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About the Agency The Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services (MDCPS) is committed to protecting and nurturing Mississippi's at-risk children and families. MDCPS offers a variety of positions statewide, including social work positions providing case management services and working with potential foster families, supervisor positions providing clinical and administrative support, and agency support positions such as policy development, human resources, information technology, program management, training, and budgeting/finance. Working with MDCPS will give you the chance to make a life-changing difference for Mississippi's most vulnerable children and families. About the PositionSocial Services SpecialistPositions at this level work under the supervision of higher levels to create and/or maintain a service plan throughout the duration of a case, including performing assessments, coordinating, and may deliver direct services with community partners and documenting all relevant activities, actions taken, and contacts involved with a case.Typically requires a bachelor's degree and 0-2 years of experience. Appointing authority may require social worker's license.What You'll Need to Be SuccessfulProfessional commitment to and caring about clients and the larger profession of child welfare. Personal resilience and strong self-efficacy beliefs about the ability to work with clients to produce positive client outcomes. Efficient organizational and time management skills. Good oral and written communication skills. Positive work morale. Ability to be flexible in thinking and problem solving. Realistic expectations about the difficulty and challenges of the work. Ability to handle an often-unpredictable work environment.BenefitsHealth/Prescription Insurance Eligible employees have the opportunity to participate in the state's health and prescription insurance program. Employees may select either single or family coverage with affordable co-payments. More detail can be found at Know Your Benefits.Wellness Benefits Employees are eligible for a wellness and health promotion program. This plan provides annual benefits for certain services with first-dollar coverage with no deductible.Life Insurance All eligible employees receive an actual term life insurance policy upon employment. The policy coverage is two times the employee's annual salary to a maximum of $100,000. More detail can be found at Life Insurance Choices.Optional Insurances Many agencies offer discounted premiums for dental, vision, and cancer insurance.Flexible Spending Accounts Many state agencies provide opportunity for employees to participate in pre-tax spending accounts. These accounts allow employees to withhold childcare expenses and unreimbursed medical expenses prior to application of state and federal taxes.Paid Personal Leave and Sick Leave Full-time employees receive paid time off for personal needs and for sick leave. Leave begins accruing after one month of employment and may be used as it is accrued. Employees earn approximately 18 days of personal leave annually and 12 days of sick leave annually.Military Leave In accordance with federal law, all employees serving in the armed forces, or the military reserves are entitled to 15 days per year for military training.HolidaysEmployees receive up to 10 paid holidays to enjoy many of our nation's celebrations with family and friends.Retirement Programs The State of Mississippi provides all its employees a Defined Benefit/Defined Contribution Retirement Program. Employees become vested in the State's retirement system after 8 years of employment. Both you and your employing agency contribute toward your retirement. More detailed information regarding the State's retirement program can be found at Compensation State agencies offer several opportunities for their employees to participate in a deferred compensation voluntary retirement savings plan. More information can be found at Deferred Credit Union All state employees are eligible to participate in the Mississippi Public Employees' Credit Union. This organization offers state employees special savings and borrowing plans. For more information about this program, call 601.948.8191.Tuition Reimbursement Many state agencies provide opportunities for their employees to achieve higher education through tuition reimbursement. Common programs include medical and nursing fields, accounting, and business/administrative fields.Career Development TrainingThe Mississippi State Personnel Board offers several management and administrative certification programs, as well as professional development courses to enhance employee value to the agency. Individual agencies also offer technical training and allow membership in professional organizations to employees in their specific fields of employment.Promotional Opportunities Employees who have completed 6 or more months of service are eligible for promotional opportunities within state government employment. Minimum qualifications must be met.Career Ladders Many job classifications provide career-ladder opportunities based upon attainment of competencies. These career ladders can increase an individual's salary, provided funds are available within the agency.