What are the powers and duties of a social services director?

A social services director has powers and duties that come from multiple sources of law, but they can be categorized as either general administrative duties or specific programmatic duties.

General administrative duties: The social services director administers programs and funds under the direction of the state Department of Health and Human Services and the county board of social services. The director has the authority to employ and dismiss department staff, but the employment decisions of a director of a consolidated human services agency must be approved by the county manager. The director provides overall leadership for the department and serves as the executive officer and secretary of the board of social services.

Specific programmatic duties:  In addition to the general duties related to administering programs and funds, the director is assigned specific programmatic duties in various areas such as assessment of and response to reports of child abuse and neglect, supervision of foster care placements and adoptions, response to reports of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of disabled adults, licensure and monitoring of adult care homes, and issuance of youth employment certificates.  This list is not exhaustive.