BEHAVIORAL SPECIALIST

The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) is the state of Florida’s social services agency. The agency oversees services for child safety, fostering, adoption, domestic violence, adult protective services, refugees, homelessness, mental health, substance abuse, childcare providers, human trafficking and public assistance. The agency’s mission is to work in partnership with local communities to protect the vulnerable, promote strong and economically self-sufficient families, and advance personal and family recovery and resiliency.

Within DCF, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health (SAMH) Program office is recognized as the single state authority for substance abuse and mental health services. The Office of SAMH is statutorily responsible for the planning, evaluation, and implementation of a comprehensive statewide system of care for the prevention, treatment, and recovery of children and adults with serious mental illnesses or substance use disorders.

TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THIS POSITION RESPONSES TO THE QUALIFYING QUESTIONS ARE REQUIRED AND MUST BE VERIFIABLE BASED ON YOUR SUBMITTED APPLICATION.

THIS IS NOT A TELEWORK POSITION. CANDIDATE WILL BE REQUIRED TO WORK IN THE TALLAHASSEE HQ OFFICE.

This is a highly responsible and professional position that will serve as a Behavioral Specialist within the Sexually Violent Predator Program. This position involves the management and review of records pertaining to sexual offenders that have been referred to the Sexually Violent Predator Program. The Behavioral Specialist must be knowledgeable of Florida Statute 394.910 - 394.922 and other statutes and Administrative Rules that may relate to program functions. This position requires knowledge of the factors associated with violent and sexual recidivism as well as the capacity to understand the workings of the criminal justice system.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities include:

• Maintain a caseload of referrals from the Department of Corrections, Department of Children and Families, State’s Attorneys, and/or Department of Juvenile Justice referrals, remaining vigilant about the release dates during the review process so that the necessary information is received by the Multidisciplinary Team members in a timely manner.

• Request pertinent information from law enforcement and governmental agencies throughout the United States, as appropriate to sex offenders’ criminal history.
• Summarize clinical and forensic data for each referral. Information must be relevant to the evaluation process and succinct in format.
• Accurately input clinically significant data into a program-wide database system. This task requires superior attention to detail.
• Continually monitor a work queue and incoming email for referrals/information requiring immediate attention. Remains sensitive to the referral and release dates so that the files are completed in accordance with legislatively mandated timeframes.
• Perform additional duties as required.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities required for the position:

• Knowledge of the theories and principles of clinical, counseling or behavioral psychology.
• Ability to plan, organize and coordinate work assignments.
• Ability to communicate effectively.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others.
• Knowledge of the methods of data collection and analysis.
• Knowledge of basic management principles and practices.
• Ability to collect, evaluate and analyze data to develop alternative recommendations, solve problems, document work flow and other activities relating to the improvement of management practices.
• Ability to organize data into logical format for presentation in reports, documents and other written materials.
• Ability to conduct fact finding research.
• Ability to utilize problem-solving techniques.
• Ability to become CJIS certified.

Minimum Qualifications:

• A master's degree from an accredited college or university in Social Work, Counseling, Psychology, or a related field is required, and four years of professional experience in Social Work, Counseling, or Psychology is preferred.

Preference will be given to applicants who have:

• Experience and knowledge of the factors associated with violent and sexual recidivism as well as the capacity to understand the workings of the criminal justice system.

Benefits of Working for the State of Florida:

• Health insurance
• Life insurance; $25,000 policy is free plus option to purchase additional life insurance
• Dental, vision and supplemental insurance
• Retirement plan options, including employer contributions
  • (For more information, please click www.myfrs.com);
• Nine paid holidays and one Personal Holiday each year;
• Flexible Spending Accounts;
• Opportunities for career advancement
• Tuition waiver for public college courses

For a more complete list of benefits, visit www.mybenefits.myflorida.com.

DCF EMPLOYMENT DISCLOSURES

US CITIZEN REQUIREMENT Only US citizens and lawfully authorized alien workers will be hired.

SELECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEM REGISTRATION All selected male candidates born on or after October 1, 1962, will not be eligible for hire or promotion into an authorized position unless they are registered with the Selective Service System (SSS). Verification of Selective Service registration will be conducted prior to hire. For more information, please visit the SSS website: http://www.sss.gov.

RETIREE NOTICE If you are a retiree of the Florida Retirement System (FRS), please check with the FRS on how your current benefits will be affected if you are re-employed with the State of Florida. Your current retirement benefits may be suspended or voided, and you required to repay all benefits received depending upon the date of your retirement.

BACKGROUND SCREENING It is the policy of the Florida Department of Children and Families that any applicant being considered for employment must successfully complete a State and National criminal history check as a condition of employment before beginning employment, and, if applicable, also be screened in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 435, F.S., and Chapter 408, F.S. No applicant may begin employment until the background screening results are received, reviewed for any disqualifying offenses, and approved by the Agency. Background screening shall include, but not be limited to, fingerprinting for State and Federal criminal records checks through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and may include local criminal history checks through local law enforcement agencies.