DCFS Hiring Fair for Orleans-Area Child Welfare Positions Scheduled for Friday

BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services is holding a hiring fair this Friday in Kenner for open positions in its Child Welfare Division in the Orleans and Thibodaux regions.

The hiring fair, which DCFS is operating in partnership with the Division of Administration, State Civil Service and Louisiana Workforce Commission, is designed to expedite the hiring process by providing an opportunity for qualified candidates to interview and clear many pre-hiring screenings on-site.

The fair will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, New Orleans Airport, 2150 Veterans Memorial Blvd. Open positions include:

• Child Welfare Specialist Trainee 1-3 - case-carrying positions in Child Protective Services, Family Services and Foster Care
• Child Welfare Team Specialist - non-case-carrying positions, assisting caseworkers

Any social work or related experience/education is welcome. Previous candidates are encouraged to re-apply.

Applicants should:

• Bring photo ID and 2 references, and wear professional attire.
• Be prepared for interview, drug screen, background check and fingerprinting.

To register for the hiring fair and apply for an open position, visit www.dcfs.la.gov/page/dcfs-hiring-fair-new-orleans-thibodaux-regions. 

Fulfilling the department's staffing needs will take time and will be an ongoing effort as some current staff retire or resign to pursue other positions. Training new Child Welfare staff takes a minimum of three weeks, and new caseworkers carry a reduced caseload for up to six months.

Since July, new hires across the department have outpaced separations, driven primarily by the 11 hiring fairs DCFS has held around the state since the Fall. The department currently has 303 available positions, including 105 in Child Welfare.

While DCFS has continued to experience turnover, its strategic focus on hiring and improving the hiring process itself, coupled with a renewed dedication to improving the employee experience, has attracted hundreds of successful applicants, with more still in the process from the most recent hiring events.

The department has made offers to 558 hiring fair applicants. So far, 205 have finished all clearances and accepted a final offer of employment with the department, with 175 of them having already begun paid training. About 44% of applicants accepting a final offer are assigned to Child Welfare positions.

For more information about joining the DCFS team and a link to current openings throughout the department, visit the DCFS Careers page at www.dcfs.la.gov/careers.

About DCFS

The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services is the state agency responsible for providing services to families in crisis and in times of financial need. DCFS works to keep children safe, helps individuals and families become self-sufficient and provides refuge during disasters. The department's Child Welfare Division is responsible for Child Protection Investigations, Family Services, Foster Care and Adoption Services. The DCFS Division of Family Support is responsible for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP (formerly known as Food Stamps); Child Support Enforcement; Workforce Development; Disability Determination Services; and federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds (TANF). The DCFS Division of Emergency Preparedness and Response is responsible for leading Louisiana's Emergency Operations Plan Emergency Support Function 6 (ESF-6) and Recovery Support Function 3 (RSF-3), which require a constant state of readiness in order to support evacuation, response and recovery related to any type of disaster, including evacuation, sheltering, emergency food assistance and human services.