Internal ONLY Child Welfare Dependency Administrator (WMS2) - Olympia

Child Welfare Dependency Administrator (WMS2)

Our vision is to ensure that "Washington state's children and youth grow up safe and healthy—thriving physically, emotionally, and educationally, nurtured by family and community."

Internal Only:
This position is open to current DCYF employees only.

Job Title: Child Welfare Dependency Administrator (WMS2)

Location: Olympia, WA - This flexible/hybrid position manages a team of professional staff who are stationed throughout the state. This position requires travel throughout the state, including overnight travel to attend meetings, training, and to engage with the team.

The Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) is looking for a Child Welfare Dependency Administrator (WMS2) to fill a newly established position within Child Welfare Headquarters Division. This position reports directly to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Child Welfare (CW) and is responsible for setting statewide strategy in consultation with the CW leadership team in the dependency work performed by CW staff.

This position identifies, develops, plans, decides, and implements DCYF policies and business initiatives related to the CW dependency court system. Although this position's primary focus is the child welfare division, the impact of this position is agency-wide because it must work collaboratively with other divisions that partner with child welfare toward meeting agency mission. This position is responsible for working collaboratively with system partners, such as AAG's, OPD, and tribes, toward a more cohesive strategy within dependency work.

This position leads a team of seven professional WMS staff; six are Legal Liaisons who report centrally but work within specific regional catchments, and the seventh is the Dependency Discovery Manager who serves as the statewide expert in dependency discovery and child welfare public records.

The Opportunity:

This position supervises six Legal Liaisons, established by recent legislation geared toward addressing needs in the CW dependency court system, concerning the Opioid crisis and increased dependency rules under the Keeping Families Together Act (HB1227). The Legal Liaisons work with and provide assistance to DCYF CW caseworkers involved in court cases by collaborating closely with the AGO and other court partners.

The liaisons provide training and consultation to CW staff on legally defensible dependency petitions and testimony. They also observe court, attend court improvement symposiums, and help guide continuous quality improvement within the CW dependency process. This position supervises the efforts of the six liaisons and ensures that they are meeting the full objectives of their roles within their assigned catchment areas.

This position also supervises the statewide Dependency Discovery Manager who guides dependency discovery staff within the CW Regions through development of standard operating procedures and guiding documents, to ensure that dependency discovery work meets statutory and constitutional requirements of due process. This position ensures that the Dependency Discovery Manager appropriately leads this statewide portfolio while partnering with other DCYF divisions such as ASD and IT, external court partners, and AGO.

This position is authorized to make decisions and contribute to field support, AGO coordination, and policy/procedure revisions in partnership with PPS and Child Welfare HQ. This position has the autonomy to interpret policies through expert knowledge of the child welfare safety framework, child welfare legal process, discovery/public records framework, and overall implementation of social service programs within DCYF. This position provides coverage to subordinate staff and ensures technical support and expert consultation are offered to the field on the programs within portfolio.

Some of what you will do:

• Maintain and strengthen dependency community of practice within CWD, working collaboratively with regional leaders, tribal partners, and DCYF leadership.
• Maintain and strengthen dependency community of practice with OPD, court officers, other DCYF divisions, as well as relevant stakeholder…