After-Hours Child Welfare Response Specialist

At Wellpoint Care Network, our mission is to facilitate equity, learning, healing, and wellness by restoring the connections that help children and families thrive.Every person deserves the opportunity to reach their fullest potential. It’s part of human nature, and the promise of our country, that everyone be given a fair chance to be and do their best. Yet, many in our community live with unresolved childhood and generational trauma. That’s where we come in. We believe we can create a world where children and families have a clearer path to their fullest potential. Wellpoint Care Network has championed the restoration of families for nearly 175 years.Job Purpose: Our next After-Hours Child Welfare Response Specialist will be responsible for community and/or home crisis intervention and support to children and families to ensure safety, stability, and well-being. The After-Hours Child Welfare Response Specialist will also be required to answer the Wellpoint Care Network placement line and work collaboratively with the After-Hours Supervisor to make appropriate placement matches for both current and new ongoing cases to Wellpoint Care Network.Qualifications: For case managers:Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work (BSW) from an accredited program or a related field with at least 15 hours in the social sciences. It is preferred that BSWs are certified by the state of Wisconsin as a Social Worker within 18 months of hire.It is preferred that Non BSWs complete approved training program within 24 months of hire and State certification by 36 months of hire. For advanced level case managers:Master’s Degree in Social Work (MSW) and 1 year Case Management experience working with families from varied backgrounds, or:1 year of graduate work in an accredited graduate school of Social Work or its equivalent and at least 2 years supervised experience in family or child welfare, College graduation and at least 3 years of supervised experience in family and child welfare with 12 graduate credits in Social Work plus approved in service training.It is preferred that MSW applicants are licensed by the state of Wisconsin as a Certified Advanced Practice Social Worker within 18 months of hire.Crisis intervention experience. Case Management, Foster Care Licensing, and/or Adoption experience required. Experience working with families of varied backgrounds is strongly preferred. Basic computer skills required. eWiSACWIS experience preferred. Bilingual (English/Spanish) strongly preferred. Proficient in the usage of computer software; demonstrate an understanding of computer file systems and computer software packages, e.g., Microsoft Office, Excel, Outlook, Teams, ADP, etc.Physical exam, drug screen, motor vehicle report, and background checks are required for this position.A valid Wisconsin Driver’s License or occupational driver’s license, reliable transportation and insurance is required.Duties: Safety • Consistently monitors the safety of children as the priority of all work and is able to assess for present and impending dangers, and the general safety of children in a variety of environments and articulate findings to others.•Assess the safety of children and mitigate risk for children and families during after-hours response(s). •Assesses safety in a foster home, relative, or non-relative home at the time of placement and/or respite stay. •Completes reconfirming of safe environments following notification of out-of-home placement safety concerns.•Documents safety decision making, crisis plans, and face to face contacts in eWisacWis.•Report and act, as needed for Rapid Response and Incident Reporting.After-Hours Placement• Responsible for providing after-office hours placement coverage on a weekly rotating basis during all non-office hour days, including weekends and agency holidays. •Oversees all after-hour placement requests when on duty and the placement matching processes to ensure children in need of out-of-home care are matched with the best placement option that will meet the individual needs of each child. •Ensure all responses to the PSG Placement Unit occur within 60 minutes 100% of the time. •Ensure that all calls to the placement line are answered immediately. All calls/messages are returned within 15 minutes. •Actively collaborate with intake, initial assessment, licensing, and case managers to determine the best placement match that meets the needs of the child including exploring sibling and relative placement options. •Actively assess and gather all known information about children in need of out-of-home care in order to determine the most appropriate level of care for the child and to determine the most appropriate placement match. Share all known information with prospective placement resources prior to placement. •Advocate for placement stability whenever safe and appropriate. •Required daily communication with placement liaisons during on-call weeks to communicate on call activities and any potential follow up communication to ongoing supervisor, case manager, placement liaison, licensing specialist.Placement Stability • Provide support and resources to ensure stability in all placement settings to prevent placement disruption and prevent entry/re-entry of children into out-of-home care.•Develops both formal and informal in-home safety plans to minimize transitions and support family and placement stability•Support for youth participating in the supervised independent living program outside of regular business hours.Well-being • Facilitates client access to community resources, makes appropriate referrals, and reinforces long term community connections for family stability.