Social Worker II - Foster Home Licensing

Description

This position is responsible for recruitment, training, and licensing of foster and adoptive families as well as locating potential placements for children currently in the care of county. The worker visits each licensed family at least quarterly and completes annual relicensing documentation. The worker is also responsible for assisting foster families with coping and adjusting to day-to-day issues involving the children placed in their homes. The worker also works closely with the foster parents on any issue that is identified related to the care provided to children placed with them. Foster parents are required to have 10 hours of continuing education annually. The worker provides, arranges and assists the foster families with meeting this requirement.
The worker in this position is one of two licensing/placement social workers for the agency. Duties include recruiting, training, licensing and providing ongoing services to licensed foster families. Also, many potential adoptive families start out as foster care providers. They must also be licensed as foster families in order to accept placement of children who might not yet be free for adoption.

Placement activities include communicating and collaborating with individuals, agencies and providers, obtaining and sending out documents to locate appropriate foster home placement for children in care.

Recruitment activities include speaking to individuals and groups, participating in community informational fairs, developing written materials to use in the recruitment process, and sending out written material to interested parties.

Training includes becoming a certified MAPP/GPS trainer. The worker must go through this specific training provided by the Division of Social Services. After the worker becomes a certified trainer, then he/she will provide MAPP/GPS training to foster and adoptive applicants. The agency holds MAPP/GPS training twice a year. MAPP/GPS training lasts a total of 10 weeks. Each session is three hours in length and is held at night. At present, the agency is contracting with two individuals not on staff to provide MAPP/GPS training. DSS staff members are still present during the training to answer questions and provide guidance to the trainers. This duty is rotated among the unit members. However, if funds are not available to contract with private individuals to do the training, the DSS staff is responsible for conducting the training. The members of the unit rotate this responsibility.

After the training is completed, applicants who are interested in proceeding with the licensing process are assigned to the two licensing workers. Over a period of about three months, the licensing worker works closely with each family to gather all the required information needed. This includes making numerous home visits to ensure that minimum requirements are met (bedroom size, sleeping arrangements, references checked, fingerprint verifications etc.).

After the initial licenses are issued, the worker gives support services to the foster families by telephone, office visits, and quarterly home visits during the year. Relicensing is required every 2 years. The worker again completes required documentation to confirm that the home still meets the licensing requirements. The worker also ensures that the foster parents have completed the annual requirement for continuing education.

In addition to licensing, relicensing and training activities performed by the worker, he/she is also responsible for providing counseling to foster parents. Children who enter the foster care system are often very troubled having come from homes where severe abuse, neglect, domestic violence, and substance abuse occurred. They often have not lived in any type of structured environment and have few social skills. These children have difficulties in school with both academics and behavior and most require regular, ongoing mental health therapy. Many children have difficulty adapting to life in a foster home where everything is new, different, and scary to them. Foster parents who provide care for these children need specific parenting education and must learn how to manage and cope with children with multiple difficulties. Foster parenting can put a strain on marriages, relationships between parents and their biological children, and between families and their neighbors and communities. The licensing worker is there to help foster families cope with these special circumstances and to offer them assistance and support.

The worker is responsible for investigating complaints about a foster home that do not involve allegations of abuse or neglect. The worker interviews the children and foster parents to determine the reason for the complaint. If a licensing rule has been violated, the worker provides information and support to the foster parents to correct the problem. If a complaint is made on foster home that does involve allegations of abuse or neglect, a Child Protective Services social worker conducts that investigation. The licensing worker assists the CPS worker by providing information about the family and the children placed in that home. Because these situations are considered to be conflicts of interest for the agency, another county DSS completes the investigation and makes the case decision. If licensing concerns are identified in these investigations, the licensing worker would be responsible for following up on these and assisting the foster family with making any needed changes or improvements.

If a foster home is substantiated for abuse or neglect, they can no longer be licensed. It would be the responsibility of the licensing worker to explain this rule to the foster parents and to complete the paperwork to terminate the license and to assist the foster care worker in relocating the children in that home.

The worker maintains a list of currently licensed foster homes. This listing details licensed capacity of each home and that foster family’s preferences regarding ages and gender of children for which they can provide care. When children must be placed in foster care, the licensing worker assists the CPS or Foster Care worker with finding the most appropriate placement. Since it is better for children of all ages to live in family foster care, the workers do all in their power to find an appropriate placement among our licensed foster homes. The licensing workers also are knowledgeable about group home placements in the surrounding counties and the process for seeking admission into these facilities.

The worker manages and maintains a caseload of about 25 homes. There are about 45-50 licensed foster homes at any given time.

Minimum Education and Experience

Bachelor's degree in social work from an appropriately accredited institution; bachelor's degree in a human services field from an appropriately accredited institution and one year of directly related experience; bachelor's degree from an appropriately accredited institution and two years directly related experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.