Social Services Associate (Family Contact) - Wasilla

Job Description

This position is open to Alaska Residents only.

Please check our

residency definition

to determine if you qualify

.

The Department of Family and Community Services,

Office of Children's Services (OCS)

is

recruiting for full-time

Social Services Associate

located in

Wasilla, Alaska.

What You Will Be Doing

The Wasilla Family Contact Social Services Associate positions partner with Beacon Hill and the Mat-Su Health Foundation to provide a “best practices” approach to facilitation of family contact between children in foster care and their families. You can expect to take specified trainings to teach you how to facilitate meaningful, healthy, culturally centered family contact for families involved in the child welfare system in Mat-Su. Your primary responsibilities as a Family Contact Facilitator will be to encourage and coach parents to practice safe parenting skills, complete documentation of family contacts and ensure timely submission, transport children to and from family contact as needed, work with parents and foster care placements for scheduling purposes and other duties as assigned. You will be supporting families and their goals in Family contact by working directly with the PSS to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children during family contact. The successful incumbent will be courteous, professional in language and presentation, calm, motivated, efficient, and have strong critical thinking skills, have the ability to lift children up to 40 lbs. into car seats, flexibly adapt to last-minute changes, work independently or in a team setting, remain calm in stressful situations and de-escalate children and adults, possess experience working with persons with diverse culture and backgrounds, be confident in driving in all weather conditions, have experience in the use of Microsoft office Suite4, Word, and meetings platforms (Zoom, Teams), and have good time management and multi-tasking abilities.. This position may require traveling up to a week at a time.

The Office of Children's Services requires staff to work overtime when deemed necessary. OCS Staff are considered essential, so are expected to work during pandemic and other natural disasters. The agency also supports a healthy work/life balance for all staff.

Our Organization, Mission, and Culture

The

Office of Children's Services

strives for a diverse and inclusive workforce where safety and wellbeing are paramount and employees at all levels promote a culture where everyone is valued, treated equitably, and treated respectfully.

The Mission of the Office of Children's Services is: Ensuring the safety, permanency and well-being of children by strengthening families, engaging communities, and partnering with Tribes.

Everything we do is underpinned by our

Core Values

.

Benefits of Joining Our Team

The Office of Children's Services is committed to an organizational culture that values each team member. We are committed to building and sustaining a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environment. We celebrate and value the diversity of our employees, partners, and families we serve.

Your first 6 months in the agency are probationary and considered a training period, with formal and on-the-job training with your supervisor and your colleagues.

Full-time benefits of this position include but are not limited to: Insurance Benefits; Retirement Benefits; Paid Leave; and twelve paid holidays per year. Please see the benefits tab on this posting for more information.

Working Environment You Can Expect

This position is in Wasilla OCS Office. The Office of Children's Service's staff are considered essential and are required to work after hours, on-call hours, through pandemics - natural disasters, and all holidays that land on their rotational work week.

The work we perform is critical and significantly impacts the communities we serve. As a result, the Office of Children's Services works on evenings and weekends as well as weekdays, so overtime and on-call work are expectations of our workers. Travel in outlying areas may involve small aircraft and overnight stays.

For information on the Wasilla community (including schools, hospitals, housing) please review the

Alaska Community Profiles

.

We Are Seeking a Candidate with the Following Competencies:

Interpersonal Skills

: Shows understanding, friendliness, courtesy, tact, empathy, concern, and politeness to others; develops and maintains effective relationships with others; may include effectively dealing with individuals who are difficult, hostile, or distressed; relates well to people from varied backgrounds and different situations; is sensitive to cultural diversity, race, gender, disabilities, and other individual differences.

Customer/Quality Focus

: Anticipates, monitors, and meets the needs of customers and responds to them in an effective, appropriate manner. Demonstrates commitment to identifying customers’ apparent and underlying needs and continually seeks to provide the highest quality service and product to all customers.

Adaptability

: Adjusts planned work by gathering relevant information and applying critical thinking to address multiple demands and competing priorities in a changing environment.

Computer Skills

: Uses computers, software applications, databases, and automated systems to accomplish work.

Teamwork

: Encourages and facilitates cooperation, pride, trust, and group identity; fosters commitment and team spirit; works with others to achieve goals.

Special Note

This position requires a valid Alaska driver's license.

Additionally, while the Division does have vehicles assigned to it, they may not always be available for staff use. Mileage reimbursement is available when a personal vehicle is used for work-related matters. Current automotive insurance must be in place prior to use of a personal vehicle while conducting business on behalf of the State.

All OCS employment offers are conditional upon successful completion of a background check investigation.

A child protective history check will be performed per AS 12.62.160 and/or 13 AAC 68.315 including a background and fingerprint check.

The successful candidate may be required to attend multiple training courses normally located in Anchorage.

A cover letter is NOT required for this position.

Your complete application will be used to determine which applicants will advance to the interview phase of the recruitment and selection process.

To view the general description and example of duties for a Social Services Associate, please go to the following link:

https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/alaska/classspecs/892009?keywords=social%20services%20associate&pagetype=classSpecifications

Minimum Qualifications

One year of any combination of postsecondary or vocational education and/or experience in assisting clients, customers, the general public, or other staff in the explanation and application of guidelines, policies, or services.

Special Note:

Some positions require a valid Alaska driver's license, a background check, and fingerprinting. These requirements will be indicated at the time of recruitment.

Additional Required Information

At time of interview applicant is requested to submit

:

A copy of academic transcripts (unofficial are acceptable but must include the institution name/URL on documents provided) if required to meet minimum qualifications.

A list of three (3) professional* references including daytime telephone numbers and email address; at least two (2) of these must be from a current or former supervisor.

Professional is defined as a supervisor or an individual who has direct knowledge of your work performance.

Please read the below information carefully. This applies to your application submission.

NOTE

: Attaching a resume or curriculum vitae is not an alternative to filling out the application in its entirety.

Noting "see resume or CV" or any similar response on any portion of your application may lead to a determination your application i