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Position Information
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Do you have experience providing casework assistance for social services?
If so, be a part of this exciting opportunity to make a difference in the lives of Sonoma County families!
Starting salary up to $35.05/hour ($73,153/year) plus a competitive total compensation package!* Social Work Assistants in the Family, Youth, and Children (FYC) Division of the Human Services Department (HSD) work as liaisons between FYC Social Workers and clients, and are responsible for providing supportive services to children, families, and guardians in the HSD foster care system. Additional responsibilities include:
- Supervising visits between parents/guardians and children in foster care
- Contacting parents and foster parents to coordinate and schedule visitation appointments
- Driving children to visits, and medical or therapy appointments
- Documenting visits in the Child Welfare Services/Case Management System (CWS/CMS) and various additional internal computer databases
- Ensuring child safety during travel and visits
- Assisting in case management by reviewing and following instructions, writing basic case notes, and providing documentation
- Responding to clients who may be under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, are having a mental health crisis, and/or are angry or hostile
- Testifying in a trial court setting to provide child and family updates
The ideal candidate will have a passion for working with children and supporting families in repairing and rebuilding relationships. They will demonstrate the skills and sensitivity needed to work successfully with children and adults with disabilities, and will also possess many of the following:
- A working knowledge of the community resources available to clients
- Experience with de-escalation techniques and working with angry, hostile, or highly emotional individuals
- Strong communication skills, with the ability to interact with a diverse customer base
- The ability to create clear and concise case notes and documentation
- Experience conducting supervised visits, both in office and in the community
- Sound judgment and the ability to work collaboratively with team members
- Experience working in a fast-paced, dynamic environment
- Computer software proficiency, including Word, Excel, Outlook, Apricot, Zoom, and the CWS/CMS
- A sense of humor is always helpful
- Bilingual (English/Spanish) skills are desired but not required
About the Family, Youth, and Children (FYC) Division
The Family, Youth, and Children Division helps ensure the safety and well-being of children and teens that experience abuse, neglect, or abandonment. Staff provide protective and supportive social services to promote the ideals that children and families deserve stable nurturing homes, a supportive environment, and a sense of personal empowerment and hope. The Division programs include: Valley of the Moon Children's Center (emergency shelter and Short Term Residential Therapeutic Program), child abuse prevention, forensic interviewing, child protective services, foster care eligibility and placements, and adoptions.
About the Human Services Department (HSD)
As the largest agency in Sonoma County government, the Human Services Department's mission is to build upon strengths, as we bridge clients to opportunities through responsive safety-net services. We work to protect vulnerable children and adults, to help people rise above poverty and thrive in our community, and to promote maximum independence and well-being for individuals and families. HSD is responsible for child and adult protective services, veteran services, and administration of state and federal programs, including CalFRESH, CalWORKs, Medi-Cal, and In-Home Supportive Services. The department is dedicated to providing responsive, client-focused services so that all in our community can live freely chosen lives up to their full potential throughout their lifespan. The core values that drive our work are dignity, humility, integrity, responsiveness, partnership, and belonging.
HSD fosters a positive work environment, where our commitment to providing opportunities for advancement is strengthened by a robust staff development program. We believe in the merits of work/life balance and enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that our work contributes to the betterment of our community.
The Department works collaboratively at the federal, state, and local levels to find creative solutions to support the well-being of individuals, families, and the community. To meet that goal, the department has fostered strong relationships with other public and private sector partners, including other government agencies, community-based organizations, and business leaders. For more information regarding HSD's services please visit
http://sonomacounty.ca.gov/Human-Services.
What We Offer
Working at the County of Sonoma offers expansive opportunities for growth and development, the ability to be a part of a challenging and rewarding work environment, and the satisfaction of knowing your contributions work to better our shared community. You can also look forward to flexible work arrangements and excellent benefits* including:
- Salary Advancement - A salary increase after 1,040 hours (6 months when working full-time) for good work performance; eligibility for a salary increase for good performance every year thereafter, until reaching the top of the salary range
- Paid Time Off - Competitive vacation and sick leave accruals, 12 paid holidays, and an additional 8 floating holiday hours per year
- County Paid Health Premium Contributions - 100% premium contribution for the majority of employee-only and employee + family health plan options
- Post-Retirement Health Reimbursement Arrangement - County contributions to help fund post-retirement employee health insurance/benefits
- Retirement - A pension fully integrated with Social Security
- Paid Parental Leave - May be eligible for up to 8 weeks (320 hours) after 12 months of County employment
- Additional Benefits - Excellent dental, vision, disability, life insurance, employee assistance program, professional development, and more
- Student Loan Debt Relief - County employees may be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness through the U.S. Department of Education
*Benefits described herein do not represent a contract and may be changed without notice. Additional information can be found in the Service Employees International Union Local 1021 Memorandum Of Understanding (SEIU MOU) and our Employee Benefits Directory.
This recruitment is currently being conducted to fill a full-time Social Work Assistant position in the Family, Youth, and Children Division of the Human Services Department. This employment list may also be used to fill future full-time, part-time, or extra-help (temporary) positions as they occur during the active status of the list. Qualified candidates who wish to be considered for future positions should consider applying to this recruitment. The Civil Service title for this position is Social Work Assistant.
