State of Maryland

A Staff Assistant Senior, Citizens’ Review Board for Children (CRBC) is the advanced level of work providing technical and administrative support to volunteers who comprise each local review board monitoring the performance of out-of-home care programs in local departments of social services.  Employees in this classification complete special projects and provide guidance and direction to less experienced professional staff.  Employees in this classification do not supervise other positions.

Employees in this classification receive general supervision from an administrative supervisor or designated administrator.

Positions in this classification are evaluated by using the classification job evaluation methodology.  The use of this method involves comparing the assigned duties and responsibilities of a position to the job criteria found in the Nature of Work and Examples of Work sections of the class specification.

The Staff Assistant Senior, CRBC is differentiated from the Staff Assistant, CRBC in that the Staff Assistant Senior, CRBC performs advanced level work completing special assignments and guiding and directing less experienced professional staff while the Staff Assistant, CRBC performs the full range of duties and responsibilities under general supervision.

Guides and directs the work of Staff Assistants, CRBC in the service of local Citizens' Review Boards for Children;

Trains Staff Assistants, CRBC in work methods required to assist volunteer review board members in case reviews of children in out-of-home care;

Develops operations manuals;

Contacts the media and makes community presentations in order to assemble and maintain a selection committee to fill vacancies on local Citizens' Review Boards for Children;

Performs special assignments, such as assisting in the management of Statewide automated information systems, recruiting volunteers for service on review boards or coordinating review board workshops and training sessions;

Participates in training volunteer members of local Citizens' Review Boards for Children;

Acts as an administrative staff assistant to one or more local Citizens' Review Boards for Children composed of volunteers in order to assure the use of appropriate procedures and policies relative to children in out-of-home care;

Prepares schedules of case reviews of children in out-of-home care for one or more local review boards;

Advises volunteer board members regarding recommendations affecting the child’s best interests, being cognizant of barriers to permanence and special advocacy strategies;

Reviews case files to assure that all pertinent information is available for review board action;

Acts as a liaison between one or more local departments of social services, local juvenile courts and review boards to communicate the goals, achievements, policies and case review criteria of the boards;

Advises one or more local Citizens' Review Boards for Children about changes in policy and regulations and makes an assessment of training needs in order to promote the work quality of one or more boards;

Monitors one or more local departments of social services for compliance with court decisions in out-of-home care cases;

Consults with other staff assistants to coordinate information among the boards, to prepare local board reports and to coordinate circuit-wide activities;

Participates in the development of policies for review boards;

Assists one or more local Citizens' Review Boards for Children in the completion of local assessment reports through analysis, preparation of statistical reports and editorial review;

Records data and maintains accurate automated and manual records according to established procedures;

May review the work of Staff Assistants, CRBC;

May be called upon to serve on State committees, to inform local boards of Statewide advocacy and activities and to voice local concerns to the State Board;

May present case recommendations from one or more local Citizens' Review Boards for Children to the courts;

Performs other related duties.

Knowledge of Maryland adoption and child welfare laws;

Knowledge of permanency planning concepts;

Knowledge of methods for recruiting and working with volunteers;

Knowledge of normal and abnormal behavior in child development;

Knowledge of community child welfare resources;

Ability to communicate effectively;

Ability to plan work and complete projects on time;

Ability to edit reports;

Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with other staff, court and agency officials, volunteers and the public;

Ability to handle confidential information with discretion;

Ability to compile and complete accurate case files for review by a Citizens’ Review Board for Children;

Ability to compile, analyze and interpret data relevant to the evaluation of program performance;

Ability to guide and direct the work and train Staff Assistants, CRBC.

Education:   A Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.

Experience: Three years of social casework experience providing community organization services in a child or adolescent services program or as an advocate in a child welfare program. One year of the required experience must include providing services to volunteer members of a Citizens’ Review Board for Children.

Notes:

1. Candidates may substitute additional social casework experience providing professional community organization services in a child or adolescent services program or as an advocate in a child welfare program on a year-for-year basis for the required education.

2. Candidates may substitute graduate credit hours in social work, community organization or public administration from an accredited college or university on a year-for-year basis for two years of the required general experience. Graduate credit hours in those areas may not be substituted for the one year of required experience providing services to volunteer members of a Citizens’ Review Board for Children.

Class specifications are broad descriptions covering groups of positions used by various State departments and agencies. Position descriptions maintained by the using department or agency specifically address the essential job functions of each position.

This is a Skilled Service classification in the State Personnel Management System.  All positions in this classification are Skilled Service positions.  Some positions in Skilled Service classifications may be designated Special Appointment in accordance with the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 6-405, Annotated Code of Maryland.

This classification is assigned to Bargaining Unit F, Social and Health Service Professionals classes.  As provided by State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 3-102, special appointment, temporary, contractual, supervisory, managerial and confidential employees are excluded from collective bargaining.  Additionally, certain executive branch agencies are exempt from collective bargaining and all positions in those agencies are excluded from collective bargaining.

This classification is one level in a Non-Competitive Promotion (NCP) series.  NCP promotions are promotions by which employees may advance in grade and class level from trainee to full performance levels in a classification series.  In order to be non-competitively promoted to the next level in a NCP series an employee must: 1) perform the main purpose of the class as defined in the Nature of Work section of the class specification; 2) receive the type of supervision defined in the class specification, and 3) meet the minimum qualifications of the classification.