New job Human Service Worker II in Virginia

Under the supervision of the Child Care Specialist II, provides direct services to families and children. Assists families in obtaining services in Health, Social Services, Disabilities and Mental Health as required in the Head Start Performance Standards.

• Maintains knowledge of current public assistance and employment policies and applies, explains and interprets federal, state, and local policies to clients, service providers, attorneys, the public, and other interested parties;
• Conducts in-depth interviews of clients to determine and reassess eligibility of clients for financial, publicly supported medical services and/or medical public assistance programs;
• Performs client needs assessments to aid in making appropriate referrals to other services;
• Works with clients to assist with gathering the information required to establish eligibility;
• Compiles and maintains data and documents and may prepare written narratives to support eligibility determinations;
• Ensures timely processing of applications to meet client needs and program policy mandates;
• Authorizes public assistance (e.g., medical aid, financial assistance, food stamps) based on client circumstances and public assistance program requirements;
• Uses various forms of automated technology to document, obtain, and verify information, to generate reports, and to authorize benefits and services for clients; providers, attorneys, the public, and other interested parties;
• Assists clients in obtaining the resources necessary to meet emergency needs;
• Assists clients in obtaining services and coordinates these with other service providers as needed;
• Coordinates and manages clients' participation in a variety of services;
• Participates in case staffing with other County staff or community organizations to assess and address needs of clients;
• Prepares appeal documents and may represent the agency in administrative appeals filed by clients;
• Determines client's employment needs in order to develop a plan of service to move them towards self-sufficiency;
• Provides career counseling;
• Assists job seekers with job search and resume development;
• Assists workforce development staff in the operation of employment programs.

• Knowledge of basic human behavior and social problems;
• Knowledge of complex federal, state and local laws governing public assistance and welfare reform;
• Ability to read, interpret and apply complex program policies and procedures;
• Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing;
• Ability to make mathematical computations;
• Ability to schedule, organize and manage workload sufficient to meet deadlines;
• Ability to use automated technology to establish and maintain case records;
• Ability to handle multiple deadlines, computer systems, high volume of client contact, high caseloads, and competing priorities;
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with clients, co-workers and other human service providers;
• Ability to work effectively with people under stress and those from various socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds;
• Ability to maintain professional ethics related to confidentiality of client information;
• Ability to provide excellent customer service;
• Ability to work in a team environment;
• Ability to maintain flexibility;
• Ability to manage a complex caseload;
• Ability to assess client needs through collection and analysis of employment history and other personal, family and cultural information;
• Ability to use supportive counseling techniques to enhance and develop clients' problem-solving capabilities.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Any combination of education, experience, and training equivalent to the following: graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a bachelor's degree, plus one year of professional work experience in human services or a related field.
(Click on the aforementioned link to learn how Fairfax County interprets equivalencies for "Any combination, experience, and training equivalent to")

Some positions in this classification may be assigned to the Public Assistance Program in which the one year of professional level human services or related experience referenced above must specifically be in public assistance programs. Candidates appointed to these positions without the requisite year of professional public assistance programs experience will be hired at the Human Service Worker I grade level, and upon satisfactory completion of a one year Public Assistance Program training appointees will be eligible for a non-competitive promotion to the Human Service Worker II grade level.

Contingent upon the area of assignment, some positions within this class may require specific certification(s) prior to employment and/or the ability to acquire necessary certification(s) within a specified time period following employment. The certifications are identified in the position description and employment advertisement.

• AA or BA in Social Work, Psychology, Counseling, Human Behavior, or other related field;
• Two or more years' case management experience;
• Two or more years' experience working with families;
• Experience working in a center based child care setting;
• Two or more years' experience working with a diverse multicultural population;
• Experience working in Head Start or Early Head Start.