SOCIAL WORKER OR HUMAN SERVICES PROFESSIONAL III - OAHU

Full Job Description

Recruitment Number 22-0627 - The current vacancies are with the Department of Health and Department of Human Services.

Salary: $4,961 to $6,043 per month (SR-20, Step D to I)

Note: Hiring rates will be based on availability of funds, the applicant's qualifications, and other relevant factors.

This recruitment will be used to establish a list of qualified candidates to fill the current permanent full-time and temporary full-time vacancies, and may be used to fill future vacancies as they occur.

Note: Employees appointed to temporary positions may also gain membership in the civil service upon satisfactory completion of an initial probation period of at least six months. Once you become a member of the civil service, you become eligible to apply for promotion and transfer opportunities to permanent as well as other temporary positions. You may also enjoy other rights and benefits afforded to an employee in a permanent position with the exception of return rights and placement rights associated with a reduction-in-force.

A continuous recruitment may be closed at any time. The notice of the last day to file applications will be posted on the State of Hawaii's Civil Service Job Opportunities Listing page of our website.

Requirements

Social Workers and Human Services Professionals seek to improve the overall quality of life of people within the context of their environment through the remediation and prevention of their problems, and by improving accessibility, accountability, and coordination of service delivery among a variety of professionals and/or agencies tasked with providing appropriate services to clients.

These professionals come from a variety of interdisciplinary bases, establish working relationships of mutual respect and trust with the clientele served, and utilize a variety of helping interventions to enable these clients to function as effectively as possible.

These positions are found in a variety of settings and work with diverse types of people. They may be found in hospitals and other health service agencies, social service agencies, schools, correctional facilities, and programs concerned with substance abuse, aging, and family violence.

Although work settings and clientele may differ, all Social Workers and Human Services Professionals use similar professional concepts, principles, and techniques regardless of the program in which they work.

Social Worker or Human Services Professional III positions are distinguished by the complexity of assigned cases and level of authority assumed by the worker.

The following summarizes the types of positions found at this level:

Type A: The fully independent Social Worker or Human Services Professional workers who provide the full range of core human services work such as assessment of needs; development and implementation of service plans, which may include direct services such as advising/counseling and/or referral/coordinative services; and monitoring, evaluating, and making appropriate adjustments to services plans.

Examples of positions performing this type of work are those providing ongoing support to developmentally disabled clients who have been declared eligible for services, or positions which serve as part of a multi-disciplinary team and provide a social services assessment and care coordination component to assure access to services for children with special health needs; or positions which oversee child care providers, facilities, and homes to ensure conformance to regulatory and child safety standards, and to assure that eligible families receive child care subsidies and other supportive services to facilitate employment.

Type B: These Social Worker or Human Services Professionals do not function at the fully independent worker level.

All or a major part of their assigned cases consists of clients for whom it is difficult to determine or obtain appropriate services; who may be hostile or resistant to services; or who present significant complexities due to factors such as multiple and/or severe psychosocial, physical/mental, and environmental problems.

Examples of positions performing this type of work are those who investigate cases of alleged child abuse or neglect in child protective services units but do so under the guidance of a more experienced worker or unit supervisor.

Program Areas for the current vacancies are:

Department of Human Services (DHS):

General Human Services (GHS) - Work with one of the following programs: 1) employment-related or first-to-work services, child-care licensing services, and economic assistance to eligible families and individuals; 2) administrative planning, development, and implementation of comprehensive statewide social service programs; 3) medical assistance; and 4) vocational rehabilitation services, including eligible individuals who are blind, deaf-blind or visually impaired.

Department of Health (DOH):

Adult Mental Health Division (AMHD) - Excluding HSH positions, work with complex and difficult cases providing comprehensive mental health treatment services to clients who would otherwise be at high risk for hospitalization or subject to recurrent symptoms requiring crisis services.

Positions located in a Clubhouse setting will be responsible for providing psychosocial rehabilitation services to adults with serious mental illness.

Developmental Disabilities (DDD) - Service individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities and their families, providing case management functions; developing new and existing resources and services; or developing and coordinating quality assurance activities.

Family Health Services Branch (FHSB) - Service families with infants and toddlers with special needs ages 0 to 3 years providing comprehensive care coordination, developmental evaluation, community-based resources and services, and assist with transition at age 3.

Qualifications

To qualify, you must meet all the requirements for Social Worker or Human Services Professional as outlined below. Your application will be evaluated based on the following requirements and you will be notified of your qualification for either the Social Worker OR Human Services Professional recruitment(s), as appropriate.