•Identify and provide referrals to appropriate community and insurance network providers, authorize network services or non-network providers.Documentation• Provides accurate and professional documentation in all case notes, summaries, assessments, and paperwork within 24 hours of the corresponding actions.•Documentation clearly reflects Ongoing Standards and comprehensive details by using concepts, strengths, needs, and strategies. •Provides structured communication at the end of each after hours shift to daytime staff.Agency Representation• Effectively works as a member of the Child Welfare team and other teams while always providing customer friendly service. •Maintains good working relationships with external stakeholders. •Takes initiative, acts quickly and independently when the situation demands it; sees a need and takes appropriate action without being prompted or reminded; demonstrates ability to effectively deal with crisis situations.•Arrives to crisis situations promptly (within 30 minutes of notification, or other agreed upon time).Teamwork • Regularly collaborates with child welfare and foster care colleagues to best meet the needs of children and foster families. •Ensure effective collaboration with first shift case management and placement teams through comprehensive communication and partnering.•Partnering with initial assessment, and other agency/community stakeholders.•Program reporting, data keeping, and other required actions to meet state, DMCPS/contract expectations.•Other duties as assigned, while serving in a support role for program requirements. Examples include but are not limited to: Relative search (Act 79) and searching and helping locate youth missing from care.Agency Engagement • All employees will be evaluated on their demonstration of a consistent commitment to the Agency’s Seven Essential Ingredients, Inclusion & Belonging, and engagement in the strategic initiatives of the organization. This will be measured by their active participation in committees and workgroups, and by their communication and practice within their daily work and in the community.• Participates in assigned meetings, events, and learning as required.•Other duties as assigned, including serving in a coverage role for other department membersPosition Details & Extras:Hybrid on-site/remote work is available with reliable broadband connection.Involved with students, personnel, family members, visitors, volunteers, interns, government agencies, etc., under all conditions and circumstances.Moderate exposure to noise.Ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously.Ability to work under demanding conditions.Good memory and recall are necessary for the accurate and timely transfer of data/information.Ability to assess potential foster families to determine their ability to care for foster children. Strong internal and external verbal and written communication skills. Negotiation, problem solving and decision-making skills. Organization and time management skills. Must be honest, dependable, and able to meet deadlines; Self-motivated and able to work independently.Regular travel in personal vehicles is required with the ability to move intermittently throughout the workday.Organizational Information: At Wellpoint Care Network, we have seen exactly how trauma, poverty, systemic racism, social injustices, and other barriers create instability in all areas of life. The people in our care face education and health disparities, high unemployment rates, and unaffordable housing. What’s worse, many have lost connections to resources, family, friends, and other support systems. We have seen the toll it has on a person’s physical, emotional, and financial well-being to try and successfully navigate complex systems that may have failed them in the past.We believe there is a better way. So, we have anchored ourselves in our 170 years of caring for our neighbors through modernized human services.Wellpoint Care Network provides a rich continuum of services, including:• Child Welfare and Foster Care • Support for youth who have aged out of care• Care Coordination and Wraparound services • Mental health therapy and supports such as our Clinic, Family Preservation, Caregiver Support, and Integrated Community Treatment• Professional education and clinical consultation (for organizations, schools, and individual/family) Wellpoint Care also works to promote a diverse and caregiving environment to ensure that those we serve and employ are valued, accepted, respected, and treated equitably.• Equity means we work tirelessly toward fair and just treatment, systems, and policies. At Wellpoint Care Network, we believe that we are accountable – individually and collectively – when inequity or injustice replaces equity and inclusion. • Inclusivity means that we consciously build groups that welcome and celebrate differences in age, race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, gender expression, education, socio-economic background, personal history, geographical location, marital status, parental status, and work experiences. Interested parties please apply online. We are committed to enhancing diversity, equity and inclusion and strongly encourage minority candidates to apply. For more information, visit our website www.wellpointcare.org.Equal Opportunity Employer