Westaff is seeking several Centralized Intake Specialists for a state office in Helena, MT!!

Schedule: M-F, 8am-5pm for 3 months of training

Shifts available after training period:

• Monday-Friday 1pm -10 pm
• Monday-Friday 3pm - midnight

Term: 1-3 months+ *perm position available

Pay: $23.05/hr Start

Job Overview:

Centralized Intake (CI) is a child abuse and neglect hotline staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to ensure that allegations of child abuse and neglect received are accurately assessed to ensure the safety of children. The hotline serves as the central reporting for all allegations of child abuse or neglect in Montana.

Responsibilities of this position include:

1) Gathers information from callers to determine whether statutory criteria for investigation are present;

2) Assigns priority response time and routes applicable reports directly to local offices to ensure identified safety threats are responded to in a timely manner to ensure child safety; and

3) Checks and verifies information from multiple data sources to determine additional requirements; including escalated safety factors of the alleged victim and field staff.

Qualifications:

Required for the first day of work:

• Knowledge of social work practices and principles.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Customer service and interpersonal skills.
• Problem solving and decision making skills.
• Ability to handle sensitive and stressful situations.
• Ability to develop and maintain cooperative working relationships.
• Ability to operate a personal computer and general office equipment as necessary to complete the essential functions, including using spreadsheet, word processing, database, email, internet and other computer programs.

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in social work, psychology, or related human services field.
• One year of human services experience working with children and families.
• Other combinations of directly related education and experience may be considered on a case-by-case basis; however, a bachelor’s degree is required.
• A six month completed internship with Child Protective Services will be accepted in lieu of the one year required experience.

More information:

Major Duties or Responsibilities

Conducts Initial Assessment of Allegations to Ensure Child Safety

• Receives phone calls from mandatory and non-mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect and follows an information gathering protocol to obtain sufficient information from the reporter.
• Gathers information from callers to determine whether statutory criteria for investigation are present.
• Assesses the call report and determines if the referral information warrants immediate or further investigation by field social workers and/or law enforcement intervention in accordance with statutes and the division’s safety practice model.
• Assigns priority response time and routes applicable reports directly to local offices to ensure identified safety threats are responded to in a timely manner to ensure child safety.
• Prioritizes and assigns referrals for field investigation; notifies management and field social worker of critical information and ensures an immediate response when necessary.
• Completes CI Intake Assessment form and required documentation in CAPS and Doc Gen in accordance with policy and procedure to accurately document the information in the report received.
• Contacts law enforcement as necessary for investigation of reports the division does not have authority to investigate and for welfare checks on children whose safety may be of concern; and enters reports from law enforcement when child safety issues are identified.
• Responds to requests for emergency provision of legal consent to treat children in protective custody, runaways, and foster parents requesting assistance.
• Serves as a central point of contact for the public and others seeking information to which they are legally entitled in regards to children in protective custody.

Field Support Services

• Performs background checks to assess prior child protective reports to assess current child safety or risk of harm to assist investigative worker in the field.
• Obtains critical child protection or criminal history from other states when necessary to allow for accurate report determinations.
• Checks and verifies information from multiple data sources to determine additional requirements; including escalated safety factors of the alleged victim and field staff.
• Performs check of Violent and Sexual Offender Registry where need is indicated; and determine safety issues and alerts field worker of issues which may create a dangerous situation when responding to the call.
• Testifies at hearings and in court when required regarding actions and responses to referrals.

Data/Reports

• Records daily activity regarding types of calls received and other performance tasks.
• Prepares monthly unit activity reports as requested by supervisor.
• Provides support and assistance to field social workers by engaging in continuous quality improvement processes with supervisors to ensure that Centralized Intake is delivering appropriate information to field social workers to ensure the safety of children, families, and workers.

Other Duties as Assigned

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Military & Veterans encouraged to apply

Job Requirements