Careers in Child Welfare Services
Open CWS Social Worker I positions available here (from governmentjobs.com)
Location
The Redwood Coast is a wonderland for outdoor activities, with redwood forests, incredible trails, and a stunningly beautiful coastline more than a hundred miles long. Humboldt County is home to eight federally recognized Tribes and many culturally based organizations, which bring a richness of arts, celebrations and educational experiences to the region. Cultural and other activities include the California Big Time and Social Gathering, Wiyot Days, Juneteenth, Friday Night Markets, the Redwood Coast Music Festival, a year-round farmers’ market in Arcata, as well as seasonal farmers’ markets throughout the county and a Chinese New Year celebration, among many others. Two colleges, Cal Poly Humboldt and College of the Redwoods, provide excellent educational opportunities, as well as venues for entertainment, music and cultural events.
Located on the unceded ancestral territory and current homeland of the Wiyot Tribe, 275 miles north of San Francisco, Eureka overlooks historic Humboldt Bay. It is an ideal area for individuals and families in search of a more relaxed pace of life. With moderately priced housing and a lively arts scene, Humboldt County offers the best of community living without the big-city stress.
Humboldt County DHHS CWS and Cal Poly Humboldt Social Work
Humboldt County Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) has a long-standing relationship with Cal Poly Humboldt Social Work Department focused on helping students with meaningful internships as part of their learning experience. The Cal Poly Humboldt Social Work Department has a variety of part time, distributed (online) learning programs that allow people to work on their degree while continuing working at their jobs. DHHS employees have been able to earn their social work degree, including their two day a week internship obligation, while continuing employment with DHHS. There are stipends available as well, to help pay for the program, if participants are willing to commit to working in the field related to the stipend.
Cal Poly Humboldt Department of Social Work (at humboldt.edu).
About the job
Pay rates, step raises
The County of Humboldt uses an established compensation schedule to determine initial pay rates and structured step increase amounts. The compensation schedule standardizes the determination of pay rates and makes the timing and amount of pay raises predictable.
Click here to see the compensation schedule (PDF or Excel).
Benefits
- 3% base wage adjustment applied at time of hire*
- 5% base wage adjustment after 4 years*
- $2,000 retention bonus after 3 years*
- Periodic salary step increase
- The county participates in the CalPERS retirement system, with both the county and the employee making contributions toward the employee’s retirement.
- Tier I: Prior to 7/5/2012: 2.7 @ 55
- Tier II: Post 7/6/2012: 2.0 @ 55
- Tier III: Post 1/1/2013: 2.0 @ 62.
- CalPERS health insurance program, providing several options for employee health care. The county pays nearly all of the employee premium and a portion of dependent coverage.
- Dental and vision plan premiums for the employee and dependents paid by the county.
- Vacation: At hire, employees earn 12 vacation days per year. Upon 3 years of service, it increases to 15 days per year. Upon 10 years of service, vacation increases to 20 days per year. Upon 15 years of service, it increases to 25 days per year. Upon 20 years of service, it increases to up to 30 days per year.
- Holidays: 15 paid holidays per year, including 2 personal holidays.
- Sick Leave: 12 days per year, with unlimited accumulation. 40 hours of family sick leave available per calendar year.
- The county is a Public Service Loan Forgiveness certified employer.
- Additionally, the county offers life insurance, longevity pay, vacation conversion, educational reimbursement program, deferred compensation and an employee assistance program. The county also participates in Social Security.
- Additional voluntary benefits may be purchased, including supplemental life insurance, pet insurance and flexible spending accounts.
*Per the Memorandum of Understanding between the County of Humboldt and AFSCME Local 1684, effective Jan. 1, 2022, through and inclusive of Dec. 31, 2024.
What do Child Welfare Services (CWS) Social Workers do?
Child Welfare social work is for individuals with values rooted in empathy, equity and commitment. CWS Social Workers work on behalf of child well-being, safety and permanence, and are committed to supporting families experiencing challenges. They play a crucial role in building upon the strengths within a family, helping them create a safe, stable and nurturing home needed for children to thrive. The main goal is to safeguard the well-being of children and ensure their healthy development through assessment, intervention and support.
