JOB DESCRIPTION

Position: Case Manager-ILP Foster Care Program

Reports to: Executive Director

Status: Exempt

Location: Ypsilanti, Michigan

Purpose of Position:

Our House is a Washtenaw County nonprofit supporting teens and young adults, age 14-25, who have experienced foster care. We provide mentoring, education and employment guidance, and housing support for a population that is often overlooked and generally lacks the support of significant people in their lives to keep them anchored. Our goal is to surround them with the people and support they need to become successful, self-sufficient, and independent.

We are looking for an enthusiastic self-starter who shares our passion for helping teens and young adults who are preparing to transition from foster care to adulthood. The Case Manager and Our House team work together to ensure that the youth in our care are developing the skills for success in an environment that promotes a culture of kindness, inclusion, collaboration and respect.

Reporting to the Foster Care Director, candidates should possess strong organization, rapport building, writing, problem solving, critical thinking, crisis management skills, teambuilding and communication skills.

General Responsibilities:

The primary role of the case manager is to provide necessary and appropriate direct services and case management to the 8-10 transition aged youth in Our House’s ILP program. The case manager will be the primary support to teens who share a residence located in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

Our House’s ILP is a state licensed and contracted independent living plus program. Our House programming provides participants with 16 hours a day of staff support and access to all other youth services provided by Our House. Our House provides mentoring, life skills education, housing scholarships, emergency funding, interest free loans, health education, opportunities for community building and support from a team of genuinely kind and devoted staff. The OH ILP program provides housing and introduces 16-19 year old pregnant and/or parenting teens to the responsibilities and freedom of choices that come with adulthood. Our House programs focus on supporting the development of priority life skills in an environment that is warm, and welcoming. Duties will commonly require providing services during some evenings and weekends and availability to be “on call” for emergency support on assigned days.

List of actual responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Recruit, meet, screen, and recommend youth for participation in the Our House ILP program, communicating effectively to engage, excite, answer questions, and assess fit with agency programs and eligibility in collaboration with referring agency teams.
• Manage the process for onboarding new participants, regularly communicating status to the potential participant, and all other stakeholders.
• Coordinating and providing care that is safe, timely, effective, efficient, equitable, and client-centered
• Handling case assignments, draft service plans, review case progress and determine case closure.
• Facilitate and/or participate in "house meetings" to review house rules, plan activities or discuss other needs of the house/group.
• Provide feedback on participant needs or issues and facilitate follow-up with

participants.

• Maintain adequate awareness of participant activities to ensure the safety of the youth, other residents, visitors and the home are maintained. Report non-compliance with home rules to the Foster Care Director.
• Work closely with the Our House leadership team to identify, evaluate and propose solutions to program areas that need special attention. Assist in ensuring program and participants meet program operational goals.
• Support mentor goals with individual participants as needed and requested.
• Work with community partners when issues arise, reporting issues in a timely manner.
• Participate in determining mentoring matches by aligning volunteer interests and qualifications with those of the participants. Co-facilitate onboarding and match meetings, consulting with other service staff and/or supervisor as appropriate.
• Maintain relationships and ongoing communication about our services to agencies who refer youth to our organization to promote a positive working relationship.
• Coordinate and support the ILP Lifeskills programs, including contributing to engaging curriculum suggestions based on the needs of participants which promote the education and practice of life skills necessary to live independently.
• Co-develop Personal Development Plans and Individual Budgets with mentors and participants, promoting and monitoring goal achievement of mentees.
• Meet with each participant weekly and provide feedback on participant needs or issues and facilitate follow-up with participants and mentors.
• Monitor and support youth’s educational and employment needs in cooperation with schools, employers, job programs, and other resources.
• Co-facilitate quarterly check-in meetings with mentor pairs, providing feedback on mentee needs or issues and facilitating follow-up with participants.
• Provide emergency intervention to participants for situations needing immediate, additional support. This will include on-call duties.
• Conduct assessments on incoming youth and periodically, as required by MDHHS Licensure and Contract standards.
• Track youth activity participation (e.g. life skills, youth advisory board, rent payments, community service, goal completion, event attendance, mental health treatment plans, etc.), maximizing service utilization (e.g. ‘Mo Money, Emergency Funds, short term loans - if needed, & awareness, access support & utilization of community-based resources - e.g.bus passes).
• Ensure quality services and measurable outcomes, maintaining accurate and timely records and data collection for each participant according to specified standards and utilizing technology to report, synthesize and analyze data.
• Develop and maintain community partnerships with local area resources that youth participants can access for services not provided by Our House programs.
• Maintain up-to-date case files for all program participants and review all aspects of each case with ILP Success Coaches.
• Develop and implement safety planning.
• Assist in ensuring programs and participants meet program operational goals.
• Other duties as assigned by Supervisors.

Job Qualifications:

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in social work, counseling, psychology or similar human services field required.
• Professional training in social work, human services or positive youth development is desirable.

Experience

• Minimum of 1 year of experience in working with youth 14-25.
• Experience working with young adults who have experienced foster care is highly preferred.
• Experience in coaching, assessment, intake, and program development preferred.
• Demonstrated experience in positions of similar responsibility preferred.

Skills and Abilities

• Ability and willingness to display compassion and sensitivity to young adults.
• Ability to think strategically and work collaboratively to inspire, motivate, and focus internal and external team members to reach agreed upon goals.
• Ability to deal with a variety of circumstances; ability to recognize problems and respond and/or take appropriate action.
• Ability to work creatively and effectively as part of a team as well as independently with minimal supervision.
• Ability to effectively communicate with others on an interpersonal level.
• Ability to understand the cultural and socioeconomic characteristics of the young adults served.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality of participant’s information.
• Superior organizational and time management skills.

This position will be located in Ypsilanti, MI and may require you to work outside of normal work hours and on occasional weekends. As you will also travel to support youth services, you must have transportation, a valid driver’s license, and meet state required automobile insurance minimums. The compensation package includes an annual salary in the range of $40,000-$45,000, mileage reimbursement, health care stipends, a cell phone allowance, one hour of paid time for self-care each month, one paid holiday or professional development day each month, a supportive leadership team, a voice in program development and implementation, monthly supervision with the Foster Care supervisor, a warm and welcoming environment where we care about all members of our team. We also offer a paid training program with contract.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: From $40,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Cell phone reimbursement
• Flexible schedule
• Health savings account
• Mileage reimbursement
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance

Patient demographics:

• Adolescents
• Adults

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday
• Morning shift
• Nights as needed
• On call
• Weekends as needed

Experience:

• Child welfare: 1 year (Preferred)

License/Certification:

• Driver's License (Required)

Ability to Commute:

• Ypsilanti, MI 48197 (Required)

Ability to Relocate:

• Ypsilanti, MI 48197: Relocate before starting work (Required)

Work Location: In person