The Kings County Human Services Agency is currently seeking qualified individuals for the position of:SOCIAL WORKER PRACTITIONER – CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES (CPS)$74,401.60- $90,812.80 Annually. The Kings County Human Services Agency is looking for passionate, dedicated, and motivated individuals to join our Child Protective Services team as Social Worker Practitioners. In this impactful role, you will help protect vulnerable children, strengthen families, and support meaningful change within our community. You’ll work alongside a compassionate, collaborative team committed to creating safer, healthier environments for children in need. Whether you're an experienced professional or an MSW student preparing to begin your career, this is an exciting opportunity to grow, serve, and make a lasting impact. If you're ready to step into a rewarding role where your skills, heart, and dedication are valued, we invite you to explore this opportunity with Kings County Human Services Agency. CURRENTLY ENROLLED IN A MASTER'S OF SOCIAL WORK (MSW) PROGRAM? Students currently enrolled in a Master's of Social Work Program from an accredited college and who are expected to graduate on or around Spring 2026 or Summer 2026 may submit an application. However, education requirements must be met by August 31, 2026. (Applicants will not be able to start employment with the County until the applicant can provide documents to the Human Services Agency that they have successfully completed the degree.)BENEFIT PACKAGE INCLUDES:Cal. PERS Retirement (see benefits section to determine plan/tier placement);Excellent PPO insurance including medical, dental, vision and chiropractic insurance coverage for the employee and their eligible dependents;Onsite health center for employees and eligible dependents on County health insurance;Paid vacation and sick leave (see benefits tab for more details)For more information about the Human Services Agency click here. To discover what makes Kings County a great place to live and work, click here to watch a short video. DUTY SAMPLE Management reserves the right to add, modify, change, or rescind the work assignments of different positions and to make reasonable accommodations so that qualified employees can perform the essential functions of the job. Manages a highly complex, sensitive, and specialized caseload of child welfare clients; provides professional social work services including diagnosis, assessment, intervention, and case management support to children and/or families with complex health, psychological or economic problems. Schedules, coordinates, and facilitates Child and Family Team Meetings (CFTM) to address child/family strengths, needs, strategies, and next steps to achieve positive outcomes, safety, permanency, and well-being. Conducts initial and ongoing client assessments including but not limited to social studies, safety, risk, adoptions, placement, strengths, and needs assessments; develops and carries out service plans according to identified needs and strengths and monitors progress/behavior changes. Interprets and explains program goals, objectives, capabilities, limitations, and rules and regulations programs and client legal rights and responsibilities. Conducts regular contacts with clients and care providers as mandated by program; monitors child, parent and/or family progress; ensures child safety and progress toward goals; ensure parents/families are following their case plans; and narrates contacts within required timeframes. Prepares and presents case plans, assessments, and court reports; attends court hearings, testifies in court, and gathers and submits evidence to the court. Informs clients of available community resources including but not limited to employment, training, housing, food and clothing, and health care; makes referrals to other County programs, external service providers, and community services; advocates for clients with various community and social service agencies. Provides advice, guidance, intervention, direction, perspective, and resources during crisis situations; provides support and assistance in problem resolution; coordinates or arranges for the provision of appropriate care services. Collects, researches, complies, analyzes, and evaluates information from various sources related to case history, missing or absent parents, support and services necessary to meet client needs, and to provide information and evidence to the court, families, service providers, children, and others. Develops visitation plans; schedules, coordinates, and supervises visits between children and parents/caregivers; conducts assessments during visitation and monitors interactions and behaviors to ensure child safety and welfare. Composes, prepares, and presents a variety of extensive program-related documentation including case notes and dictation, correspondence, documents, reports, and statistical data. Arranges for and/or provides transportation to clients and children for various activities including but not limited to parent/child visitations, medical appointments, school attendance, field trips, placement changes, etc. Assesses reports of suspected abuse; conducts investigations related to allegations of abuse including interviews and home visits to determine if abuse, neglect, or exploitation has occurred and/or evaluate risk for same. Maintains accurate and detailed records, files, and databases related to case actions and client interactions; inputs and updates information into electronic case management systems; maintain confidential client documentation. Attends and participates in a variety of meetings, case conferences, joint team meetings, in-service trainings, and other staff development activities; collaborates with a variety of internal and external departments, agencies, service providers, and client/family support network to address needs and coordinate services. Participates in after-hours on-call rotation as required; screens referrals, assesses for safety and risk, and provides emergency response as required. Provides training to subordinate and less experienced staff and volunteers as assigned. May perform counseling. Performs other related duties as assigned. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS - - Minimum requirements must be met by the closing date - - Please note: Work experience for the last 15 years must be included in the work history portion of your application. It is also important that your application show all the relevant education and experience that you possess, even if it extends beyond the required past 15 years. A resume may be attached, but is not a substitute for completing the application and supplemental questions. Failure to submit a completed application may eliminate you from the recruitment. When completing the work history portion of your application please include each level position title and level as a separate entry when applicable. Eg: If you were a Social Service Worker I CPS and promoted to a Social Service Worker II CPS, each level should be entered separately to reflect the time held at each level. Any combination of training and experience that would provide the required knowledge, skills, and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the required qualifications would be:EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE - Education:Possession of a master’s degree from an accredited college or university with major coursework in social work, psychology, sociology, or a closely related field. Experience:One (1) year of increasingly responsible social services casework experience at a level equivalent to the classification of Social Worker I-CPS at Kings County. OR - One (1) year of experience with an internship with child welfare services. LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS:Licenses:Possession of a valid California driver’s license issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles at the time of appointment. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS - Qualify for security clearance through a background investigation and fingerprint check. Ability to work 24-hour stand-by/on-call assignments and after-hours rotational assignments. Ability to work irregular hours, including evenings, holiday and weekends as assigned, and travel within and outside the County. Incumbents(s) may be required to travel out-of-state as needed to complete job duties. Certain positions in this classification may be designated as bilingual, requiring fluency in a foreign language. Click on the following links for detailed job specifications including job duties:Social Worker Practitioner - CPS SELECTION PROCESS: - - EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER - - All completed applications and supplemental questionnaires will be reviewed. Depending upon the number of applicants who meet the minimum qualifications, the examination process may include a screening committee (pass/fail) and/or an oral examination (100%) which may include a written practical component to determine placement on the eligible list. VETERAN'S PREFERENCE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST - Veteran's Preference Application. You must submit a certified DD-214 and a new request form for each application submission prior to the closing date. Tentative Recruitment Process:Closing date: Monday, March 23, 2026 Human Resources Interview Week of April 6, 2026 Department Interview: TBD