Social Worker III - Adult Services and Guardianship

MINIMUM EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

Master’s degree from an accredited school of social work; or a Master's degree in counseling or human services field and one year of directly-related experience; or a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited school of social work; or a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited school of social work and one year of directly-related experience; or a Bachelor’s degree in a human services field from an accredited college/university and two years of directly-related experience;

or a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college/university and three years of directly-related experience.

Thorough knowledge of social work principles, techniques, and practices, and their application to complex casework, group work, and community problems. Considerable knowledge of a wide range of medical, behavioral, and/or psychosocial problems and their treatment theory. Considerable knowledge of family and group dynamics and a range of intervention techniques, governmental and private organizations, and resources in the community, laws, regulations, and policies which govern the program.

General knowledge of the methods and principles of casework supervision and training. In certain settings, considerable knowledge of medical terminology, disease processes and their treatment as they relate to decisions regarding clinical interventions and appropriate therapies based on medical or psychological diagnosis. Skill in establishing rapport with a client and in applying techniques or assessing psychosocial, behavioral, and psychological aspects of client’s problems.

Ability to supervise, train, or instruct lower-level social workers, students, or interns in the program.

Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with members of case load and their families, as well as civic, legal, medical, social, and religious organizations. Ability to express ideas clearly and concisely and to plan and execute work effectively. Ability to perform manual work exerting up to 50 pounds of force occasionally and/or up to 10 pounds of force constantly to move objects.

The primary purpose of this position is to provide protection to the adult residents of Bertie County ages 18 years and older. The major programs of this position are:
Protective Services for Adults, Guardianship, Case Management, Intake for Adults, Individual and Family Adjustment, Health Support Services and Protective Services after hours on-call for Adults. Many of these problems are related to appropriate home care, medical care, adult daily living activities, mental health and money management.

Protective Services for Adults is a multi-faceted service based on an awareness of the vulnerability of disabled adults due to abuse, neglect, and/or exploitation. Adults in need of this protection are persons 18 years old or older facing disabilities / challenges due to advanced age, mental, physical, or socioeconomic impairments, who are unable to take care of themselves and who have no one able or willing to assist them with the care they need.

Many of these problems are related to appropriate home care, medical care, adult daily living activities, mental health, and money management. Protective Services reports are accepted by phone, mail, or in person from sources that include, but not limited to medical professionals, relatives, friends, neighbors, law enforcement, mental health workers, home health agencies, etc.

This position provides Guardianship services to individuals, who are alleged to be incompetent and/or to individuals who have been adjudicated as incompetent by the court and are in-need of a guardian. The employee is responsible for assessing an individual’s need for guardianship; locating the appropriate person(s) to serve as guardian(s); and, when necessary, petitioning to court or assisting the individual’s family to petition for the adjudication of incompetence and the appointment of a guardian.

Also, the employee provides ongoing case management when the DSS Director has been appointed as public guardian.

Employee will work in an…