Child Welfare & Adult Protection Lead Caseworker

Job Title: Child Welfare & Adult Protection Lead Caseworker
Department: Department of Human Services
Reports To: Child Welfare and Adult Protective Services Manager
Classification: Full-Time, Exempt
Compensation Range: $73,000 - $83,000
Benefits: Employee Benefits | Lake County, CO 

Why join our team?
Join a workplace where public service meets opportunity. At Lake County Government, employees are empowered to grow, collaborate, and make a meaningful impact every day. We offer a supportive environment that values innovation and connection, with reliable compensation, comprehensive benefits, and a commitment to helping you succeed both professionally and personally.

Cultural Expectations

• Assume Good Intent: Approach each interaction with a positive mindset and openness to understand others.
• Model Professionalism: Maintain high standards in behavior and communication that reflect our values.
• Apply County-Wide Lens: Consider the broader impact of decisions on our community and organization as a whole.
• Be Solutions-Oriented: Focus on finding constructive solutions rather than dwelling on problems or challenges.
• Practice Servant Leadership: Prioritize the needs of others, fostering a supportive and collaborative work environment.
• Support Meaningful Work-Life Balance: Encourage boundaries that support personal well-being while achieving professional responsibilities.

Position Summary
This position functions within a state-supervised, county-administered human services structure.
Position provides a full range of intake and ongoing child welfare and Adult Protection services and supervision for a variety of program areas such as child abuse and neglect cases, youth in conflict cases, foster care, adoption, and adults unable to protect their own interests.

General Duties and Responsibilities
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Essential Functions

• Maintains a caseload primarily comprised of court-involved cases. The incumbent will assist in managing any intake assessment overflow.
• Prepares court documents for placement and permanency hearings in addition to progress reports on the Family Treatment Plan goals.
• Sources services for families that are court-ordered and a part of the treatment plan.
• Assesses a child or adult’s mental health, medical, and physical needs and works with practitioners to develop an appropriate treatment plan.
• Participates in state trainings to maintain certifications and further develop as a subject matter expert.
• Provides oversight on investigations of alleged physical abuse, neglect, and parent conflicts; determines if the situation warrants placing children outside the home; supervises placement of children in foster care and ensures parent/child visits are taking place; and determines when and if to recommend that children return to the home.
• Coordinates or supervises home visits with families.
• Determines the need for recommending placement of children into foster care. Supervises the child’s progress in placement.
• Testifies in court on a variety of ongoing cases, makes recommendations to the courts on abuse and neglect cases, placement of children, guardianship of adults, and on custody investigations.
• Provides oversight on their case plans and oversees counseling services to families regarding parenting skills, family problems, parent-child relationships, and problems with the community.
• Team Supportive Duties:
• Reviews case plans and case reports of fellow caseworkers to determine whether they are appropriate for the case and meet state standards in the absence of the Protection Manager.   
• Assists the fellow caseworkers in the unit with difficult cases and helps them develop, maintain, and modify family treatment plans.
• Assists in training new Caseworkers and works with the Protection Manager to develop and maintain team SOPs.
• Provides feedback to fellow caseworkers regarding the intake assessment and evaluation process, referrals for ongoing counseling services, and case planning to a variety of other cases, including adults unable to protect their own interests, family conflict, and youth in conflict cases.
• Facilitates Family Engagement Meetings for teammates' cases in coordination with the Protection Supervisor.
• Authorizes written reports of appropriate documentation of case plans, recommendations, contacts, assessments, etc.
• Has a high level of proficiency in the following areas:
  • Theories, principles, and concepts of social casework practice (assessment- and treatment-oriented) related to all of the assigned program areas.
  • Social work principles and methods.
  • Medical symptoms related to injuries or failure to thrive in children.
  • Effects of domestic violence on children and adults and the laws dealing with child and adult abuse, neglect, and other dependency conditions.
  • The needs of senior citizens, persons with physical disabilities, persons who are LGBTQIA, persons with developmental delays, persons with a mental illness diagnosis, persons affected by addiction, and persons who are deemed to be incompetent.
  • Skills in interviewing techniques, crisis intervention methods, and relevant treatment modalities.
  • Community resources, agency rules, regulations, and procedures related to assigned program areas.
• Establish rapport with clients.
• Independently analyze complex situations, formulate plans, and make quick decisions as needed.
• Clearly and concisely express oneself both verbally and in written format.
• Establish and maintain harmonious professional relationships with other employees, peer supervisors, outside agencies, and the public.
• Testify effectively in court hearings.
• Travel by car in order to make home visits and to visit foster parents and children in placement when necessary.
• Experience and Training Guidelines
• Any combination of experience and training that would likely provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying.

Supervisory Responsibilities
Instructions may be received from the Director when cases are assigned and during the progress of a case. The Director is available to provide instructions and to act as a consultant at the request of the incumbent. Work is reviewed for compliance with policy and general conclusions through spot checks, staffing, supervisory conferences, and judicial involvement.

