Child & Family Case Manager Lead

Essential Functions

General

· Assesses the psychosocial, behavioral, medical and safety needs of clients and families to coordinate appropriate services to meet client and family needs, via ongoing communication with clients, families and providers.

· Creates and implements detailed service plans to manage all goals, services and resources specific to each client, while maintaining paper files, electronic files and database systems to meet federal, state and local mandates and timelines.

· Analyzes and investigates critical circumstances; manages crisis situations where imminent danger to self or others is apparent or possible.

· Prepares extensive and comprehensive social histories; home studies; case plans; case records; court reports, petitions and testimony; appears personally in court to represent MNPrairie.

· Collaborates with state, federal and local entities; other service providers; schools; mental health professionals, court personnel, attorneys, home care providers and managed care organizations regarding policies, funding and service delivery.

· Organizes, provides and participates in ongoing training to increase community knowledge and skills.

· May participate in the hiring process for new unit staff; mentors new staff and interns.

Child Protection & Child Welfare

· Knows, understands, and provides child protection and/or child welfare services according to laws, rules, and agency expectations.

· Completes structured decision-making tools as required.

· Assesses family needs based on evaluation and observation to identify strengths and risks.

· Writes and executes child protection plans involving family, legal representatives, guardian ad litem, judge, school, law enforcement, providers and other community professionals, etc.

· Assists parents with the implementation of plans utilizing both risk and strength-based approaches.

· Maintains regular contact with children, parents, providers and other community professionals.

· Completes duties related to judicial processes including attending and testifying in court.

· Gathers information from families regarding private insurance, MA, SSI, social security, child support, or other legitimate revenue sources.

· Completes comprehensive documentation in SSIS or other systems based on agency timelines.

· Attends and participates in community meetings/work groups and provides community education as requested.

· Interacts positively with internal and external customers. Always communicates and interacts effectively and respectfully when representing MNPrairie.

· Participates in on call rotation and responds outside of regular hours.

Additional Essential Functions Specific to Social Worker Lead-Child & Family

· Serves as a first-line consultant on complex or high-risk cases, supporting sound judgment and decision-making.

· Promotes consistency in practice across the team and helps integrate policy into everyday work.

· Models professional, trauma-informed practice in all interactions.

· Leads onboarding, job shadowing, and training activities for new or developing staff.

· Identifies staff skill needs and collaborates with supervisors to support development.

· Participates in screening and intake consultation to support appropriate case assignment and response.

· Ensures adherence to timelines and documentation standards; supports audit readiness and documentation quality.

· Works collaboratively with courts, schools, health providers, and community organizations on complex cases.

· Participates in multidisciplinary reviews and contributes expertise to collaborative planning.

· Identifies practice trends or concerns and communicates them to supervisors and leadership.

· Supports implementation of practice or policy changes across the team.

· Performs related work as assigned.

Education and Experience

Bachelor's degree with coursework in social work, social and behavioral sciences, nursing, or related field. Considerable (3-5 years) experience in child protection/child welfare. County Human Service experience preferred.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Comprehensive knowledge of rules, regulations, policies, processes and procedures governing social work in a county setting

• Thorough knowledge of social, economic and health problems common to at-risk populations

• General knowledge of laws pertaining to social work as it is applied to situations of abuse, neglect, exploitation and mental illness

• Comprehensive skill in crisis intervention

• Comprehensive skill maintaining database systems related to services and clients

• Comprehensive skill evaluating and coordinating services for clients using comprehensive knowledge of local and state resources

• Comprehensive skill creating and maintaining effective service plans and records of services provided

• Comprehensive skill composing general correspondence

• Competent in using standard office equipment and related hardware and software

• Ability to empower individuals and families to utilize services and supports

• Ability to demonstrate acceptance of other’s rights, responsibilities and differences.

• Ability to effectively work with people encompassing a wide range of emotional, cognitive, physical and socio economic barriers

• Ability to plan and organize work

• Ability to solve problems within one's scope of responsibility

• Ability to prepare reports and maintain records

• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with clients, service providers, staff, law enforcement agencies, court officials, federal agency representatives, medical facilities, financial agencies and the general public.

• Thorough knowledge of Minnesota child protection statutes, child welfare policy, and best practices in trauma-informed assessment and case management.

• Advanced assessment and case management skills, including the ability to analyze complex family dynamics, assess risk with nuance, and make well-reasoned decisions under pressure.

• Demonstrated ability to train, mentor, and coach colleagues, with patience, credibility, and a genuine investment in others' professional growth.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to produce clear documentation, testify in court, and facilitate difficult conversations with families and partners.

• Sound judgment and decisive thinking, particularly in high-stakes or ambiguous situations where child safety is at stake.