For more information on duties, knowledge and abilities, please see the individual position descriptions link located in each social work position in the Qualifications tab.
Working at DHHS-CWS
DHHS is committed to providing a safe and meaningful environment for all employees. Placing an emphasis on mutual respect and support, DHHS employees are provided with the tools and resources needed to succeed in their jobs while offered numerous opportunities for personal growth and development. DHHS is dedicated to empowering employees and giving them a voice in the work they do by fostering a fair and equitable workplace that encourages individualism and self-expression.
The DHHS vision statement, “People helping people live better lives” applies to DHHS employees as well as the community. By supporting each other and working together to resolve problems and improve work conditions, DHHS staff are proactive in building team morale and are integral to maintaining a positive work environment by celebrating personal and team achievements and demonstrating appreciation for all staff and the work they do.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS (Education and/or Experience):
Social Worker I
The Social Worker I is the entry level of the Social Worker series. Social Worker I Performs basic social services casework; identifies client needs for more intensive casework services and provides referrals; carries a caseload of moderately difficult cases; manages a caseload of increasingly difficult cases; and performs other related work as assigned. As requisite skill and knowledge is developed, greater independence and the full scope of responsibility is exercised. Unless a position is permanently allocated to the Social Worker I level due to the nature of the work, employees are expected to advance to the Social Worker II after one year of satisfactory performance at the trainee level.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS (Education and/or Experience):
Pattern 1: Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university;
OR
Pattern 2: Successful completion of thirty (30) college semester units (45 quarter units) from an accredited college or university, including fifteen (15) semester units (22.5 quarter units) in social welfare, social/human services, sociology, or other social or behavioral science*;
AND
One (1) year of full-time experience in the Social Service Aide, Eligibility Worker II, Employment and Training Worker II or comparable classification; OR Three (3) years of full-time experience providing direct client services to disadvantaged adults or children in a private or public agency.
*Examples of acceptable social or behavioral science courses include: anthropology, criminal justice, education, ethnic studies, history, human development, human services, law, nursing, nutrition, psychology, public health, social welfare, sociology, welfare, women's studies.
Open CWS Social Worker I positions available here (from governmentjobs.com)
SOCIAL WORKER II
In addition to the duties above, which are performed independently at the full working level, additional duties may include:
- Carrying a caseload that includes cases with issues of moderate difficulty
- Counseling or supporting clients with complex or specialized needs; provides crisis intervention
- Providing self-help information, education, and services; works with client and caregivers to develop and improve caregiving and independent living skills
- Obtaining and evaluating policy, medical, and psychological reports
- May serve as mentor to staff, orients staff, provides training and guidance on cases
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS (Education and/or Experience)
Pattern 1: One (1) year of full-time experience performing entry level social work case management in the Social Worker I classification in an Interagency Merit System (IMS) county;
OR
Pattern 2: One (1) year of full-time social work case management experience**; AND Thirty (30) college semester units (45 quarter units) from an accredited college or university, including fifteen (15) semester units (22.5 quarter units) in social welfare, social/human services, sociology, or other social or behavioral science*
*Examples of acceptable social or behavioral science courses include: anthropology, criminal justice, education, ethnic studies, history, human development, human services, law, nursing, nutrition, psychology, public health, social welfare, sociology, welfare, women's studies.
**Qualifying social work case management includes direct case work management, such as: assessment, evaluation; conducting investigations of abuse and neglect; preparing court reports; responsibility for a long term caseload, monitoring compliance through home calls and other personal contact; collaboration with other agencies and linking clients to resources and programs; development of a case plan, modification of case plans as needed/required; and authority to impose sanctions or implement actions that impact services.
Open CWS Social Worker II positions available here (from governmentjobs.com)
SOCIAL WORKER III
Under general direction, the Social Worker III carries a difficult caseload involving the determination of need for basic social services functions for applicants or clients; performs social studies and assignments involving individualized treatment and specialized application of casework methods and skills; provides comprehensive casework services of a tangible nature; and performs other related work as assigned.
