State of Maryland

A Casework Specialist, Criminal Justice is the provisional level of pre-licensed professional social work providing clinical and therapeutic or forensic social work services in either a criminal justice or indigent defense environment.  Employees in this classification that work in a criminal justice environment provide clinical and therapeutic services to criminal justice environment clients who have demonstrated the need for rehabilitative intervention because of behavioral factors or personality disorders and co-existing mental health, health, substance abuse or other social adjustment factors.  Employees in this classification that work in an indigent defense environment provide forensic social work services, including mitigation to clients charged with crimes or delinquent offenses and create defense strategies with Assistant Public Defenders for the legal disposition of criminal or delinquent cases.  Employees in this classification do not supervise other positions.

Employees in this classification receive close supervision from a Social Work Supervisor, Criminal Justice.  Employees generally work in correctional or detention facilities, juvenile facilities, other criminal justice or juvenile services environments, or public defender offices.  Employees are frequently exposed to hazardous situations and must exercise vigilance and sound judgment when working with clients.  Employees in this class may be required to work evenings and weekends.

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 Casework Specialist, Criminal Justice is differentiated from the Social Worker I, Criminal Justice and Social Worker II, Criminal Justice in that the Casework Specialist, Criminal Justice is eligible for licensure  but is not licensed in the State of Maryland while the Social Worker I Criminal Justice and Social Worker II, Criminal Justice are licensed as Social Workers.  The Casework Specialist, Criminal Justice, Social Worker I, Criminal Justice and Social Worker II, Criminal Justice are also differentiated on the basis of the degree of supervisory control exercised by the supervisor over these employees.  The Casework Specialist, Criminal Justice performs duties under close supervision.  The Social Worker I, Criminal Justice performs duties under close supervision at times and under general supervision at other times depending upon the complexity of the specific duty being performed.  The Social Worker II, Criminal Justice performs the full range of duties and responsibilities under general supervision.

Applies social work values, principles and techniques to assist clients to confront their personality disorders including anti-social behaviors and any co- existing health, mental health, substance abuse or other social adjustment factors;

Provides individual therapeutic social work counseling, crisis intervention and on-going treatment to clients with chronic health or mental health conditions and other presenting social adjustment factors, such as substance abuse, physical or developmental disability or communicable disease;

Provides psycho-social assessments and remediation plans and makes treatment recommendations;

Completes required institutional or court reports and recommendations;

May conduct therapeutic group sessions with a cognitive behavioral theory base to remediate clients’ personality disorders, including anti-social behaviors;

May participate in multidisciplinary treatment teams;

May conduct support groups to address social and emotional issues of special concern to clients, such as grief, pregnancy, parenting skills and domestic violence;

May maintain special files related to confidential social work interactions with clients in a correctional facility;

May provide case management services and act as liaison to community organizations to develop and coordinate after-care plans for special needs clients scheduled for release from a correctional facility or transitional services for clients in various stages of the adjudication process;

May assist assistant public defenders with developing a defense strategy for clients charged with criminal or delinquent offenses;

May provide forensic social work services including mitigation to clients charged with criminal or delinquent offenses;

May provide expert testimony in court proceedings;

Performs other related duties.

Knowledge of principles, practices and ethics of professional social work;

Knowledge of diagnostic criteria and language used in medical and mental health records, reports and planning;

Knowledge of procedures and practices used in criminal justice environments to insure the safety and security of the public and the institution;

Knowledge of individual and group behavior;

Knowledge of community resources addressing the after care or transitional services needs of special clients in various stages of the adjudication process or scheduled for release from a correctional or detention facility;

Ability to provide group and individual therapeutic counseling to clients in a confidential setting;

Ability to identify and manage manipulative behavior;

Ability to work effectively with high-risk clients, such as clients on institutional segregation or defendants charged with a variety of offenses or crimes;

Ability to assist clients to develop a plan of service which allows for follow through;

Ability to prepare accurate, cogent reports;

Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with staff of criminal justice institutions, such as correctional or detention facilities and juvenile services staff, court personnel and representatives of other agencies and institutions, community organizations and public interest groups;

 Ability to testify in court proceedings.

Education:   Determined by the State Board of Social Work Examiners under the licensing requirements for Social Workers.

Experience: None.

1.  Employees are required to obtain a license as a Graduate Social Worker (on or before June 30, 2018), Master Social Worker (on or after July 1, 2018), Certified Social Worker or Certified Social Worker-Clinical from the State Board of Social Work Examiners by the end of two years of continuous employment with the hiring department. 

2. Employees in this classification may be assigned duties which require the operation of a motor vehicle.  Employees assigned such duties will be required to possess a motor vehicle operator’s license valid in the State of Maryland.  

1. Employees are required to meet mandatory standards for continuing education, as determined by the hiring department.   Employees who fail to obtain the required continuing education credits and one of the above licenses shall be subject to disciplinary action including demotion, suspension and dismissal.

2. Employees of the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services and the Department of Juvenile Services must complete an approved training program in group counseling techniques.

3. Employees of the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services and the Department of Juvenile Services may be required to complete the Level I Counseling course certified by the Maryland AIDS Professional Education Center.

4. Employees of the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services and the Department of Juvenile Services are required to qualify for and successfully complete the Entry Level Training Academy operated by the Police and Correctional Training Commissions.

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 as 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 Human Service Professionals classes.  As provided by the 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 level 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 by 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.