Job Description:

MAKE A DIFFERENCE with us.

Put your social services skills to work in a mission-driven environment.

About Us

Northwest Senior and Disability Services is seeking a social services worker to manage a set of consumer cases. Our agency is an innovative and forward thinking with a deep commitment to helping others. We are looking for someone who believes in serving the seniors and adults with disabilities in our community.

If you live with integrity and are professional, compassionate, and customer-service-oriented you are the type of person we want to hire.  We live these principles every day, in all we do. These are our core values.

Recruitment #:  395-01-23

Closes:              March 2, 2023

Location:           Salem, OR - QA Unit

Salary:              Starting at $4,181 per month, with excellent benefits (See below)

Agency Sponsored: Medical/Dental 100% paid for employee and 90-98% for dependents: generous Paid-time off, Public Employee Retirement (PERS), Employee Assistance Plan, Long Term Disability, great culture.

Employee paid: Deferred Compensation, Life Insurance, Short Term Disability, Colonial Life Supplemental Plans, Legal Shield.

General Description

Performs professional-level work in the provision of social services for a caseload comprised of either seniors and/or adults with disabilities.

Essential Functions

1. Collaborate with other staff members
2. Assess consumers’ non-financial needs for specific social services
3. Develop consumer care plans in accordance with regulations
4. Monitor and update the consumers’ care plan
5. Provide customer service to the consumer according to privacy regulations
6. Collaborate with a broad range of social service entities 

1.    Collaborate with other staff members

• Communicate regularly with other staff members to fully comprehend and work to meet a consumer’s needs
• Read and understand the information in the consumer’s record including written narration and collaborate with others to meet the consumer’s needs
• Take advice and suggestions from quality assurance subject-matter experts, peer mentors, and supervisors regarding ambiguous case situations

 2.    Assess consumers’ non-financial needs for specific social services

• Interview consumers about their physical and cognitive activities of daily living to determine a service-eligibility level
• Apply a consumer’s financial eligibility to their nonfinancial eligibility to recommend the most appropriate services for the consumer
• Use proprietary software to enter data about the consumer and their service-eligibility including written narration (Oregon ACCESS, Consumer Assessment and Planning System (CAPS), etc.)
• Complete all related forms
• Meet agency reporting requirements
• Participates in quality assurance case reviews to ensure accuracy of case manager’s work

 3.    Develop consumer care plans in accordance with regulations

• Develop a case management plan for each consumer on the caseload
• Find all necessary case data and then analyze the data to formulate an appropriate plan
• Coordinate the delivery of services to consumers according to case management plans
• Help to arrange in-home, residential, or assisted-living care services; medical supplies, equipment, or transportation; etc. for the consumer
• Assist the consumer to alleviate serious environmental, medical, or social problems 

4.    Monitor and update the consumers’ care plan according to the changing care needs of consumers

• Modify case management plans and delivery of services according to agency policy
• Assess and monitor risk and work with consumers to eliminate or reduce risk
• Enter consumer data into the appropriate database software and consult other State computer systems (Oregon ACCESS, ONE, etc.)
• Enter written narrative of the consumer’s ongoing needs
• Complete and process all required documentation to establish and maintain consumer benefits
• Facilitate and monitor provider payments and quality of services
• Provides supervisor with monthly case count reports

 5.    Provide customer service to the consumer according to privacy regulations

• Understand and commit to follow rules governing consumer confidentiality, privacy, provider records, and investigations
• Use good judgment, courtesy, and tact when working with internal and external customers
• Understand and respond to requests from internal and external customers, social service professionals, and/or the general public in compliance with privacy laws
• Adhere to agency standards regarding the security of and access to private consumer information

 6.    Know about a broad range of social services options

• Work with the public and private agencies and institutions that provide social support services to seniors and adults with disabilities, including onsite visits
• Interpret federal and state laws and regulations pertaining to benefits and apply them accurately to assist consumers
• Advise applicants, consumers, and the general public on their rights and responsibilities regarding assistance programs
• Know about a variety of local services such as food banks, in-home care providers, energy assistance programs, meal sites, legal services, etc. and connect consumers with any applicable resources as needed
• Provide technical assistance to community resources, in-home and medical providers, etc.

