Description

SWAN Consultant (Independent Contractor)

Under the direction of the Permanency Leadership Team the SWAN Consultant is responsible for completing units of services referred through the Statewide Adoption and Permanency Network (SWAN). The SWAN Consultant provides comprehensive case management and advocacy to individuals and families pursuing permanency. The SWAN Consultant provides prospective permanency families with expert consultation and training with regards to the adoption/permanency process.

The SWAN Consultant assists in ensuring continuous program compliance with external licensing and regulatory agencies and assists the administrative staff in program development, implementation and evaluation. The SWAN Consultant is responsible for consistent outreach/communication with DHS/CUA/SWAN and consistent updates to associated benchmarks of all accepted SWAN services.

The SWAN Consultant carries a caseload of five or more SWAN units of service, which consist of a combination of all the services the worker is eligible to complete (i.e. – Child Profiles, Child Preparation, Family Profiles, and Adoption Finalization). The caseloads are developed based on the following criteria: the qualifications and competencies of the worker, the complexity and status of the case, services provided by other professionals, and/or other organizational responsibilities/client needs.

Child Profile

Child profiles are comprehensive summaries of a child’s life history. It provides detail from the child’s birth up into current history including medical information, placement history, birth family information, education, and current permanency goal. Child profiles are referred for children who have been in care for six months or longer and are available to youth after they turn 18 years.

Family Profile

A family profile which is also referred to as a home study is completed once a family has been identified as a permanency resource either through PLC (permanent legal custodianship) or adoption. A comprehensive history of the family is gathered and includes family history, employment history, background checks, character references, and information related to why the family wants to pursue permanency.

Adoption Finalization

Adoption finalization services are utilized by families who are in the last step of the adoption process. This service monitors the adoptive family and child until the adoption is finalized. The permanency worker completes monthly home visits and ensures that the adoption attorney is

selected and has all necessary documents. This service last up to six months but can be shorter or longer depending on the finalization date.

Child Preparation

Child preparation services helps the child process reasons that may have led to their placement in foster or kinship care and allows them to gather some of their family history, answers their questions, and brings closure to some areas of their life. This service can be referred multiple times, lasts six months and results with the child having a Lifebook.

Qualifications