Social Worker III is the advanced journey level in the Social Worker series. Incumbents are normally assigned a selected caseload of the more difficult cases and when needed are given supervisory consultation in development of treatment plans. They may also be assigned to a specialized function requiring a high degree of perception such as a special problem caseload or they are assigned to a specific geographic or functional area such as Family Maintenance/Reunification or Emergency Response. A Social Worker III may act as a lead worker to other social service workers. Incumbents are expected to work independently.
Social Worker III differs from Social Worker II in that the former receives the more difficult assignments requiring greater skill and depth of job knowledge in assessing problem situations and formulating plans for services. Incumbents normally work with a high degree of independence of action in administering services and in making use of agency or community resources. Social Worker III differs from Social Worker IV-A/B in that the latter is the most experienced worker and requires both advanced education and social work experience.
SUPERVISION EXERCISED AND RECEIVED
Incumbents in the Social Worker III classification receive general direction from a Social Worker Supervisor or other higher-level manager or deputy director and may act as lead worker to lower classification working in the same program area.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS (Education and/or Experience)
Pattern 1: One (1) year of full-time experience performing journey level social work case management in the Social Worker II classification in an Interagency Merit System (IMS) county;
OR
Pattern 2: Two (2) years of full-time social work case management experience in a public or private agency; AND Thirty (30) semester units (45 quarter units) from an accredited college or university, including fifteen (15) semester units (22.5 quarter units) in social welfare, social/human services, sociology, or other social or behavioral science;**
OR
Pattern 3: Bachelor's degree and successful completion of twenty-four (24) semester (36 quarter units) of a Master's degree program in Social Work, or a Counseling program from an accredited college or university, emphasizing Marriage, Family and Child Counseling or Marriage and Family therapy, Gerontology or Clinical Psychology; AND Twelve (12) months of social work case management experience.*
*Qualifying social work case management includes direct case work management, such as: assessment, evaluation; conducting investigations of abuse and neglect; preparing court reports; responsibility for a long term caseload, monitoring compliance through home calls and other personal contact; collaboration with other agencies and linking clients to resources and programs; development of a case plan, modification of case plans as needed/required; and authority to impose sanctions or implement actions that impact services.
**Examples of acceptable social or behavioral science courses include: anthropology, criminal justice, education, ethnic studies, history, human development, law, human services, nursing, nutrition, psychology, public health, social welfare, sociology, welfare, women's studies.
Open CWS Social Worker III positions available here (from governmentjobs.com)
SOCIAL WORKER IV
DEFINITION OF SOCIAL WORKER IV LEVELS
Social Worker IV is the highest classification in the Social Worker series. Incumbents at the Social Worker IV, A and B range perform casework of an advanced nature in the most complex social services areas. The casework typically requires the application of high level and sophisticated social service expertise and techniques. Incumbents at the Social Worker IV, C and D ranges additionally may perform professional level assessment, diagnosis, group, family and individual therapy, and consultation.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
SOCIAL WORKER IV A:
A master’s degree in Social Work (MSW) or master’s degree from a two year counseling program or a related field such as: Sociology, Human Services or Anthropology, from an accredited college or university.
SOCIAL WORKER IV B:
A master’s degree in Social Work (MSW) or master’s degree from a two year counseling program or related field such as; Sociology, Human Services or Anthropology, from an accredited college or university AND one (1) year of performing social work at the Social Worker IV A level.
Candidates who are within six (6) months of graduation with a qualifying master’s degree will be eligible to compete in the recruitment process and be placed on an eligible list. Candidates will be required to submit official transcripts for review prior to offer of a position.
SOCIAL WORKER IV C:
A valid Intern Registration Number from the Board of Behavioral Sciences, and ability to practice as an Associate Clinical Social Worker (ASW) or Marriage and Family Therapist Intern (MFTI) in the State of California.
SOCIAL WORKER IV D:
A valid license from the Board of Behavioral Sciences to practice as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) or Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) in the State of California, or a valid license or waiver to practice as a Clinical Psychologist in the State of California.
Open CWS Social Worker IV positions available here (from governmentjobs.com)
Information for job applicants
The hiring process
The hiring process for Department of Health & Human Services follows a series of steps that are required when employed by the county. Due to the number of steps and time needed to complete each, the hiring process may take a few months.
