Social Worker/Case Worker - Family & Children Services - Foster Care

Purpose of Position The Health and Human Services Department is currently recruiting for a Social Worker / Case Worker - Family & Children Services - Foster Care to join their team. This position will remain open until filled. Interested applicants are strongly encouraged to apply early as the posting may be closed once a satisfactory candidate pool is identified.

The purpose of this classification is to provide professional level duties and manage alternate care, kinship and licensing for the children and families unit, according to applicable policies, regulations and statutes. The work is performed in accordance with applicable rules, regulations and laws under the supervision of the Family and Children's Services Supervisor. Foster care is home-like care provided by licensed foster parents for children who cannot live with their parents because they are unsafe, have special care or treatment needs that their parents are unable to manage, or other circumstances resulting in their parents or family being unable to care for them.

Kinship Care is a program to help support a child who lives outside of his or her home with the relative or like-kin. The child may be living temporarily or for the long term with at this home. Kinship care helps a family support a child in the home of a relative or like-kin that might be under stress or when the child has experienced abuse or neglect.

With this support, placing a child in a foster home or another out-of-home care setting may be avoided. For children in the child welfare system who cannot continue living at home with his or her parents, Kinship Care may be another placement option. Essential Functions To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential function satisfactorily and in a timely manner.

The following duties are normal for this position. These are not to be construed as exclusive or all inclusive. Other duties may be required or assigned.

Focus Essential Function: Ensure compliance with DCF Administrative Code 56 - including, but not limited to recruitment, licensing, and supporting local foster parents. Determine relative eligibility for kinship care benefits. Maintain eligibility documentation, case records, and conduct home visit.

Foster Care Coordinator licenses' relatives and non-relatives as foster homes Identifies additional supportive training for foster home/s to offer Identifies child specific placement specialized training to offer Develops high level foster homes in community Develop long-range plan for level 5 foster home in region Assists with subsidized guardianships through DCF Administrative Code 55. Provides Kinship Care services to families and like-kin who voluntarily support a child(ren) in their home. Works collaboratively with other Departments and external provider, being reliable, ethical, effective, and efficient.

Assists families in obtaining necessary requirements set forth by DCF Administrative Code 58. Licensing and re-licensing of all kinship and foster homes. Provides placement consultation and support to staff when an out of home placement is needed.

Responsible for the recruitment of receiving homes, respite homes, and county licensed foster homes. Provides necessary support and training to regular foster homes as required by State statute, State policy, and County policy. Monitors training of homes to maintain compliance and develops corrective action plans when necessary.

Requests director review when necessary and attends rehabilitative hearings. Coordinates and processes respite care requests for children in foster care and other respite requests where a foster home is used as a respite provider. Meets with all County licensed foster homes on a quarterly basis.

Coordinates and facilitates events for foster and kinship families, seeks grants for supportive activites. Completes on-time background checks and uploads documentation. Utilize Structured Analysis Family Evaluation home study methodology and in compliance with DCF 56.

Develops, provides or arranges for required foster parent training in accordance with DCF 56. Assist in developing and maintaining foster care manual, policies and procedures. Conduct screenings for step-parent adoptions and prepare reports and recommendations to the court.

Other Essential Functions: Provide after hours intake duties after hours on a rotating basis in compliance with WI Statute 48.067 and 938.067. Provides support to kinship and foster homes to maintain youth in placement. Completes and applies relevant DCF training required to function as an intake worker and participate in the unit's on-call rotation

Exercise powers and perform intake duties under WI stats. 48.067 and 938.067. Provides intake services to individuals for the purpose of screening children taken into custody and not released under s

48.20 and 938.20. Interviews children taken into custody and other parties as supported by the Lead Worker and FCS Supervisor on-call. Determines whether children continue to be held in custody under s

48.205 and s.938.205 and in accordance with juvenile court policies and with supervisory approval. Determines location of where child will be held under ch. 48 and 938, when on- call

Takes juveniles and children into custody under WI statute 48.19, 48.193, 48.195 and 938.19, 938.355(6d) with supervisory approval. Meets with families in their homes, and public locations to provide assessments, supervision and ongoing services. Teaches families about available community resources and how to independently gain access to needed services

Provides leadership to achieve active involvement and participation of the child, family, schools, mental health providers, and other community resources in resolving problems. Coordinates families' access to services, monitors services to ensure services are provided timely and meeting family/child's needs, evaluates progress and terminates services when goals are met. Meet with child and families in their homes to monitor progress.

Works to achieve services and treatment objectives without duplication of effort and with maximum effective use of staff time and available resources. Maintains a complete record for all assigned cases; completes required written assessments and plans, court reports, client progress, and other related paperwork as required by statute, DCF and agency policy. Documents contacts and services, maintains files and data for reporting purposes, and prepares collateral dictation and other records and reports.

Assess and arranges needed safety services, out-home placements and other services. Provides and monitor services to foster parents. Assess out of home placements to determine if safe placement for child/youth.

Provide ongoing face to face contacts to out of home care providers and child. Conduct Independent Living Skills assessment and arrange or provide appropriate services for eligible youth in out of home care. Advocate on behalf of clients and provide leadership role in client and service staff meetings.

Participates in developing and delivering programs and services for families. Promote inter-agency cooperation between Trempealeau County Department of Health and Human Services and area law enforcement agencies, hospitals and collateral agencies. Maintain working knowledge of human services program policies and laws and case management and reporting requirements.

Attend and participate in training and professional development. Develops professional knowledge and skills by attending training events, conferences, and workshops. Participate in staff meetings, supervision times, and other regularly scheduled meetings.

Participate in collaborative efforts internally and outside of the agency. Performs other duties as assigned. Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Ability to analyze data information using established criteria, in order to determine consequences and to identify and select alternatives.

Ability to compare, count, differentiate, measure, copy, record and transcribe data and information. Ability to classify, compute, tabulate, and categorize data. Ability to utilize a variety of advisory data and information such as police reports, mental health assessments, criminal histories, referrals, a variety of forms, court documents/records, investigation reports, contact logs, client assessment reports, court schedules, service plans, court petitions, computer software operating manuals, statutes, procedures, guidelines and non-routine correspondence.

Ability to communicate orally and in writing with clients, juvenile offenders, family members, foster parents, law enforcement, other social service agencies, attorneys, Judges, Probation and Parole Personnel, state agency personnel, medical care providers, service providers and mental health professionals. Ability to communicate with clients with language barriers. Ability to communicate to diffuse escalating conversations and provide self-protection, communicate orally to elicit change in client behavior.

Ability to work in high stress, high demand situations and environments. Ability to add and subtract, multiply and divide and calculate percentages, fractions, and decimals. Ability to interpret basic descriptive statistical reports.

Judgment and Situational Reasoning Ability Ability to use functional reasoning in performing influence functions, such as supervising, managing, leading, teaching, directing and controlling, problem solving and reasoning. Ability to exercise the judgment, decisiveness and creativity required in situations involving the evaluation of information against sensory and/or judgmental criteria, as opposed to criteria which are clearly measurable. Training, Experience and Other Requirements Bachelor's Degree in Social Work, Human Services, or related field, two years case management experience preferred, or any combination of education and experience that provides equivalent knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Experience in developing community alternatives for children and adults with disabilities and knowledge of Long Term Care, Behavioral Health and other related programs preferred. Valid motor vehicle operator's license and/or available means of transportation required. Social Workers are required to maintain their Wisconsin Social Work licensure or certification, to remain in the Social Worker position.

Case Workers may obtain their Wisconsin Social Work licensure or certification and be eligible to advance to a Social Worker position.

Salary : $54,870 - $67,912