Specialized Services Child Welfare Specialist

Overview

JOB TITLE: Specialized Services Child Welfare Specialist (S-CWS)
REPORTS TO: Specialized Services Program Manager
STATUS: Full Time, Exempt
Benefits:  to view LCFS’ Full-Time Employee Benefits.
Salary Range: $52,416 - $57,416
OFFICE

LOCATION:

The office location will be based on the office nearest to the candidate’s residency. Travel is required across the 102 IL counties of which cases are assigned. This is generally in the county where the office is located and the surrounding counties for work related responsibilities. Opportunities currently available in O Fallon and Mt. Vernon.

What We Do Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois improves the well-being of people across the state by protecting children, strengthening families and building futures for those who have experienced trauma. LCFS is a welcoming organization serving children, individuals, families and communities of all faiths, races, ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations, gender expressions and gender identifications.

• Champions in supporting children, youth and families throughout Illinois so they are able to reach their full potential
• Dynamic and innovative leaders who believe in collaboration with their team of professionals and are revolutionizing the impact on services to families
• A community which embraces and its committed to being WIDE (welcoming, inclusive, diverse and equitable)
• Impacts of the child welfare community by addressing institutional racism and implicit bias to increase positive outcomes for children and families of color
• Creators of culture focused on supporting families and ensuring all children find safe, loving permanent homes, particularly by reuniting them with their families

Under the direction of organizational leadership, the Specialized Services CWS is part of the child welfare team that achieves the LCFS vision for all children and families having the opportunity for safe, healthy and meaningful lives. This role is part of a child welfare team consisting of child welfare specialist, medical and mental health personnel in building relationships, supports, partnerships and strengths amongst the youth, their identified caregivers and families to ensure youth who are involved in the Illinois foster care system and whom have a history of medical, mental health issues and/or multiple placements, delinquency or other level needs.

The goals of the role are to ensure:

• Safety, permanency and well-being
• Successful and sustainable transitions and maintenance in the least restrictive arrangements
• Intensive wraparound and case coordination services for social, emotional and physical well-being
• Natural and formal life-long supports, connections, safety, stability and permanency
• Supportive youth led strength building, positive development, pro-social life skills opportunities, behavior and medical adaptability, skills and empowerment

• Serve with a team of supervisors and direct service child welfare professionals in partnership with children, parents and community providers to assess, plan, evaluate and make linkages for safety, permanency, and well-being outcomes
• Implementation and referral of individualized and targeted services for youth and families, such as counseling, respite, mentoring, educational support, case management, crisis intervention, and continual language to services to meet the specialized needs of children/families
• Collaborate with multi-disciplinary teams and partners for continuous quality improvement, interventions, service delivery and the achievement of program outcomes
• Participate in System of Care principles to include ensuring the provision of social/emotional/mental/behavioral/mental health specialty service provision (This includes regular participation in clinical and medical staffing and level of care eligibility/maintenance reviews)
• Participate in regular supervision, mediation, problem resolution, and crisis response by effectively responding to parent, child, provider and other stakeholder concerns and demonstrating the ability to effectively manage crisis and difficult case situations (This includes on-call support.)
• Assesses and maintain knowledge of child welfare and population specific laws, policies and trends for recommending program adjustments and implementation that aides program effectiveness, children, families and communities
• Achieve organizational performance outcomes on Key performance indicators metrics/dashboard towards safety, permanency, well-being and overall agency performance outcomes
• Represents clients’ needs and Agency interest to referral sources, DCFS, the judicial system and governmental agencies
• Exercise discretion and judgment (under supervision) in performance of duties in conformance with applicable policies, procedures, statutes, rules and regulations
• Performs other duties as required or assigned which are reasonably within the values, philosophy, policies, procedures and scope of the duties and…