Child Protection Jobs in Waco, TX (NOW HIRING)

Whenever a child must be removed from their home, Texas courts appoint Child Protective Services (CPS) to serve as a "Conservator" of the child. Conservatorship Specialists are a specific type of caseworker legally responsible for a child's welfare whenever they are removed from their home and monitors children's care while in CPS conservatorship. They work closely with parents, extended family, and legal parties to help children find a permanent, safe place to live.

Newly hired employees holding a Master's Degree in Social Worker may qualify for an increase at the point of hire.

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To explore more of what CPS Conservatorship Specialists do, click here.

For a realistic job preview of this position and to learn more DFPS, please click here. You will also have access to a self-assessment that will help you determine if this type of work is something that is a good fit for you.

DFPS is committed to its employees' professional development and ongoing success, and offers the DFPS Certification Program to enhance skills and advance careers within our organization. The program is tailored specifically for DFPS employees, provides the opportunity to earn additional compensation through a supportive learning environment that fosters growth and innovation, and equips participants with the knowledge and skills needed to deepen their expertise in their respective role.

Essential Job Functions (EJFs):

• Receives cases from investigators after children are removed from their homes, placed in CPS conservatorship, and placed in care outside their homes.
• Determines each child’s needs and ensuring that appropriate referrals for testing, evaluations, records, or further assessments are made. Ensures all services are focused on achieving positive permanency.
• Working with children, families, and communities to plan for a child's permanency.
• Identifying potential permanency resources for the child through ongoing contact with parents, family members, and other individuals the child and family identify as important to them.
• Searching for potential kinship providers throughout the case. Completing home studies of a child's family members or family friends (kinship providers) who might care for the child.
• Meets with the parents to assess risk and safety issues, identify behavior changes necessary to achieve child safety, referring parents to appropriate services to address the identified needs to move towards positive permanency. Discusses with parents their progress towards making changes to behaviors that pose dangers to their child(ren).
• Meets with children, parents, family friends, or foster homes in public as well as in their own homes.
• Collaborates with a Placement Team, including Kinship staff, for placements, as needed.
• Participates in meetings and conferences at times and places convenient for the family members as well as everyone involved in the case.
• Visits children monthly to assess the child’s feeling of safety in their current home, to plan for permanency, and to discuss their needs, wishes, and progress while in care
• Attends and participates in court hearings about the child and family. This includes contacting the parties in the case before hearings, preparing court reports, and testifying in court on the child’s needs, the family’s progress, and the department’s efforts to achieve permanency for the child.
• Keeps the child’s, parents, caregivers, court-appointed attorney and guardian ad litem(s) informed about the child’s circumstances and significant events.
• Works with the department's attorney to prepare for contested-court hearings and trials.
• Works with kinship caregivers and foster parents to ensure that they have what they need to care for the child or youth placed with them i.e., keeping them informed about developments in the case, returning phone calls, and in some areas of the state being available 24 hours a day / 7 days a week at certain times.
• Transitions children home during reunification services and provides support to the family until the legal case is closed.
• Supervises adoptive placements until the adoption is final or until the case is transferred to an adoption caseworker.
• Using effective time-management skills to make sure all key tasks are done.
• Documents case records by completing forms, narratives, and reports to form a written record for each client.
• Develops and maintains effective working relationships between Child Protective Services staff and law enforcement officials, judicial officials, legal resources, medical professionals, and other community resources.
• Performs other duties as assigned and required to maintain unit operations.
• Promotes and demonstrates appropriate respect for cultural diversity among coworkers, clients, and all work-related contacts.
• Attends work regularly in accordance with agency leave policy.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs):

• Knowledge of child development
• Knowledge of family dynamics
• Skill in effective verbal and written communication.
• Skill in establishing and maintaining effective working relationships.
• Skill in problem solving techniques
• Ability to operate a personal computer.
• Ability to travel and attend child and family visits as well as other work related appointments and meetings after 5pm.
• Ability to be on call on a rotating basis and work irregular hours.
• Ability to work in an emotion-filled environment and which may require conducting home visits in isolated or high crime areas and may involve exposure to substandard and unsanitary living conditions.

Registrations, Licensure Requirements or Certifications:

This position requires use of the applicant's personal motor vehicle to complete job functions.

Applicants for positions must have a reliable motor vehicle, and acceptable driving record for the past five years, and a current, valid Texas driver's license appropriate for the vehicle and passenger or cargo load. Applicants must provide proof of driving record, insurance, and license.

Initial Screening Criteria:

Child Protective Services Conservatorship Worker I: An accredited Bachelor's degree OR accredited Associate's degree plus two (2) years of relevant work experience OR 60 accredited college credit hours plus two (2) years relevant work experience OR 90 accredited college credit hours plus one (1) year of relevant work experience. Examples of relevant work experience in social, human, or protective services include paid or volunteer work within social service agencies or communities providing services to families or other at-risk populations.

Preferred Criteria

• Degree in Social Work, Criminal Justice, Psychology, Human Development and Family Studies, Education, or Public Health.
• Previous professional or volunteer experience in a government agency, nonprofit, child protection, foster care, juvenile justice, mental health, or substance abuse services.
• Familiarity with trauma-informed care or experience conducting interviews or assessments with children and families.

Additional Information:

Community-Based Care (CBC) is a new way to provide services than traditional foster care because it gives local communities the flexibility to draw on local strengths and resources and find innovative ways to meet the unique and individual needs of children and their families. CBC includes many of the services that Child Protective Services (CPS) normally provides. This includes foster care, case management, kinship, and reunification services. A single contractor in each designated community area creates a network of services, foster homes, and other living arrangements and, when ready, provides case management for each child and their family as well. CPS works with each contractor (Single Source Continuum Contractor or SSCC) to carefully manage the transition from traditional foster care to community-driven care. Full implementation of CBC is projected for the year 2029 across the state of Texas. With open proposal options, any given community or regional area may be selected for CBC transition. This position along with your job duties and function will shift form a state position with Texas Department of Family Protective Services to the SSCC, which is a private and non-profit agency serving the same foster care population. After the transition, your office location is subject to change within your same county which is expected to occur before 2029. To learn more about CBC, please visit Community-Based Care.