Social Worker III

Salary : $54,677.72 - $68,005.42 Annually

Location : 810 S. Walker Street, Burgaw

Job Type : Full-Time Permanent

Job Number : 202500010

Department : SOCIAL SERVICES

Opening Date : 02 / 25 / 2025

Closing Date : 3 / 9 / 2025 11 : 59 PM Eastern

General Definition of Work

The primary purpose of this position is to provide foster care services to children from infancy to age 18 who have been removed from their home. This position assesses, evaluates and identifies risks to children and determines what immediate action needs to be taken as defined by law. This position assesses the children's needs and develops a plan for service so the children will have a permanent placement within one year. This position will assess the need for diagnostic study and evaluation and medical examinations and facilitates movement in and out of the legal system. This position evaluates the children's placement and supervises the children in the foster home to assure proper care is received. This position provides social casework and other treatment services to facilitate the children's psychosocial adjustment and provides transportation necessary to the provision of foster care services for children when needed and not otherwise available. This position counsels parents and families and monitors their progress with their intervention plan for reunification. This position provides casework services and supervision to children and their family from the time the children are returned to their parents. Experience using Microsoft Office 2000 (Word, Excel, etc.) is beneficial.

Administrative duties are also involved in this position. They include documentation in client records, travel, supervisory conference training; completion of forms, and preparation for court. On call duty is mandatory for this position to include after regular business hours, including weekends.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to complete the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodations. Reasonable accommodations may be requested by contacting Pender County Human Resources.

Essential Functions

The duties and responsibilities of a foster care social worker are as follows :

• Making efforts to place a child in a foster home until the child can either be reunited with the parents or released for adoption
• Ensuring the child is placed in a suitable home to meet their needs and will not be subject to maltreatment
• Interview clients individually, in families, or in groups, assessing their situations and capabilities, to determine what services are required to meet their needs.
• Counsel parents with on child rearing techniques, interviewing the child and family to determine whether further action is required.
• Counsel groups, families, or communities regarding issues including mental health, poverty, unemployment, substance abuse, physical abuse, rehabilitation, social adjustment, child care, or medical care.
• Provide, find, or arrange for support services, such as child care, homemaker service, prenatal care, substance abuse treatment, job training, counseling, or parenting classes, to prevent more serious problems from developing.
• Develop and review service plans in consultation with clients, and perform follow-ups assessing the quantity and quality of services provided.
• Refer clients to community resources for services such as job placement, debt counseling, legal aid, housing, medical treatment, or financial assistance, and provide concrete information, such as where to go and how to apply.
• Arrange the required paperwork to ensure the provision of foster care services
• Visit the school where the child attends and confirm the well-being of the child
• Document all details related to the background of the child and the family
• Serve as liaisons between students, homes, schools, family services, child guidance clinics, courts, protective services, doctors, and other contacts, to help children who face multiple / complex situations.
• Arrange for medical, psychiatric, and other tests that may disclose causes of difficulties and indicate remedial measures.
• Maintain case history records and prepare reports.
• Collect supplementary information needed to assist client, such as employment records, medical records, or school reports.
• Consult with parents, teachers, and other school personnel to determine causes of problems such as truancy and misbehavior, and to implement solutions.
• Counsel students whose behavior, school progress, or mental or physical impairment indicate a need for assistance, diagnosing students' problems and arranging for needed services.
• Address legal issues, such as child abuse and discipline, assisting with hearings and providing testimony to inform custody arrangements.
• Serve on policymaking committees, assist in community development, and assist client groups.
• Place children in foster or adoptive homes, institutions, or medical treatment centers.
• Evaluate personal characteristics and home conditions of foster home or adoption applicants.
• Determine clients' eligibility for financial and medical assistance.
• Administer welfare programs.
• Work with child and adolescent families that are in residential institutions.

Foster Care - Relationship Building and Support

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education & Experience

Broad understanding of Social Work Policy and Procedures. Considerable knowledge of behavioral and socio-economic problems and their treatment, considerable knowledge of laws, regulations, and policies that govern Social Work programs. Considerable knowledge of racial, ethnic, or other cultural groups in society, their values and lifestyles, considerable knowledge of techniques and methods of conducting formal and informal training programs for adult learners. Considerable knowledge of the agency's programs, functions, services, protocols, and procedures. Good time management skills

Bachelor's degree in social work from an appropriately accredited institution and two years of directly related experience; or a bachelor's degree in a human services field from an appropriately accredited institution and three years of directly related experience; or a bachelor's degree from an appropriately accredited institution and four years of directly related experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Valid driver's license in the State of North Carolina.

This position is a safety sensitive position and subject to random substance abuse testing in accordance with the Pender County Personnel Policy and Risk Policy.

Physical Requirements

This work is sedentary and requires little to no exertion of force; work regularly requires sitting and speaking or hearing and occasionally requires standing, walking, using hands to finger, handle or feel and reaching with hands and arms; work has standard vision requirements; vocal communication is required for expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word and conveying detailed or important instructions to others accurately, loudly or quickly; hearing is required to perceive information at normal spoken word levels and to receive detailed information through oral communications and / or to make fine distinctions in sound; work requires preparing and analyzing written or computer data, operating motor vehicles or equipment and observing general surroundings and activities; work occasionally requires exposure to outdoor weather conditions; work is generally in a moderately noisy location (e.g. business office, light traffic).

There are a wide variety of benefits available to eligible Pender County employees. These benefits include : health, dental, vision, life insurance, optional life and disability insurance plans, flexible spending account, retirement program, 401(k) program, deferred compensation program, credit union membership and an employee assistance program.

Pender County Benefits Overview can be viewed

Do you have a high school diploma or GED equivalent?

Do you have a North Carolina driver license, a valid driver license from another state due to military exemption, or the ability to obtain a North Carolina driver license within 30 days of hire?

Required Question

Salary : $54,678 - $68,005