(Salem, Ore.) –The Department of Human Services (DHS) this week posted openings for more than 300 jobs related to helping children and families in Oregon. The hiring initiative was driven by Governor Kate Brown’s Executive Order 19-03, which aims at improving safety and building capacity in Oregon’s Child Welfare System. “In order to ensure our children are safe, we need more caring and dedicated people on the ground working with families,” said Governor Brown. “Hiring more child welfare workers is one important step to right-sizing the system so that it better serves our most vulnerable children and families. Oregonians with a passion for helping children and families thrive can make an enormous impact through state service at the Department of Human Services.” Some of the jobs available include: Hotline Screener – Screeners are the first responders to reports of safety concerns. Screeners determine appropriate levels of response and interventions including protective, family support and other community services. Our hotline receives more than 600 calls during an average 24-hour period. Child Protective Services – Child Protective Service caseworkers investigate reports of safety concerns for Oregon’s children and families. This includes conducting child safety assessments of alleged child abuse or neglect, evaluating whether a child has been or is currently at risk of being harmed and, if needed, determining appropriate services to ensure child safety. Certifier – Certifiers work to identify and certify relative caregivers, foster parents and adoptive parents across all ethnic and cultural groups. This work includes home studies, interviewing and evaluating appropriateness of substitute care placements when children are unable to live safely at home. Permanency Worker – Permanency caseworkers specialize in working with children, families, foster parents and caregivers to ensure children are safe in their homes. This includes assuring a child’s physical, psychological and social well-being with the goal of reuniting families or finding alternate, permanent plans when necessary. “These new hires will reduce caseloads, which will help us better address safety issues and provide more support to foster families,” DHS Director Fariborz Pakseresht said “An influx of new staff also will provide much-needed relief to our current child welfare caseworkers and help reduce turnover.” The Oregon Legislature approved funding for these new positions during the 2019 legislative session. With the help of the crisis management team that is implementing the Governor’s Executive Order, DHS has addressed bottlenecks in the hiring process and training in order to hire this large number of positions in a timely manner. For more information on available jobs and to apply, please visit https://www.oregon.gov/DHS/CHILDREN/Pages/Careers.aspx.
