Working for Child Protective Services

Work in the field of Public Child Welfare is rewarding and meaningful and is also demanding and challenging. Workers must be able to work with abused and neglected children as well as with those children's families. Additionally, workers testify in court proceedings, write legal reports to the courts, coordinate with multiple agency providers, and provide crisis intervention. The work hours are not always limited to 8 to 5 and workers in the rural districts are required to rotate performing on-call, after-hours duties.

We advise all applicants to the Stipend Program to explore whether a career in child welfare would be a good fit for them.  Listed below are several ways you can gain more information about the work of Child Protective Services. 

• View a Realistic Job Preview about working at CPS in AZ at:  https://egov.azdes.gov/cmsinternet/main.aspx?menu=154&id=4297
• Take a self-assessment which will allow you to reflect on how your personality characteristics fit with the demands of CPS work.  
• Review common Myths of Working at CPS  
• Review the role of a CPS Case Manager
• Review CPS job requirements and salary on their website at: http://www.azdes.gov/dcyf/cmdps/cps/job.asp
• Frequently asked questions about the stipend and scholarship programs and working for CPS:             FAQs
• To visit one of the Child Welfare Training Units and talk about CPS work with one of our staff or supervisors, please call Tonia Stott (BSW program) at 602-496-0077 or Becki Hornung (MSW program) at 602-496-0081 to arrange a visit.   

Stipend and Scholarship students will placed where the need is greatest at CPS.  This means that neither the job function or job location can be guaranteed in advance.  Historically, all students who have wanted to be employed in Maricopa County (CPS Distric I) or Pima County (CPS District II) and successfully passed the interview in that District have been able to secure employment in that District.  However, the specific office location within these Districts is usually not determined until after employees are hired.  While CPS will attempt to accomodate employees' geographic preferences, it is often the case that this is not possible.  You could live in Chandler and be assigned to an office in Glendale.  Workers can usually apply for lateral transfers to other offices  after they have been employed for one year.     

If you want to work in a specific rural office (e.g. Flagstaff, Prescott, Sierra Vista, Lake Havasu, etc.), there must be an opening in that office at the time of your graduation in order for you to apply to the office.

Your job function at the time of graduation will also be determined by the staffing needs at CPS.  Again, preferences will be considered, when possible, but whether you are assigned to be an investigative, on-going, or in-home worker will largely be determined by the needs of the agency and the community.  Again, workers can typcially apply for a lateral transfer to other units after they have been employed for one year.