Application submissions require the Supplemental Questionnaire to be completed.
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Minimum Qualifications
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Experience and Education:
Any combination of education and experience, which would provide the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and abilities listed. Normally, completion of 60 semester units or 90 quarter units at an accredited college including at least 9 semester units or 12 quarter units in gerontology, social work, sociology, or psychology or related behavior sciences or one year of recent experience providing social casework assistance would provide this opportunity.
License: Possession of a valid driver's license at the appropriate level including special endorsements, as required by the State of California, may be required depending upon assignment to perform the essential job functions of the position.
The position advertised on this announcement requires possession of a valid California Driver's License.
Special Requirement: Designated positions will require the ability to speak and write a specified foreign language in addition to English.
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Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
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Working knowledge of:
needs, problems, attitudes and behavior patterns of disadvantaged persons and of the total community; programs and services related to Human and/or Health Services Departments; human growth and development; family dynamics; and, techniques of observation.
Knowledge of: cultural and human behavior to effectively deal with clients and staff; services offered by the Human and/or Health Services Department; standards of clients confidentiality; issues related to child abuse and family separation; issues related to aging and adult abuse; and and/or Health relating to public health.
Ability to: relate well to disadvantaged members of the community and to representatives of public and private organizations; observe situations and make assessments, accurately describe interaction that occurs on visits, understand and interpret procedures, guidelines, laws, rules and regulations consistently to clients; complete necessary documentation and paperwork; work cooperatively and effectively with people from a wide variety of backgrounds including those with legal and family problems and health concerns; communicate effectively both verbally and in writing; understand and follow oral and written instructions; work independently in the field and manage time efficiently.
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Selection Procedure & Some Helpful Tips When Applying
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- Your application information and your responses to the supplemental questions are evaluated and taken into consideration throughout the entire selection process.
- You should list all employers and positions held within the last ten years in the work history section of your application. Be as thorough as possible when responding to the supplemental questions.
- You may include history beyond ten years if related to the position for which you are applying. If you held multiple positions with one employer, list out each position separately.
- Failure to follow these instructions may impact your competitiveness in this process or may result in disqualification.
Please visit Getting a Job with the County of Sonoma to review more detailed information about the hiring process, including the application process, examination steps, and department selection process. Application submissions require the Supplemental Questionnaire be completed. Responses to supplemental questions will or may be scored using position-specific criteria. Please provide specific and detailed responses of a reasonable length to allow for a thorough assessment of your qualifications. Responses that state, "See Resume" or "See Application" may be considered insufficient and therefore may not be scored. The selection procedure will consist of the following examination: An Application and Supplemental Questionnaire Appraisal Examination (weight 100%) will be conducted to evaluate each applicant's application and supplemental questionnaire for satisfaction of minimum qualifications (pass/not pass); and for educational coursework, training, experience, knowledge, and abilities which relate to this position. Personally identifiable information (PII) is removed from the standard application fields and applicable attachments. This PII blind screening practice redacts a candidate's personal information that could potentially influence or bias the scoring process. Personal information includes the applicant's name, former last name, address, phone number, email, driver's license number, school name, education start and end dates, age, date of birth, gender, and race. This PII blind screening practice helps contribute to a fair and equitable examination process. Each applicant will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Relevance of work history, related experience, and achieved level of education and/or training as described in the application and responses to the supplemental questions.
Candidates demonstrating possession of the minimum qualifications will be placed on an employment list in order of most qualified to least qualified based on the achieved score received in the Application and Supplemental Questionnaire Appraisal Examination which evaluates the education, training, experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, and other qualifications that you demonstrate in your application and/or response to the supplemental questionnaire. Please be aware that resumes and cover letters are not typically evaluated in the Application and Supplemental Questionnaire Appraisal Examination. Scores may be adjusted based on such factors as the number of candidates, anticipated vacancies, past practice, and natural breaks in the scores achieved by this group of candidates.
Additional Information
A background investigation is required prior to employment. Candidates referred to departments for a selection interview are typically required to sign authorization and release forms enabling such an investigation. Failure to sign prescribed forms will result in the candidate not being considered further for that vacancy. Reference information will not be made available to applicants.
Additional requirements, such as successful completion of a physical exam, drug screen, etc., may apply, depending on the duties and responsibilities of the position. If you receive a conditional job offer for the position, the requirements upon which the offer is contingent will be outlined in the conditional job letter. You may also review the Job Classification Screening Schedule to determine the requirements for this position.
How To Apply
Applications are accepted online at: www.yourpath2sonomacounty.org. Paper applications may be submitted by person, fax (707-565-3770), email, or through the mail. All applications and appropriate supplemental information as outlined in the job bulletin must be received by the time and date specified on the first page of this job announcement. Applications received after the recruitment closes will not be accepted.
The County of Sonoma values diversity and is dedicated to creating a workplace environment that provides individuals with a sense of belonging. We are committed to having a diverse workforce that is representative of the communities we serve. The County is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer where all aspects of employment are based on merit, competence, performance, and business need.
HR Analyst: EP
HR Tech: VH
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County of Sonoma
$60,192.54 - $73,153.56 Annually
medical insurance, dental insurance, life insurance, vision insurance, parental leave, vacation time, paid time off, paid holidays, sick time, retirement plan
Feb 05, 2026