Children’s Emergency Services Caseworker-Caribou or Houlton

Location: Caribou,Maine,United States

Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)

Child Protective Services Caseworker

Opening Date: October 9, 2024

Closing Date: October 23, 2024

Job Class Code: 5077
Grade:  24
Salary: $32.35- $42.34 per hour 
* Hourly rate includes a $7.50/hr. recruitment and retention stipend an additional $1.00/hr. stipend is paid for employees possessing a related Master’s Degree. This position is also eligible for a $.35/hr. shift differential

Location & Schedule: Caribou or Houlton Maine - CES positions regularly work from 4PM to midnight, and standby midnight to 8AM 5 days per week. Work requires regular travel within the geographic area served by a District Office.

Position Number: 02000-3971

 Link to realistic job preview

Want to make a real difference in the lives of Maine children?  The Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS) within DHHS is looking for people committed to protecting the rights and well-being of children by providing professional case management services for our clients throughout the State of Maine.  As a Child Protective Services Caseworker, you will develop investigative and case management skills and build extensive contacts within the judicial, law enforcement, educational, and social services communities. If you’re in search of a career that is professionally and personally rewarding, challenging, offers exceptional training and educational opportunities, and supports children and families in Maine, this could be your next career opportunity.   

As a Children’s Emergency Services (CES) Caseworker you will:

• Perform professional social work in the areas of child protection, children’s services, and adoption.
• Engage families to assess child safety and make plans which best meet the safety, well-being, and permanency needs of their children.
• Create a team for each family consisting of family, staff, and community resources to support safe solutions for children.
• Reach factually supported safety decisions in a timely and thorough manner, with input from parents, children, extended family and community stakeholders to assure child safety.
• Assess:
• child safety, abuse and neglect, and signs of danger;
• family strengths and capabilities;
• family functioning;
• Separate unsafe caregivers from children in need of protection when court action is required to make children safe.
• Make appropriate plans for children, focusing on their safety needs, preservation of family relationships, reunifying children when appropriate, or achieving a permanent placement in another family if needed.
• Maintain accurate case records of assessments, activities and plans; summaries; reports; letters and memos.
• Follow federal and state laws, mandates, policy and timeframes to achieve child safety, well-being and permanency, perform case planning and when needed, petition for protective custody and placement of children

Successful candidates will be:

• detailed oriented
• able to effectively manage and meet deadlines.

Work requires regular travel within the geographic area served by a District Office.

Minimum Qualifications:

 In order to qualify, you must have a valid Class C Motor Vehicle Operators license,  Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited education institutions in Social Work/Social Welfare, or a Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited educational institution in a field related to social work/social welfare* as determined by the Maine State Board of Social Work Licensure.
NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENT: Applicants must have or be eligible for conditional or full licensure at the Licensed Social Worker (LSW) level as issued by the Maine State Board of Social Work Licensure. An LSW requires an earned BA/BS in social work/social welfare. An LSW-Conditional requires an earned BA/BS in a field related to social work/social welfare.

*Chapter 10 of the Maine State Board of Social Worker Licensure regulations defines a field related to social work or social welfare as including but not limited to: “behavioral science, social and behavioral sciences, childhood development, education and human development, mental health and human services, psychology, psychology/educational psychology, rehabilitation services, and sociology.”

The board will consider degrees in other areas on an indi