The work impacts a large portion of the County by providing a service in the community interest to a complex caseload involving a variety of program areas, improving family functioning, and potentially avoiding the need for intervention of other community agencies. Errors in judgment such as assessing the need for protection may result in the injury or death of a client.

Requirements
Compensation will be determined by the applicant’s full skill set with consideration of the following:

• Bachelor's in social work or other social science is required.
• In order to meet the minimum educational requirements of a human behavioral science degree, the applicant must have a degree with major coursework (equivalent to 30 semester hours or 45 quarter hours) in either development of human behavior, child development, family intervention techniques, diagnostic measures, or therapeutic techniques such as social work, psychology, sociology, counseling, or child development.
• Extensive casework experience in a public or private social services agency and management experience is required.
• All training required by the Colorado Department of Human Services for certification and ongoing training requirements (State and County) must be completed within the first year of work.
• Standard office equipment and vehicle for travel. A county vehicle will be provided for casework travel.
• Work requires contact with legal, medical, mental health, substance abuse, and psychiatric professionals; members of the judicial system; clients; community organizations and resources; foster parents; and other members of the agency for the purpose of developing effective treatment plans for clients and to help clients solve problems; and to educate the community about protection of clients and services available.

The Lead Caseworker is also responsible for the role of back-up supervisor to the Child Welfare and Adult Protection Manager. In this role, the incumbent will:

• Rotate with the Protection Manager as the On-Call supervisor for the team.
• Coordinate with the Protection Manager to approve casework in the Trails and CAPS for their teammates.
• Provide technical assistance to teammates.
• Assist with managing Red Team meetings when needed and coordinate with the Protection Manager to triage referrals.
• Serve as the team supervisor in the absence of the Protection Manager.
• Act as an ICPC (Interstate Compact for Placement of Children) coordinator.
• There are numerous guidelines and regulations available covering the work, such as the Children’s Code, Title XX, Senate Bill 26, Volume VII of the Department of Social Services Rules and Regulations, which regulate procedures to be followed but do not provide the worker with instruction about how to treat or assess clients. There are a wide variety of recognized social casework techniques, and the incumbent must use judgment, critical thinking skills, and situational evaluation to determine which are appropriate for each of the cases assigned.

Hazard Notice
This position may involve exposure to potentially hazardous situations while conducting home visits, investigations, and community-based work. Employees may encounter unsafe living conditions, individuals experiencing mental health crises, substance abuse environments, aggressive behavior, communicable diseases, and emotionally challenging situations involving abuse, neglect, trauma, or family crisis. Frequent travel is required and may involve adverse weather and road conditions. Employees must follow established safety protocols and exercise sound judgment in the field.

Physical Activity & Work Environment

• Prolonged periods of sitting, computer work, and document review.
• Frequent use of standard office equipment.
• Occasional standing, walking, bending, reaching, and lifting up to 25 pounds.
• Frequent travel and operation of a motor vehicle for home visits, court appearances, and community meetings.
• Exposure to varying weather conditions and potentially unsafe or unsanitary environments.
• Regular interaction with the public in high-pressure, emotionally charged situations.
• Fast-paced work environment with competing priorities and occasional after-hours responsibilities.

Applicant Notice
Lake County Government posts all official employment opportunities on its careers page linked here. Positions may also appear on external job boards such as LinkedIn, Indeed, and ZipRecruiter through our applicant tracking system.

Please be aware that unauthorized third parties may repost or imitate job listings. The most accurate and up-to-date information will always be available on our official website. Applicants are recommended to apply directly through our career page and should not provide personal information outside of the official application process.
 

EOE Statement

Lake County is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE). Qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to age, race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, or veteran status. Assistance or accommodation during the application process due to a disability is available upon request.

Notice of Work Authorization Requirement

Applicants must be authorized to lawfully work for any employer in the United States. Lake County is unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa.

Notice of Emergency/Disaster Responsibilities

All Lake County Employees may be required to work as a Disaster Service Worker when a local declaration of emergency or disaster is declared by the Board of County Commissioners. To be prepared for this role, all employees and emergency service function (ESF) leads will attend emergency management trainings and exercises as requested by the Director of Emergency Management. With advanced notification from OEM, employees will make reasonable efforts to attend training events in coordination with other employees and supervisors.

Other Duties

Please note that this job description does not intend to cover or contain a full comprehensive list of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Expected Duration of the Application Process

Due to the nature of the application and selection process for Lake County full-time positions, applicants can reasonably expect the application process to take a significant amount of time to complete before a decision is made to hire or not to hire. Typically, it takes approximately two (2) to four (4) weeks from the date of application to complete the entire selection process. The length of time it takes to complete the process can vary depending on a variety of factors. Please note that this is an estimated duration of the selection process.