Legal Authorization to Work:
The State of Hawaii requires all persons seeking employment with the government of the State shall be citizens, nationals, or permanent resident aliens of the United States, or eligible under federal law for unrestricted employment in the United States.

BASIC EDUCATION:
Social Worker: In accordance with Act 238, SLH 2005, applicants must possess a bachelor's or master's degree in social work from a program of study accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, or a doctoral degree in social work from a college or university accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, or a comparable regional accreditation body.

Human Services Professional: A bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year college or university which included a minimum of 12 semester credit hours in courses such as counseling, criminal justice, human services, psychology, social work, social welfare, sociology or other behavioral sciences.

For The Human Services Professional Only: Excess work experience as described under the Specialized Experience below, or any other responsible administrative, professional or analytical work experience that provided knowledge, skills and abilities comparable to those acquired in four (4) years of successful study while completing a college or university curriculum leading to a baccalaureate degree, including the coursework specified above, may be substituted on a year-for-year basis. To be acceptable, the experience must have been of such scope, level and quality as to assure the possession of comparable knowledge, skills and abilities.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess progressively responsible professional work experience which involved helping individuals and their families find satisfactory ways of identifying their problems, coping with their conditions, and functioning effectively within their environments in the amounts shown below. Please note that possession of the required number of years of experience will not in itself be accepted as proof of qualification for the position. The applicant's overall experience must have been of such scope and level of responsibility as to conclusively demonstrate that he/she has the ability to perform the duties of the position for which he/she is being considered.

Social Worker:
For applicants who possess a Bachelor of Social Work degree, one year of the aforementioned Specialized Experience.
For applicants who possess a Master of Social Work degree, no Specialized Experience required.
For applicants who possess a Ph.D. degree in Social Work, no Specialized Experience required.

Human Services Professional: One and one-half years of the aforementioned Specialized Experience.

Substitutions Allowed: Relevant substitutions as described in the Minimum Qualification Requirements, will apply.

Note: Applicants who will graduate within three months, and will meet the Minimum Qualification Requirements upon their graduation will be accepted for examination. If you are graduating within three months with a Bachelor of Social Work degree or applicable Master's degree, please submit a copy of your official transcript of coursework completed thus far and a letter from your department head or registrar verifying your current enrollment in school, your expected graduation date and major with your application .

Driver's License: Some of the immediate vacancies require possession of a valid driver's license at the time of appointment.

The information provided above represents a summary of the complete Minimum Qualification Requirements.

To view the requirements for Social Worker in their entirety, please CLICK HERE.

To view the requirements for the Human Services Professional in their entirety, please CLICK HERE.

03110:03103:011112:13:CD

Additional Information

The State of Hawai'i complies with federal and state disability laws and makes reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities. If you require reasonable accommodations in completing an application, any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the selection process, please call 808-587-0936 for assistance.

PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS (PSLF) PROGRAM
The PSLF Program is a federal program that is intended to encourage individuals to work in public service by forgiving the balance of their federal student loans. To qualify, the individual must have made 120 qualifying payments while employed by a qualifying employer. For more information, please click: https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation

ELECTRONIC NOTIFICATION TO APPLICANTS
The Department of Human Resources Development (HRD) will use electronic mail (email) to notify applicants of important information relating to the status and processing of their applications as part of our ongoing efforts to increase operational efficiency, promote the conservation of green resources, and minimize delays and costs.

Please ensure that the email address and contact information you provide is current, secure, and readily accessible to you. We will not be responsible in any way if you do not receive our emails or fail to check your email-box in a timely manner. In addition, please be aware that you may no longer receive notification about applications submitted if you choose to disable the Job Application Emails feature in your Account Settings.

TESTING INFORMATION The examination for this recruitment will be conducted on an unassembled basis where the examination score is based on an evaluation and rating of your education and experience. It is therefore important that your employment application provide a clear and detailed description of the duties and responsibilities of each position you held.

In-person interviews and/or further testing in Hawaii may be required at the discretion of the hiring agency. If in-person interviews and/or further testing is a requirement, applicants who meet the minimum qualification requirements and are referred to the vacancy must be available to participate in-person and at their own expense in this required phase of the selection process.

Applicants are encouraged to submit their applications as soon as possible. In addition to employment availability and score, the referral of qualified applicants may be based upon other factors including date of receipt of application.

CLICK HERE for further information about Equal Employment Opportunity, the Merit Civil Service System, Citizenship and other requirements, Reasonable Accommodation, Veterans Preference, Examination Requirements, and the State Recruiting Office's Levels of Review.