Social Work Manager

Are you a compassionate leader with a commitment to excellence in child protection and youth justice services? Join our team as a Social Work Manager, where you'll guide a dedicated group of professionals delivering critical services like Child Protective Services, Youth Justice, Kinship Care, and Foster Care. In this pivotal role, you’ll foster staff development, ensure alignment with policies and laws, and collaborate with community partners to support children and families. If you thrive on creating meaningful impact through leadership, strategic program implementation, and high professional standards, we want to hear from you!

Within this position, you will lead a team of dedicated social workers serving children and families in child protection and youth justice services. The manager develops and implements strategies for programs like Child Protective Services, Youth Justice, Kinship Care, and Foster Care, ensuring services are delivered effectively and in alignment with agency policies, procedures, and applicable laws. Through supervision, case consultation, and team meetings, the manager fosters staff growth and models excellence in social work practice. Clear, accurate communication and a commitment to high professional standards are essential to this role.

Essential Job Functions

1. Provides consistent and effective individual and group supervision that assists staff with organizing field and office work related to Child Protection.  Including; Access/Initial Assessment, Targeted Safety Services, Ongoing Case Management, Out of Home Care, and case closures.  
2. Supervises Youth Justice services, acts as the Chief Juvenile Court Intake Worker for Door County, as defined by Wis. Stats. 938.06 (3) and 938.067 (9). Also provides supervision regarding Restitution and Community Service.
3. Reviews and approves screening recommendations made by workers in response to Child Protection, Child Welfare, and Youth Justice reports; assigns cases to the appropriate staff member(s).
4. Monitors program budgets and ensures programs operate within available fiscal limits; reviews and approves expenditures.
5. Acts as the official liaison between Health & Human Services, the District Attorney, the Court system, law enforcement, schools, health services, and related contracted programs and community partners.
6. Manages the appeals process for Substantiated Child Maltreatment decisions, from initial notification letters through formal hearings, as required.
7. Schedules and assigns custody intake coverage, including daytime and evening/weekend/holiday hours.
8. Reviews and redacts any protected information in case records in response to official requests for records.  
9. Serves as a member of the Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) Leadership Team helping assure collaboration and progress on agency goals. 
10. Approves all client documentation in the e-WiSACWIS computer database.
11. Maintains qualitative and quantitative standards for staff performance, evaluates staff performance, and recommends personnel actions, as needed.

 General Job Functions

1. In case of emergency or in the absence of the assigned social worker, provides necessary direct service to clients to address the immediate concern or issues.
2. Participates in and directs agency staff development and training.
3. Participates in continuing, appropriate professional development as a supervisor.
4. Participates in research programs (as assigned) and in the review and development of agency programs, policies and procedures. 
5. Participates in the interpretation of programs and policies to the broader community and in community planning efforts, as assigned. 
6. Promotes interagency cooperation and represents the agency in meetings related to agency programs.
7. Prepares required statistics, reports, budgets, and grant proposals for assigned programs.
8. Monitors contracted / purchase of service programs.
9. Participates in Child Death Review Team meetings/follow-up, when appropriate for training or case management purposes.

Required Training and Experience

1.   Graduate of an accredited college or university with a Bachelor’s Degree in social work or closely related field. Master’s Degree preferred.

2.   Certification or eligibility for certification as a Social Worker in the State of Wisconsin, preferably at the Advanced Practice level or higher.

3.   Three (3) years of work as a social worker in a public and / or voluntary social service agency, maintaining acceptable standards.

4.   At least 25 hours of training in social work supervision as provided by the N.E.W. Partnership for Children and Families - Child Welfare Supervisor sequence is preferred.

 Preferred Training and Experience

1. Two years supervisory experience.

 Knowledge, Skills, Abilities Required

1. High Level of Working Knowledge of Wisconsin Children’s Code: #48 and #938, Wisconsin Model of Practice, Wisconsin Automated Child Welfare system, CPS investigation and Ongoing Standards, Safety and Permanency for children, Family Systems approach to service delivery, Kinship Levels of Care, Foster Care Regulations/Administrative Rules, Day Care Certification Administrative Rules, Juvenile Justice Evidence Based Practice, and clinical intervention techniques.
2. Ability to coach staff through case crisis situations, providing effective conflict resolution and mediation.
3. Skills in the areas of team building, leadership, and customer relations.
4. Knowledge of community organization principles and methods.
5. Knowledge of individual medical information privacy, confidentiality, and security statutes, regulations, policies and procedures (must have documented training in county and department policies and procedures, or will train).
6. Ability to direct and supervise the work of others.
7. Ability to read, comprehend, and communicate, both verbally and in writing. 
8. Ability to recognize individual differences in workers and to gauge their learning patterns and potential for independent work and then develop that potential.
9. Other desirable characteristics include, but are not limited to: positive attitude, creativity, flexibility, innovation, and trauma-informed/strengths-based philosophy in all aspects of social work practice.
10. Ability to use tact and courtesy in maintaining an effective working relationship with department employees, county supervisors, county officials, and general public. 

Benefits to promote employee/family wellness (full time status):

• Health Insurance including prescriptions – 85% of premium paid by the County of Door
• Wellworks wellness participation – health insurance premium discount
• Dental Insurance – 100% of premium paid by the County of Door!
• Vision Insurance
• Term Life Insurance - offered through WI Dept of Employee Trust Funds (ETF)
• Income Continuation Insurance – ask about premium holiday!
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• Wisconsin Retirement System – required participation in Employee/Employer match
• 457(b) Deferred Compensation plans – (Wisconsin Deferred Comp & Nationwide)
• County of Door is a Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) qualifying employer!

Benefits to promote work/life balance (full time status):

• Paid Holidays
• Paid Time Off (PTO) Plan
• Personal Day(s) by position
• Flexible/Alternative Work Schedule by position

Salary : $38