Job-Specific Skills Needed to Meet Agency Expectations

In order to best serve consumers, case managers must know, or be able to learn:

• The problems and issues confronting the consumers the agency serves
• The state and federal laws regulating the consumer’s social services
• Casework methods and techniques to individual cases
• How to prepare concise and complete case records, documentation, and reports
• How to use problem-solving and decision-making skills in order to serve consumers
• Appropriate questioning strategies to interview consumers to determine program eligibility and service needs

General Skills Needed to Meet Agency Expectations

Must be able and willing to perform the following:

• Support the agency mission and exemplify its core values—integrity, professionalism, service, and compassion
• Serve as a mandatory reporter of suspected cases of neglect, exploitation, and abuse of vulnerable populations as required by policy and regulation, and make the appropriate referral to a responsible agency such as Child or Adult Protective Services Units
• Interact and work effectively with others in a team to deliver services to consumers
• Demonstrate good interpersonal communication skills through written, verbal, and nonverbal communication
• Use sound organizational skills to meet deadlines in a timely, accurate, and efficient manner
• Speak, read, write, and understand English and follow verbal and written instruction
• Perform other work as assigned by the supervisor

Experience and Skills:

(For Bilingual positions only)

Ensure Non-English speaking consumers receive services

• Communicate with and provide services to consumers whose primary language skills are non-English
• Serve as an interpreter for the Agency in the identified language pair, including oral and written, interpreting and explaining forms, rules, policies, etc.
• Translate written materials

Minimum Qualifications - Experience and Education

A qualified applicant will have a minimum of four (4) years of equivalent combination of education and/or experience which demonstrates the knowledge, skills and abilities required.  The following qualifications meeting the minimum requirements will be considered:

• Bachelors degree in social sciences or any related field
• Work or volunteer experience working directly with consumers in social service type settings. Experience can be substituted for education.
• Any combination of related education and relevant work experience equaling at least 4 years.

(For Bilingual positions only)

• Successful completion of a language proficiency test.

While not required, experience working with seniors or adults with disabilities or vulnerable populations is a plus. 

Work Environment and Physical Demands

Case Managers typically work in an office environment. and in the community They:

• Use a computer, telephone, and other office equipment
• Need to tolerate and be able to work where the noise level is that of a typical office
• Travel to consumers’ homes or care settings to meet with consumers (in an agency or personal vehicle)
• May encounter frequent interruptions throughout the work day
• Are regularly required to sit, talk, or hear
• Use repetitive hand motions
• Must be able to handle objects and sustain a sense of touch
• Must be able to stand, walk, reach, and bend
• Must be able to lift up to 20 pounds

Contact with the public in homes, facilities,  or office environments may risk exposure to people with contagious diseases or irrational/hostile behavior and contact with domestic animals.

The physical demands are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Other Requirements

COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate

In accordance with the vaccination order issued by the state of Oregon all new hires in the position of Case Manager must be fully vaccinated and provide proof of vaccination by their first day of employment. Proof of vaccination means documentation provided by a tribal, federal, state or local government, or a health care provider, that includes an individual’s name, date of birth, type of COVID-19 vaccination given, date or dates given, depending on whether it is a one-dose or two-dose vaccine, and the name/location of the health care provider or site where the vaccine was administered. Documentation may include but is not limited to a COVID-19 vaccination record card or a copy or digital picture of the vaccination record card, a print-out from the clinic, or the Oregon Health Authority’s immunization registry.  Applicants requesting a religious or a medical accommodation must submit the request for exemption on the appropriate OHA form.  NWSDS is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of any state or federal protected class.

To be successful, candidates must:

• Secure and maintain a valid Oregon driver’s license or have an acceptable alternative means of transportation
• Attend work regularly to meet the demands of this job and to provide necessary services
• Complete and pass a criminal background check

Supervisory Responsibilities

None.

Classification: Case Manager

Position Number: Varies

Salary Range:  R20

FLSA Status: Non-Exempt

Unit: Varies

Location: Varies

Reports to: Program Manager

Union Status: Represented

Last Revision: March 2022

This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by an employee occupying this position.  Employees may be required to perform other duties as assigned, including work in other Agency unit/location to ensure workload coverage.  Employees are required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by their supervisor.

Requirements are representative of minimum levels of knowledge, skills, and abilities. To perform this job successfully, the employee will possess the abilities or aptitudes to perform each duty proficiently.