Job Details

Job Description

TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THIS POSITION YOU MUST APPLY THROUGH THIS LINK Careers - Childrens Hope

Children's Hope Residential Services, Inc.

Job Description

TITLE: Foster Care Specialist

REPORTS TO: Area Director

SUPERVISES: N/A

STATUS: Full-time, Salary

BASIC FUNCTION: Carries a caseload of up to 15 children. Provides placement oversight and

stability, conducts safety assessment home visits twice monthly, and ensures the treatment plan is

successfully followed leading to positive child outcomes. Recruitment, training, and ongoing

development of a caseload of up to 10 foster homes. Provides support services and ensures foster

family stability and satisfaction with agency services. Maintains compliance with all Children's

Hope policies, procedures, and requirements. Maintains compliance with all federal and state laws.

Maintains compliance with all agency regulatory guidelines.

Responsibilities/Tasks:

1. Meets with each client on caseload at a frequency outlined by the Area Director and

ensures that these interactions as well as other contacts regarding the case are

documented in the Case Note Log.

2. Completes all assigned paperwork, submitting for review to the Area Director prior to the

assigned deadline and making changes as requested.

3. Ability to learn and follow the relationship-based model and the Children's Hope

philosophy from the Area Director, and the ability to assist the Area Director in ensuring

the implementation of the philosophy in the client's care.

4. Evaluates the safety of the home for the client through use of safety assessments at a

frequency outlined by the Area Director.

5. Frequently audits and manages each client's chart and medical needs from the time of

admission until discharge and the closing of the client's chart.

6. Assists in the coverage of on-call duties as assigned.

7. Attends meetings regarding the client's care including ARDs, Service/Treatment Plan

staffings, court hearings, or any other type of meeting as outlined by the Area Director.

8. Reviews Service/Treatment Plans with the client prior to implementation, providing the

client a copy and obtaining their signature.

9. Maintains current First-Aid/CPR, S.A.M.A. Training, and Transportation Safety Training

as well as at least 20 hours a year of training related to job duties, or 30 hours if it is their

first year of employment and they did not have at least one year of child-placing

experience prior to employment.

10. Serves as the liaison between the agency and DFPS or other managing conservator as

well as to the School District, CASA, and other involved parties.

11. Notifies Managing Conservators of Serious Incidents, as well as any plans for travel 1AC

episodes, etc.

12. Helps to organize, plan, and facilitate holiday programs, special events, etc., for families

and clients.

13. Solicits donations and gifts for foster children, helps in acquisition.

14. Supervises client visits with relatives or other contacts approved by the managing

conservator as needed.

15. Reports immediately suspected child abuse or possible first outcries of past abuse of the

clients to the Area Director. If the Area Director is not immediately available, then the

Treatment Team Coordinator is responsible to share the information with the Area

Director.

16. Interacts with clients in the home and other settings, assisting Foster Parents with crisis

situations as needed.

17. Assists with medical appointments including psychotropic medication monitoring

appointments as needed.

18. Consults with Area Director, Foster Parents, and the Foster Family Specialist regarding

the needs of the clients, including medical needs.

19. Transports clients to outside appointments and events as needed

20. Holds a discharge planning meeting at least 30 days prior to the client's estimated

graduation from the program and completes a discharge plan and summary, maintaining a

copy for the client's chart and giving a copy to the managing conservator at discharge.

21. Completes all paperwork prior to the discharge meeting so the chart can be closed at the

time of that meeting and arranges for the client's change of address.

22. Ability to learn and follow the relationship-based model and the Children's Hope

philosophy from the Area Director and the Vice President of Foster Care, and the ability

to assist the Area Director in ensuring the implementation of the philosophy in the client's

care.

23. Ensures the development and growth of Foster Parents, providing support as needed for

their success and satisfaction with the agency.

24. Provides guidance and direction to Foster Parents in the implementation of a therapeutic

milieu environment for clients.

25. Maintains compliance with all Children's Hope policies, procedures and requirements.

Maintains compliance with all federal and state laws. Maintains compliance with all

agency regulatory guidelines and requirements.

26. Manages and submits expenses for self and foster parents.

27. Understands the rights and limitations of foster parents and advocates

accordingly/appropriately.

28. Frequently audits and manages foster family's home file in order to maintain compliance

with agency and state standards.

29. Requests documentation form DFPS, Therapists, Medical Providers, etc.

30. Seeks resources, referrals, etc., as needed in order to address specific needs of foster

family or client.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS, KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

NOTE: These requirements represent minimum levels in order to perform the job on a satisfactory basis.

Candidates must have the ability to satisfactorily perform the above responsibilities/tasks of the job.

1. Requires basic understanding of a comprehensive field of knowledge. Involves ability to

define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw conclusions dealing with abstract

variables. Knowledge normally associated with attainment of a Bachelor's degree with

applicable major. Bachelor's degree in related field required, some graduate work in

applicable area preferred.

2. At least one-year experience with children in a child-placing setting preferred, but not

required.

3. Ability to work under moderate supervision with awareness that error may have serious

consequences.

4. Exercises patience, tactfulness, initiative, judgment, and prudence in confidentiality

(following established guidelines as well as in being respectful of clients, other agencies,

and co-workers).

5. Personality attuned to the requirements of meeting needs of the employees and ability to

establish and maintain effective working relationships with other employees and the

public.

6. Must be at least age 21.

7. Ability to communicate orally and in writing, computer skills required

8. Ability to contain children per S.A.M.A.

9. Ability to drive assigned vehicle(s), with appropriate state license, following all laws

applicable, must be eligible to be insures under Children's Hope insurance policy.

10. Ability to recognize differences in sound, such as voices/noises that are loud and playful

instead of angry and combative; and ability to differentiate tones and volumes in

conversations.

11. Ability to observe and make accurate assessments of situations.

12. Ability to work with frequent interruptions and in stressful situations; ability to respond

in crisis situations.

13. Sufficient good health to properly discharge duties. Employees shall not be permitted to

work who have infectious disease or skin lesions, for the duration of communicability.

14. Work deals mostly with the areas such as preparing and reading data and figures, client

records, reports, visual inspection involving small details. Visual work is primarily close

to the observer. Depth perception and field of vision (peripheral) are not as critical as the

ability to distinguish small details and markings very near the observer.

15. Ability to use up to 100 pounds of force occasionally and/or up to a small amount of

force frequently or continuously to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects,

including people. Work can be done while sitting most of the time. Walking and standing

are required occasionally.

16. Ability to be on-call as assigned.

NOTE: Children's Hope Residential Services complies with all the employment provision of the

American's with Disabilities Act.

The purpose of Children's Hope job descriptions is to describe the basic function, major

responsibilities/tasks, and the essential functions of each job so that employees can better know what is

expected of them. The descriptions also provide information useful for recruiting, training, and

performance appraisal. This document does not create an employment contract, nor does it modify the atwill employment status of all employees.

A job description is not meant to inhibit employee creativity or innovation. The description will be

revised as responsibilities change materially.

[ML] [AB] 10/01/2018

TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THIS POSITION YOU MUST APPLY THROUGH THIS LINK Careers - Childrens Hope