align with current federal, state and local requirements for our new child welfare staff. This team thrives on innovative strength based practices in a high performing positive team setting.

Consider joining a team of professionals dedicated to providing services and support to families within the community! If your career ambitions resonate with our mission, we invite you to apply with Anoka County today!

This is a full-time, exempt, hybridposition. Interviews will take place the week of March 20th, 2025, for those selected to move forward in the hiring process.

Pay & Benefits

• Salary: $85,363 to $102,440 ($41.04 to $49.25 per hour).

• 2024 Anoka County Salary Schedule Grade 36: $85,363 to $119,496 ($41.04 to $57.45 per hour).

• 24 days of paid flexible time off and up to 12.5 paid holidays.

• Comprehensive insurance, including medical, dental, vision, flex benefits and more at www.anokacountymn.gov/benefits.

• Medical and dental clinic exclusive to employees, located at the Anoka County Government Center.

• Pension plan and other retirement investment options.

• Advancement/professional development opportunities.

Work Location

• This position will work at the Anoka County Government Center, located at 2100 3rd Ave, Anoka, MN 55303.

• This position may be eligible for flexible work arrangements, including hybrid work, with some days working remotely and some days working in the office.

• Expected work hours are Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Some non-traditional evening hours are required to hold sessions with clients/families.

Job Duties and Responsibilities
These examples are not all inclusive and are intended to be illustrative of primary responsibilities of an Anoka County Senior Social Worker.

• Assess clients' needs, situations, strengths, and support networks to determine the scope of their individualized CORE programming.

• Develop CORE plans with clients that include trauma-informed narratives of the events that led to their children's out-of-home placement and creates a shared vision for how they will build lasting safety.

• Monitor and assess child safety and well-being. This unique position requires a clinical lens to assess how individual needs for parents and children impact the broader family dynamics for child safety and well-being.

• Meet with families in their homes to build parenting readiness for reunification through parenting skills, child development education, emotional regulation strategies, safety planning, and on call coaching support.

• Engage formal and informal support networks to develop intentional safety connections for families.

• Collaborate with child welfare staff to ensure coordinated efforts with families.

• Provide clear documentation for families on progress and needs, as well as concise updates for court reports.

• Testify in trials when necessary to describe CORE's efforts to achieve safety and provide a clinically sound assessment of the barriers to reunification.

• Assist with onboarding new child welfare staff, keeping training tools up to date with federal, state and local practices, and developing new training materials.

Qualifications and Requirements:

Minimum Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Needed

• Bachelor's degree in social work or a closely related field.

• Four years (2,080 annual hours) of job-related experience.

• In lieu of the required education, an equivalent combination of education and experience may be substituted on a year-for-year basis.

• Valid driver's license and vehicle available for business use.

Preferred Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Needed

• Master's degree or higher in social work or a closely related field.

• Five years or more (2,080 annual hours) of job-related experience.

• Experience working with diverse populations.

• Licensure in Social Work or related field.

• Training in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Circle of Security, Parents as Teachers, Signs of Safety, Motivational Interviewing, or 5 Protective Factors.

• Direct practice in clinical settings working with parents or families.

• Experience facilitating or developing trainings.

Physical Demands and Work Conditions

• Standard office environment.

• Vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust focus, such as to work on computers. Ability to see colors, shades, and brightness.

• Hearing abilities required for general and phone communication, signals, and machine sounds.

• Assignments are sedentary, occasionally alternating between sitting, standing, walking, crouching, and kneeling as required to perform job responsibilities. Frequent wrist and finger manipulation to complete computer work.

• Occasional lifting of 10-20 lbs.

• Equipment used includes computers, phones, and standard office equipment.

• Occasional travel to other county work sites as needed. Travel between work sites may require driving a county vehicle and/or a personal vehicle.

• Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.

Selection Process

It is important that your application show all the relevant education and experience you possess. This information will determine which candidates will proceed in the selection process. A submitted application is also used to verify the answers to any supplemental questions.

Pre-employment Requirements

Anoka County has determined that successfully passing a pre-employment criminal/driving background check, drug screen and DOT physical, and/or other qualifications checks may be necessary for certain positions. Applicants may be required to sign an informed consent form allowing the County to obtain to conduct such screenings and/or verify their qualifications in connection with the position sought. Applicants who do not sign the informed consent form will not be further considered for the position.

About Anoka County

As the fourth largest county in Minnesota, we depend on the diversity, dedication, determination, and innovation of our employees. We offer a wide range of career opportunities for people with a variety of personalities, abilities, knowledge, and life experiences who can come together for the single purpose of serving Anoka County's 369,000 citizens in a respectful, innovative, and fiscally responsible manner. If your career aspirations resonate with our mission, we invite you to Find Your Path with Anoka County! Hear from other Anoka County employees here.

Commitment to Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employment

Anoka County is committed to the principles of our Affirmative Action Plan and Equal Employment Opportunity. It is the policy of Anoka County to recruit, hire, train, and promote persons in all job titles, without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, marital status, genetic information, status with regard to public assistance, physical ability, sexual orientation, or age except where such status is a bona fide occupational qualification. It is the policy of Anoka County to make employment decisions in a manner that will further our Affirmative Action Plan and Equal Employment Opportunity.

If you require accommodations or have any other questions regarding this job posting, please call the Anoka County Human Resources Department at 763-324-4300 and reference the posting title and number. If you have questions about the hiring process, please visit: http://www.anokacountymn.gov/er-faq

Anoka County is an Equal Opportunity Employer, please see our EEO policy: https://www.anokacounty.us/401/Diversity-EEO