Job Description

Under general supervision, Protective Service Workers perform professional investigation, case management, and casework services at the Human Services Agency, Family & Children’s Services program. This includes activities related to: engagement of children, youth and families; assessment of safety and risk; case planning and service delivery; and transitioning children and families to appropriate permanent and stable living situations.

The essential duties of this position include, but are not limited to:

1. Partnering with families, communities, and service providers to build a supportive team that addresses the safety, health, and well-being needs of the child, youth, and family.
2. Exploring safety, well-being, family relationships and natural supports through interviewing, field visits, and gathering collateral information in a timely manner.
3. Conducting comprehensive assessments of safety, risk and protective capacity utilizing designated assessment tools. Taking appropriate action to ensure child safety, including promoting family strengths, mitigating safety threats and/or removal of children from the home.
4. Maintaining case information on applicable computerized case management system(s).Collaborating with families and stakeholders to develop behavioral case plans based on the assessment that addresses the family's needs and complies with relevant laws, rules and regulations.
5. Helping connect families to a broad array of services and supports and empowering them to utilize strengths in order to implement the provisions of a case plan.
6. Counseling and educating youth, families, care providers and community partners on the Child Welfare process, legal requirements and departmental policies and procedures by communicating verbally and in writing in order to provide necessary and appropriate information to families.
7. Building community partnerships through relationship building and educating community organizations about Family and Children’s Services.
8. Staying abreast of latest polices, initiatives, and best practices by attending trainings, reading literature reviews, accessing various online child welfare resources and participating in work groups and site teams to contribute to the development of policies.
9. Ensuring all assigned cases meet compliance standards and scheduling work accordingly.
10. Testifying in Court and adhering to Court protocol in compliance with legal requirements.
11. Ensuring the well-being of children placed in homes by identifying homes to meet children’s needs and closely monitoring their placement and providing assistance to out of home care providers so that children go to mandatory parental visits, medical and dental appointments in order to comply with mandatory county and state procedures, rules and regulations.
12. Preparing written correspondence, electronic records and court reports by maintaining well documented records in a clear and timely manner according to agency procedures.

Qualifications

EDUCATION

1. Possession of a Master’s Degree in Social Work from a school accredited by the Council on Social Work education (CSWE):

OR

2. Possession of a Master’s Degree from a two-year (2) counseling program from an accredited college or university. (Qualifying Master’s Degrees in counseling include Marriage and Family Therapy, Clinical Counseling, Mental Health Counseling, Addiction Counseling and Counseling Psychology that included a supervised field placement as part of the course curriculum).

EXPERIENCE

1. Satisfactory completion of two semesters of graduate field placement, which involved the provision of direct services to families or children in one of the following or closely related areas: child welfare, family counseling, juvenile probation, pediatric social work, adolescent alcohol and drug counseling or school social work;

OR

2. Six (6) months post baccalaureate professional work experience which involved the provision of direct services to families or children in one of the areas previously described.

AND

3. Possession of a valid California class C driver’s license and clear Motor Vehicle Record (MVR).

NOTE: Applicants who will receive their Master’s degree by the end of the current semester/quarter may submit a written request to be placed on the eligible list under waiver pending receipt of the Master’s degree; for these applicants, appointment referral is contingent upon verification of the required education and experience.

Applicants must meet the minimum qualification requirement by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.

LICENSE, CERTIFICATION AND SPECIAL CONDITIONS:

Some positions in Class 2940 Protective Services Worker may require bilingual proficiency depending upon the department's bilingual needs. Only those eligible candidates who pass the bilingual proficiency test will be considered for bilingual positions. Applicants must indicate on the application form the language(s) in which they claim proficiency.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

The essential duties of this position require incumbents to: drive, usually outside the City of San Francisco; to get in and out of vehicles, climb flights of stairs to complete home visits; lift objects weighing up to 40 pounds; incumbents may be required to work nights and weekends.

Note: A current copy of the driver license and a current Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) must be submitted prior to appointment. Applicants must possess a good driving record, defined as not having the driving privilege suspended, revoked or being placed on probation for cause involving the safe operation of a motor vehicle within the preceding three (3) years. Violations will be reviewed on an individual basis and may be cause for non-selection or disciplinary action if employed.

VERIFICATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://sfdhr.org/how-verify-education-requirements

NOTES:

1. Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

2. Applicants must meet the minimum qualification requirement by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.

CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT:  All City and County of San Francisco employees are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment.  For details on how it is applicable to your employment, please click here.

Additional Information

After application submission, candidates deemed qualified must complete all subsequent steps to advance in this selection process, which includes the following:

1. Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire (MQSQ); and

2. Remote Multiple-Choice Examination: Weighted 100%

Qualified candidates will be sent notices via email for completion prior to the creation of the eligible list.  Each notice will include the date by which responses must be received.  Failure to complete these steps by the established deadlines will result in disqualification.

SPECIFIC INFORMATION REGARDING THIS EXAMINATION PROCESS ARE LISTED BELOW.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT WILL BE OPEN ON A CONTINUOUS BASIS. CANDIDATES WILL HAVE THEIR SCORES BANKED FOR UP TO THREE (3) YEARS OR UNTIL A NEW EXAMINATION IS DEVELOPED, BUT WILL NOT BE ABLE TO RETEST UNTIL ONE (1) YEAR FROM THE DATE OF THEIR MOST RECENT EXAMINATION. THE EXAMINATION DATE FOR CANDIDATES WILL BE BASED ON WHEN THEY APPLY. PLEASE VIEW THE SESSION INFORMATION BELOW FOR MORE DETAILS.

• APPLICATION OPENING – November 22, 2021
• APPLICATION DEADLINE FOR SESSION 1: December 6, 2021
• APPLICATION DEADLINE FOR SESSION 2: February 11, 2022
• APPLICATION DEADLINE FOR SESSION 3: May 13, 2022
• APPLICATION DEADLINE FOR SESSION 4: August 12, 2022
• APPLICATION DEADLINE FOR SESSION 5: November 11, 2022
• COMPENSATION: $46.00-$58.68 Hourly / $7,973.00-$10,170.00 Monthly / $95,680.00-$122,044.00 Yearly
• ELIGIBLE LIST DURATION resulting from this examination process will be continuous.
• CERTIFICATION RULE for the eligible list resulting from this examination will be Rule of Ten Scores.
• EXAM TYPE: Entrance

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING EMPLOYMENT WITH THE CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO

• Information About The Hiring Process
• Position Based Testing Information
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview  
• Equal Employment Opportunity 
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Veterans Preference
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the analyst, John Kraus, by telephone at (415) 557-5856 or by email at john.c.kraus@sfgov.org. 

CAROL ISEN, ACTING HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.

CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT:  All City and County of San Francisco employees are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment.  For details on how it is applicable to your employment, please click here.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.