The DHHS hiring process has the following steps:
- Complete and submit the online application
- Applications are screened for minimal qualifications
- Those applicants who pass the initial screening may be required to take an examination.
- Those applicants who pass the initial screening and if applicable, any required examinations, are invited to an interview.
- The interviews are completed; references may be checked after interviews.
- Candidates chosen to move forward to the next phase are contacted and instructed on next steps.
- Selected candidate(s) are moved into the clearance phase, which includes a background screening and pre-employment paperwork.
- Once all clearances are received, a start date is established.
APPLICATION
Applications for CWS Social Worker are accepted and processed by CalHR, the state agency that administers Merit System Services recruitments for Humboldt County.
To apply, submit an application through CalCareers. Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed application. Please be sure to follow any instructions provided.
When completing the application form, be sure to list all of your educational and relevant work experience. It is important to clearly identify all work experience that helps you meet the minimum qualifications of the job.
Once you have completed and submitted the application and the screening process is finished, you will be notified by email that your application has been received. You will receive an additional email once your application has been screened letting you know if you meet minimum qualifications.
If you meet the minimum qualifications, you will receive an email inviting you to participate in the next step, which may be an examination or an interview.
INTERVIEW
You will receive an email inviting you to schedule an interview. This email will include the interview date, location and a number to contact to schedule your interview.
The interview consists of a panel of subject matter experts who will ask you a series of questions relevant to the position you are interviewing for.
TRAINING
Social Workers go through an onboarding process and series of introductory trainings specific to child welfare policies and procedures. Social Worker are provided additional training whenever there are significant changes to programs or business processes. Additionally, free trainings are offered by UC Davis and other community partners throughout the year on topics that are socially and culturally relevant and encourage personal growth and development. Examples include:
Mandated Reporting, Case Planning, Dependency Court, Emergency Response, Screening and Intake, Structured Decision Making, Interviewing, CWS 101 (policies, procedures and practices), Field Safety and many more.
The Northern California Training Academy at UC Davis provides the "Core for Social Workers" (Core) training program.
The California Department of Social Services (CDSS), in cooperation with the California Social Work Education Center (CalSWEC) and the Statewide Curriculum Development Oversight Group (CDOG), has developed standardized curricula in the "Core" program to be used statewide for mandatory training of child welfare social workers and supervisors. Instructors are experts in the field of child welfare who use a variety of teaching methods based on adult learning theory and best practices.
Core for Social Workers | Continuing and Professional Education | Human Services (ucdavis.edu)
SUPPORT
Employee Assistance Program
County employees and their eligible household members have access to a maximum of ten (10) sessions with a licensed mental health professional per year through the County's Employee Assistance Programs (EAP). These programs are administered via Anthem EAP and Voya EAP. For more information, please visit: Employee Assistance Program (at humboldtgov.org).
Services include:
- Stress Management
- Bereavement
- Legal and Financial Consultation
- Parenting a Child with Special Needs
- Dealing with Addiction and Recovery
- Setting Retirement Goals
- Work-life Balance.
Career Paths
Are you already a DHHS employee? There are a number of positions within DHHS where work experience can qualify you for entry level social worker positions. Some of those positions include: Social Services Aide and Eligibility Specialist I.
ASW/LCSW (Associates Clinical Social Worker and Licensed Clinical Social Worker)
In California, the two clinical licenses are Associate Clinical Social Worker (ASW) and Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). In order to become an LCSW, you must first become an ASW. In California there is no bachelor’s degree-level certification or licensure. Child Welfare Services offers supervision to employees who are pursuing an LCSW and have a valid ASW registration number from the Board of Behavioral Sciences.
Career testimonials
5 FAQ’s Social Workers with Child Welfare Services (YouTube)
For more information on open Social Worker positions at DHHS, contact:
DHHS Employee Services
507 F St., Second Floor
Eureka, CA 95501
707-441-5510
County of Humboldt
Human Resources Department
825 Fifth St., Room 100
Eureka, CA, 95501
707-476-2349