In Home Support Services Counselor

Parents by Choice is a growing agency with foster homes in San Joaquin, Stanislaus and the surrounding counties.

We are seeking a creative, enthusiastic and passionate social work professional for a position that is dedicated to improving the lives of children in foster care.

This position is full time - approximately 40 hours per week.

At Parents by Choice, you will find a supportive team environment, and full benefits.

Job Summary

The In home Support Services Counselor functions as an essential team member to the foster care program and leadership in providing quality and efficient support to the social worker and assistance services between bio parents, children and youth. The In Home Support Services Counselor will work closely with the Social Worker and the Social Worker Supervisor to support the growth and development by assisting, coordinating and documenting for the foster care program.

Qualifications

To qualify for the position of In Home Support Services Counselor, the person must have the following skills:

• Undergraduate degree in social services, psychology or related area, and/or equivalent work experience

• Some work experience in social services, working with severely emotionally disturbed children and their families

• Effective communication, both oral and written; bi-lingual skills in Spanish/English are preferred

• Ability to be flexible and work in a changing environment

• Sensitivity to the different cultures represented among the clients, partners and staff

• A basic understanding of age-appropriate behavior for children/adolescents

• Knowledge of emergency procedures of the Agency

• Ability to model positive behaviors and Agency values and work effectively as part of a team

• Strong problem-solving skills

• Current California driver’s license and a driving record acceptable to the Agency’s insurance carrier

• Health clearance from the candidate’s primary physician, including a TB test

• Fingerprint and Child Abuse Index clearance from DOJ

• Meets all state requirements as set by CCL pertaining to the hiring of employees by a Licensed Community Care Facility.

• Ability to work varied hours including evenings, nights and weekends and must be able to perform this job safely, without endangering the health or safety of him/herself or others

Duties

The In Home Support Services Counselor shall be responsible for, but not limited to, the following duties:

• Works as part of a professional treatment team, providing Trauma-Informed services and support to clients and families.

• Establishes rapport and working relationships with clients, staff and parents in order to effectively resolve issues identified in the treatment plan.

• Supports assigned clients’ participation in the current living environment.

• Translates treatment objectives into treatment techniques for implementation into the client’s program including behavioral contracts, audio/visual cues, and other positive ways for clients to express their feelings.

• Facilitates interactions between child and parent/caretaker(s) while also modeling appropriate coping skills to the children and parents/foster parents/staff.

• Provides structure for the client and role modeling for the parents/caretaker(s) to teach both the value of structure and planning.

• Demonstrates excellent childcare and crisis intervention skills.

• Follow all PbC and CDC guidelines for COVID-19 safety protocol measures before all in-person home visits to ensure health and safety to the family, foster children, and staff.

• Conduct and document weekly visits with Foster Parents and Foster Children. Keep adequate records of these visits on file in the agency’s case management system.

• Works with the Supervised Visitation program to facilitate visits between children and their biological families in a safe and professional manner.

• Follow all program guidelines in regards to supervised visitation, whether in supervised visitation or foster care.

• Conduct and document visits with biological parents and child. Follow the agency’s documentation guidelines for timeliness, accuracy and thoroughness.

• Staff to disinfect and clean visitation rooms after each supervised visit. Staff to fill out a cleaning log after each visit.

• Staff will be responsible to seek support from either Social Worker or Social Worker Supervisor in order to effectively perform supervised visit job duties and responsibilities.

• Accurately report incidents, issues and concerns to the Social Work Supervisor in a timely fashion.

• Documents all activities accurately and completely, in accordance with regulations and within requirements of Parents by Choice policies.

• Prepare Incident Reports and Complaints for submission to Social Work Supervisor.

• Reports any concerns to the appropriate team member with regard to client services and satisfaction.

• Maintains knowledge of program standards and policies as developed by Parents by Choice, Community Care Licensing and other governing bodies; develops personal and professional knowledge by attending educational workshops; reviewing professional publications; establishing personal networks; benchmarking state-of-the art practices; participating in in-service programs.

• Incorporates Agency philosophy and mission in all aspects of job description.

• Attend all agency staff meetings, trainings, summits and program collaborations.

• Perform additional duties as assigned by and in support of the Social Work Supervisor and Director of Foster Care.

• Receives feedback with commitment to on-going refinement and professional growth.

• Maintains confidentiality regarding children, families and operations of the agency.

• Exercises good judgment in the performance of duties and responsibilities.

• Establishes and maintains rapport and effective working relationships with child(ren) and families and to works effectively within the Agency and social work community at large.

• Contribute to the agency’s performance and quality improvement by identifying areas of improvement in service delivery and submitting recommendations for improvement.

• Contribute to improve outcomes and service delivery for all service recipients.

• Follow all PbC and CDC guidelines for safety protocol measures

• Act in compliance with Agency’s policy on communication—emergency and otherwise

• Accurately report incidents, issues and concerns to your supervisor in a timely fashion

• Complete own administrative paperwork (time sheets, mileage, time off requests,

expense reimbursements, etc.) on time

• Follow up and meet regularly with program members, as directed

• Represent Agency and self in a professional manner, maintain appropriate boundaries

with staff, clients and community representatives

• Perform additional duties as assigned by Supervisor in support of the program and staff

• Other duties as assigned

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $18.00 - $20.00 per hour

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Education:

• Bachelor's (Required)

Experience:

• Social services: 1 year (Required)

License/Certification:

• CADL (Required)

Work Location: In person

Salary : $18 - $20