Social Services Specialist IV

Basic Purpose

Positions in this family are assigned responsibility for providing social services to children and adults in communities, facilities, institutions or hospitals.

Responsibilities

• Manages a caseload and provides services for individuals and their families.
• Evaluates the needs of individuals and families; assists the family as a unit to function more adequately; counsels clients and arranges for needed treatment or services.
• Participates on a psychiatric team to gather social data, counsels individuals under the direction of a psychiatrist, psychologist or other social services specialist.
• Assesses the needs of individuals and determines eligibility for specific programs; interviews clients, both in an office setting and on home visits, completes necessary case documents and compiles data to determine eligibility.
• Develops and plans casework services and treatment for individuals with specialized problems in development, retardation, maladjustment or dependency.
• Develops and implements specialized treatment programs within the community; utilizes community resources; initiates projects with foster or adoptive parents.
• Investigates selected food stamp cases, conducts interviews and obtains information to determine food stamp violations or food stamp fraud.
• Participates in staff conferences and interdisciplinary team meetings for the purpose of determining overall treatment.

Qualifications

• Education and Experience requirements at this level consist of a master’s degree and two additional years of qualifying experience plus one additional year of qualifying experience or social service administration experience; or a bachelor’s degree and three years of experience in professional social work plus one additional year of qualifying experience or social service administration experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience, substituting one additional year of experience in professional social work for each year of the bachelor’s degree.

Skills

• Knowledge of social work principles and practices.
• Of casework principles and methods.
• Of current social and economic problems.
• Of the principles of family economics and budgeting.
• Of human relations.
• Of community, state and national health and welfare resources.
• Of psychological terminology.
• Of the principles of interviewing.
• Of social assistance requirements.
• Of therapeutic treatment.
• Of psychiatric and medical terminology.
• Of social welfare legislation as it pertains to the state administration of public welfare.
• Of the functions of public welfare agencies.
• Of social resources in Oklahoma as related to public assistance.
• Of individual and group behavior.
• Of social and psychiatric casework method and principles and their application to problems in psychiatric social work.
• Of mental and emotional disturbances.
• Of the principles of clinical interviewing.
• Of community, individual, and family social, economic, and health problems.
• Of medical social work methods and principles.
• Of literature in the field of social work.
• Of supervisory principles and practices.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Knowledge of social work principles and practices.
• Of casework principles and methods.
• Of current social and economic problems.
• Of the principles of family economics and budgeting.
• Of human relations.
• Of community, state and national health and welfare resources.
• Of psychological terminology.
• Of the principles of interviewing.
• Of social assistance requirements.
• Of therapeutic treatment.
• Of psychiatric and medical terminology.
• Of social welfare legislation as it pertains to the state administration of public welfare.
• Of the functions of public welfare agencies.
• Of social resources in Oklahoma as related to public assistance.
• Of individual and group behavior.
• Of social and psychiatric casework method and principles and their application to problems in psychiatric social work.
• Of mental and emotional disturbances.
• Of the principles of clinical interviewing.
• Of community, individual, and family social, economic, and health problems.
• Of medical social work methods and principles.
• Of literature in the field of social work.
• Of supervisory principles and practices.

Special Requirements

• Applicants must be willing and able to perform all job-related travel normally associated with this position.

Equal Opportunity Employment

The State of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of genetic information, race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin, or disability.