Overview

Job Title: Foster Care Specialist Supervisor

Department: Foster Care

Manager: Director of Foster Care

Schedule: Full Time

Compensation: Salary / Exempt

Job Summary: The Foster Care Specialist Supervisor is responsible for the direct oversight and management of the Damar Foster Care Specialists functions.

Responsibilities

• Supervises all components, requirements, and duties of the Foster Care Specialist role, including, but not limited to, treatment planning, assessing child progress and needs, monthly status reporting, and supporting foster families and referral sources.• Conducts individual supervision with Foster Care Specialists to provide professional development, to assess case issues, needs, and updates, to provide clinical guidance, to assist with locating resources, and to maintain general understanding of all children served by the agency at any given time.• Reviews, approves, and signs off on all monthly status reports, treatment plans, Independent Living plans, discharge summaries, incident reports, etc. before submitting them to referral sources.• Reviews, signs and uploads monthly status reports to KidTraks by the 10th of each month.• Uploads monthly status reports to NYTD in KidTraks for youth sixteen and older.• Completes daily tracking of child files and case needs through the agency’s EHR, including providing advisement to Foster Care Specialists as needs approach.• Reviews child files on a consistent schedule. • Maintains a case load, as needed.• Works in conjunction with all agency staff to verify the support needs of Foster Care Specialists, children in care, the agency’s foster families, referral sources, and community partners are comprehensively being addressed and met.• Attends court hearings, team meetings, and provider meetings, as needed.• Assists the program and staff in meeting industry trends and optimizing service to meet desired outcomes.• Oversees caseload assignment of youth.• Provides case coverage for Foster Care Specialists, including conducting face-to-face contacts with youth and foster parents per contractual requirements based on the child’s level of care.• Ensures face-to-face and phone contact requirements are being met for all foster families and children in care; audits contact checks in the EHR.• Provides support and assistance to foster families and children in crisis situations; is available 24/7 by phone for emergency situations.• Attends face-to-face contacts with Foster Care Specialists periodically to ensure meaningful contacts are being made, contractual obligations are being met, to gain a better understanding of further development and growth opportunities for Foster Care Specialists and to help cultivate a good working relationship with foster parents.• Assists with providing RAPT pre-service training, as well as ongoing foster parent training sessions, as needed.  • Serves as a liaison for the agency and Foster Care Specialists with the agency’s foster family homes, referral sources and community partners.• Attends community events as an agency representative.• Assists with and attends agency events.• Ensures therapeutically sound service and care is being provided to children placed in the agency’s foster family homes.• Demonstrates an understanding of working with high acuity youth and provides clinical oversight and supervision for staff and foster families working with high acuity youth.• Participates in the on-call after-hour referrals phone rotation and responds to referrals within 1 hour.• Assists with the child placement process (including intake packet, requests for information and documentation, creation of child file, etc.) once determined a child will be placed with one of the agency’s foster family homes.• Assists with providing childcare during foster parent ongoing training sessions.• Takes pride and ownership in Damar’s facilities and assigned work areas.• Ensures that the agency meets its quality improvement, evaluation and reporting requirements.• Actively participates in and/or oversees data collection and the use of data to improve outcomes, practices and service delivery.• Utilizes data collection in relation to driving and tracking outcomes and achieving agency initiatives and goals.• Acts as a good steward of Damar and/or client finances.• Prioritizes duties in a manner consistent with organizational objectives and growth.• Provides quality assurance oversight including verifying child files align with state standards and placement requirements of the agency at met. • Assists in the development and/or implementation of policies, procedures and standards, and verifying policies, procedures and standards of care of children are met by the agency and the agency’s foster family homes at all times.• Assists Foster Care Specialists in verifying foster family homes with children in care meet full licensing compliance standards.• Assists with conducting SAFE foster home assessments and completing the home study process, as needed and as certified.  • Assists with completing foster home Annual Review, and other licensing requirements, as needed.    • Attends mandatory staff meetings, Leadership Team Meeting and other meetings as assigned, including DCS meetings and training pertaining to LCPA policies, procedures and requirements.• Will adhere to all policies and procedures as defined in the Employee Handbook and Damar Operational Policies and Procedures Manual.• Completes and updates mandatory training and other licensure related items in a timely manner.• Maintains documentation that is accurate and legible.• Completes incident reports, including reporting any suspected exploitation, abuse, or neglect of a client.• Reviews and approves incident reports, sends completed incident reports to the assigned DCS Family Case Manager and uploads documentation to the agency’s EHR.• Seeks the best use of materials, equipment and staff to maximize efficiency and effectiveness.• Assists with reviewing referrals and coordinating appropriate placement options for children.• Shows initiative by identifying solutions to work towards improving stakeholder satisfaction.• Respects the culture, diversity and rights of all clients, their families and the community.• Performs other duties as assigned.  

 

Qualifications

Education: Master’s degree in social work, psychology, counseling, or related field required.

 

Experience:

• Minimum of 2 years of paid casework experience in therapeutic foster care case management, with comprehensive understanding of Indiana’s foster care system.• Minimum of 1 year prior supervisory and/or managerial experience required.• Minimum of 1 year prior experience in facilitating classroom training is preferred. Experience training Indiana DCS RAPT training curriculum desired, including certification as a RAPT trainer of trainers preferred.

 

 

Equipment Familiarity: Proficiency with MS Office applications including: Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint.

 

Certifications, Licenses or Special Training:

• Minimum age of 21 per licensure requirements.• Ability to pass and maintain Critical Moments Training (CMT) Certification.• Ability to pass and maintain CPR Certification.• Certified to conduct CPR and First Aid training desired.• Certified to conduct and complete SAFE assessments and home studies preferred. Certified to supervise completion of SAFE home studies desired.  • Licensure or license eligibility preferred.• Must meet and maintain background screening requirements for all Damar Programs as detailed in policy 1.HR.02 Pre-Employment and Employee Background Checks. • Valid Indiana driver’s license and driving record that meets eligibility requirements of Damar’s insurance carrier (for all positions requiring driving). • Successful completion of pre-employment physical required.  

 

 

Abilities:

• Ability to work some evenings and weekends required. On-call 24/7 as required for emergency needs.• Ability to follow and execute specific verbal and written instructions. • Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, in a timely and responsive manner. • Ability to promote and maintain positive interactions with all internal and external stakeholders. • Ability to convey enthusiasm, motivation and compassion to foster families and employees. • Ability to work independently and be self-motivated. • Ability to be organized and manage and prioritize multiple assignments. • Ability to work under pressure and adjust to a diverse working environment. • Ability to maintain the confidentiality of highly sensitive and confidential information, as well as sensitive situations.