Social Service Specialist 1-3 In-Training (SSS3) - Region 5/Pierce & Kitsap County

Social Service Specialists work with families to keep children safe and build on their strengths to establish community support for long-term success.

• Determine if children are safe with their families through respectful investigation and/or assessments.
• Intervene to protect unsafe children and develop a case plan with the family to remedy the situation so families can safely parent their children.
• Follow child welfare laws, policies, and procedures.
• Conduct ongoing comprehensive assessments of safety and risk, develop case plans, and authorize services for children, youth, birth parents, and caregivers.
• Implement culturally appropriate, ADA-sensitive, and individualized service plans with families that are goal-directed, behavioral-specific, and time-limited.
• Refer, coordinate, and monitor the delivery of services.
• Utilize shared planning meetings to plan, develop, and coordinate with parents, relatives, attorneys, and other relevant professionals.
• Conduct health and safety visits to ensure the child's health, safety, and well-being needs are met.
• Develop and implement timely permanent plans that are responsive to the child's permanency needs.
• Provide reasonable and active efforts to parents to prevent removal and ensure early and prompt referrals for court-ordered services.
• Identify primary and concurrent permanent plans within legal and mandated time frames.
• Consult with agency attorney, and prepare required legal documents for court, placement, and service delivery.
• Assist in placing children in approved placements and prepare the child for visitation with parents and siblings.
• Transport children to placement, appointments, or family time/sibling visits.
• Schedule and supervise/monitor visitations.
• Document case notes/case activity in the State computer database, FAMLINK.
• Attend court and provide expert court testimony.

• Four (4) years of paid work experience in one of the following: caring for children, social care, counseling youth, education, or home visitations AND 30 semester or 45 quarter credits in a Social Service discipline.
• Bachelor’s degree in social services, human services, behavioral sciences, or any degree that includes 30 semester or 45 quarter credits in a Social Service discipline; no experience necessary.
• Five (5) years of paid social service experience AND 30 semester or 45 quarter credits in a Social Service discipline.
• Bachelor’s degree in social services, human services, behavioral sciences, or any degree that includes 30 semester or 45 quarter credits in a Social Service discipline AND one (1) year of paid social service experience.
• Six (6) years of paid social service experience AND 30 semester or 45 quarter credits in a Social Service discipline.
• Bachelor’s degree in social services, human services, behavioral sciences, or any degree that includes 30 semester or 45 quarter credits in a Social Service discipline AND Two (2) years of paid social service experience.
• One (1) year of experience as a Social Service Specialist 2 (SSS2).

• Health insurance
• Long-term disability insurance
• Paid leave
• Retirement plan
• Vacation leave
• Sick leave
• Holidays
• Dependent care assistance
• Employee assistance program

The Department of Children, Youth, and Families is committed to Washington’s children and youth growing up safe, healthy, and thriving.