Purpose

The Licensing Specialist is responsible for delivery and assisting families with licensing services to clients requiring foster care and/or adoption services, including therapeutic foster care. The Licensing Specialist is also responsible for associated program support, public relations, outreach, and recruitment.

Area of Responsibility

Licensing Services

• Complete foster home licensing and relicensing requirements for adoptive and foster/adoptive families
• Meet with prospective foster/adoptive families for orientation, licensing and re-licensing purposes
• Maintain complete and accurate records on all services provided, and submit accurate and thorough reports on a timely basis
• Prepare families for placement through TIPS-MAPP/Deciding Together preparation classes

Outreach and Recruitment

• Participate in outreach efforts, including media contacts, speakers' bureaus, working with volunteers and fundraising, advocacy, or public awareness events, and networking with other agencies regarding adoption issues
• Assist with recruitment activities for resource parents for special needs children, using professional and social contacts in the community, area churches and civic organizations, as well as public relations efforts to identify potential adoptive parents

General

• Enter data and required case documentation into client database (Echo/Binti) by the last day of the month and submit by the 5th of the following month to Program Supervisor
• Prepare for annual and follow-up audit visits from State Department of Social Services representative for agency re-licensing or from Managed Care Organizations (MCO's) for therapeutic foster care services, and other licensing or regulatory entities
• Participate in Continuous Quality Improvement process
• Participate in supervision with supervisor as required
• Collaborate with other staff in providing support services and planning social events for foster and adoptive families each year
• Provide social work assistance to other Permanency programs when deemed necessary by the supervising staff or agency
• Adhere to Social Work Code of Ethics or to the Code of Ethics appropriate to the applicable licensure/credentialing and comply with professional standards of the Child Welfare League
• Display sensitivity to the service population's cultural and socioeconomic characteristics
• Perform other duties related to agency and departmental goals and projects as needed

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in social work or related human services degree from an accredited college or university required, Master's degree in social work highly preferred
• 2-5 years' child welfare services experience required
• TIPS-MAPP/Deciding Together training and State Foster Care Licensing training preferred
• Frequent travel required
• Availability for occasional evening and weekend hours
• Maintain a valid North Carolina driver's license, adequate auto insurance, and have access to an operating vehicle in order to attend to CHS business