Social Worker III - Adult Social Work (SFA)

Follow Your Calling, Find Your Career!!

Please apply by: Saturday, October 31st, 2026

Salary Range: $63,080.00 to $78,850.00 per year. This is an exempt (salaried) position. Pay rates are based on education, skill, experience level and internal equity. Internal equity considerations include an assessment of the applicant’s salary history and qualifications in comparison to the market rate and requirements for the job.

At Mecklenburg County, you’ll have the chance to build a career as unique as you are with support, inclusive culture, and technology to become the best version of you. We’re counting on YOUR unique voice and perspective to help Mecklenburg County become even better, too. Join us and build an exceptional experience for yourself, and a better working world for all.

The Mecklenburg County Department of Child, Family, & Adult Services strives to strengthen families and communities through a safety-net of services, collaborations, and hope. Our vision is to define and cultivate an organizational culture that is more compassionate and understanding toward each other and our clients.

Services For Adults (SFA) is a part of the Adult Services Division of the Mecklenburg County Department of Child, Family, and Adult Services. The division is responsible for three main program areas: Adult Social Work Services, the Senior Citizens Nutrition Program, and the Mecklenburg Transportation System (MTS).

Position Specific Information

This position with the Adult Social Work team provides complex social work case management for Adult Protective Services, Guardianship, and Special Assistances In-Home.

Additional Responsibilities Include

Conduct court-directed or agency-requested assessments.

Participate in Youth and Family Services referral staffing’s and other cross-divisional consultations involving adults, transition-age youth.

Assess and coordinate services for adults with severe or persistent mental illness, substance use disorders, co-occurring conditions, cognitive impairment, trauma histories, treatment nonadherence, or repeated crisis-system use.

Serve as a resource on advanced assessment, complex case planning, court preparation, difficult placement, financial exploitation, behavioral health, and cross-system navigation.

The position requires direct social work intervention with adult clients, contacts with collaterals, interaction with other professionals, and contacts with community resources.

Services For Adults (SFA) seeks a candidate who is comfortable with a rapid pace, legal interventions, crisis situations (i. e. medical and mental health), and in-home / community visits.

Candidate must be available to work occasional evenings and weekends, including making in-home visits on weekends.

May also be required to work during emergency situations and at the emergency shelters.

Position Summary

Provides community-based services to clients, including evaluation, case management, counseling and referrals. This position, under general supervision, is responsible for assisting individuals, groups, families, or communities regarding issues including child and adult abuse, neglect and/or exploitation, mental health, poverty, unemployment, substance abuse, rehabilitation, social adjustment, housing, childcare, or medical care.

Essential Functions

Assess Needs of Individuals and Families

• Interview clients, obtain family, social, and medical information; collect supplementary information needed to assist clients such as employment records or school reports
• Determine clients' eligibility for financial assistance and if referrals are appropriate
• Discuss goals, expected outcomes, and means with which to meet goals and expected outcomes
• Assist clients in the completion of required paperwork for items that may determine program eligibility, referrals, or provide job assistance, such as job applications
• Manage records and maintain history records and prepare reports of services provided
• Refer clients to community resources for services and coordinate benefits and referrals to other agencies
• Develop and evaluate service plans in consultation with clients, and performs follow-ups assessing the quantity and quality of services provided
• Help clients work with government agencies to apply for and receive benefits
• Transport clients to appointments such as medical, job-related or others, if appropriate
• Manage records and documentation of services provided and participate in team case conferences.
• Act as a liaison with other staff with referrals and transitioning of clients

Counsel and consult with individuals or families in a variety of settings including parents, parents, and teachers; addresses behavior, arranges for services and diagnoses problems

Address legal issues, such as child abuse and discipline, and evaluate the need for protective services, assist with hearings and providing testimony to inform custody arrangements

Provide, find, or arrange for support services, such as child care, homemaker service, prenatal care, substance abuse treatment, job training, counseling, parenting classes or behavioral health treatment to prevent more serious problems from developing

Place children in foster or adoptive homes, institutions, or medical treatment centers, facilitate appropriate placements for adults commensurate with the level of identified need; evaluates personal characteristics and home conditions of a foster home or adoption applicants

May be required to staff shelters in the event of a disaster.

Minimum Qualifications

Experience:

Bachelors of Social Work from an accredited school of social work and three years of social work experience; or a qualifying internship; or successfully completion of the NC Child Welfare Collaborative program;

or a bachelor's degree in a related field with 15 hours of social work/counseling courses and four years of social work experience;

or Master's degree from an accredited school of social work;

or a master's degree in a related field with three years of social work experience.

Education: Please see experience.

Combination of relevant education and relevant experience accepted? No

Licenses and Certifications

• Requires a valid North Carolina or South Carolina Driver's License
• Requires County Driving Privileges

Preferred Qualifications

Master’s in Social Work (MSW) or closely related degree preferred.

Previous Adult Social Work experience, including Adult Protective Services, Adult Guardianship and/or Specialist Assistance – In Home highly preferred.

Have at least two years of recent experience working directly with adults diagnosed with mental illness and have knowledge of services and resources available in North Carolina for people with mental illness.

Have at least two years of recent experience as a social worker working with adults with dementia and have knowledge of services and resources available in North Carolina for people with dementia.

Have excellent writing and verbal skills to discuss and present information in various settings including court.

Proficient in various computer applications including Microsoft Office Suite and the ability to learn programs used by the Department.

Can travel in North Carolina in a county vehicle.

Have organizational skills to set priorities while having the flexibility to handle crises and emergency situations without compromising deadlines.

• Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
• Knowledge of
• General social work principles and available resources
• Social services procedures, practices and methods
• Social services related federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations relating to provision of public assistance, and social welfare
• Case management methods and techniques
• Services offered by the county and other local public and private community based service agencies

Skills

• Prioritizing work
• Managing and executing multiple tasks
• Maintaining various confidential records
• Evaluating records to ensure accreditation standards are met
• Using computers and related software applications
• Exercising judgment and discretion

Abilities

Adaptability: Maintaining effectiveness when experiencing major changes in work responsibilities or environment; adjusting effectively to work within new work structures, processes, requirements, or cultures

Building Customer Loyalty: Effectively meeting customer needs; building productive customer relationships; taking responsibility for customer satisfaction and loyalty

Building Partnerships: Identifying opportunities and taking action to build strategic relationships between one’s area and other areas, teams, departments, units, or organizations to help achieve business goals

Building Trust: Interacting with others in a way that instills confidence in one’s intentions and those of the organization

Care Management: Having the knowledge and skills to secure relevant patient care data and identify key issues and relationships in the management of patient care; understanding the relationships among assessments, interventions, and patient responses; skilled in documentation of assessments and adjusting physical and cognitive prescriptions as needed

Communication: Clearly conveying information and ideas through a variety of media to individuals or groups in a manner that engages the audience and helps them understand and retain the information provided

Customer Focus: Ensuring that the customer perspective is a driving force behind business decisions and activities; crafting and implementing service practices that meet customers’ and own organization’s needs

Decision Making: Identifying and understanding issues, problems, and opportunities; comparing data from different sources to draw conclusions; using effective approaches for choosing a course of action or developing appropriate solutions; taking action that is consistent with available facts, constraints, and probable consequences

Inspiring Others: Using interpersonal styles and methods to inspire and guide individuals toward higher levels of perform