Adoptions Specialist

Adoptions Specialist is accountable for providing specialized adoption support services to dependency staff and children and families in care. Overall, the Adoptions Specialist contributes to CHS’s strategic objective of reimagining what HOME means by creating spaces where every child and family is supported and has access to the opportunities they need to pursue their dreams.

• Provide specialized adoption support services to the dependency team and children and families in care.
• Facilitate adoptions from referral through finalization, including case management, documentation, court testimony, and compliance with judicial requirements.
• Conduct in-person and virtual child studies, home studies (including second-level reviews), diligent searches, and Family Match assessments.
• Coordinate and complete permanency plans, sibling visitation agreements, and aftercare planning, including Independent Living services.
• Manage case records, databases, and subsidy files; ensure accuracy and compliance with performance measures.
• Conduct initial and ongoing check-ins with children and families pre- and post-placement to identify support needs.
• Counsel and prepare children, foster parents, adoptive families, and birth parents for adoption; provide resources, training, and guidance.
• Facilitate “get to know the child” meetings, disclosure meetings, and supervised visits between children and matched families.
• Complete required post-adoption visits, ongoing follow-up, and collaboration with youth team members to ensure stability.
• Maintain updated contact lists of children available for adoption and share child studies with partners.
• Coordinate with legal staff, case managers, schools, and community partners to support child well-being.
• Attend staffings, multidisciplinary meetings, and court hearings; ensure all required documentation and disclosures are completed.
• Develop a strong knowledge base and stay current on job-related issues, best practices, and trends.
• Participate actively in departmental meetings, training and education, as well as the quality process.
• Comply with CHS’s code of conduct, policies, procedures and other obligations.
• Assist with training other team members and providing back-up when necessary.
• Pick up projects on the fly; perform other duties as assigned from time to time.

Education, Licenses &

Certifications:

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university, required.
• Bachelor’s degree in the Human Sciences field, preferred.
• Child Welfare Case Management certification, required.
• Florida Driver’s License within 30 days from hire with daily access to a reliable and insured vehicle, required.

Experience:

• Two years of professionally related experience, required.
• Experience training or supervising foster parents, preferred.
• Experience working with children with special needs, preferred.

Knowledge / Awareness of:

• Community resources and networks to enhance client experiences and results.
• Child and Family Wellbeing general principles, practices and performance standards.
• General confidentiality requirements and ethical standards in handling sensitive client-related and other data and information.

• Caring – Demonstrate active empathy, kindness and compassion in every interaction, while setting healthy limits and boundaries with clients.
• Client-Focused – Provide a high level of customer service, exercising discretion and diplomacy while acting to protect clients when necessary.
• Curious – Exhibit a willingness to explore and reframe problems as opportunities, using good judgement to solve practical problems.
• Committed – Manage multiple priorities while taking initiative to achieve desired results and outcomes.
• Accountable – Meet critical deadlines, while maintaining high attention to detail and accuracy.
• Proficient – Undertake job duties with minimal supervision, using general office productivity tools, including MS Office Suite and Teams.
• Resourceful – Accomplish tasks with available resources, stewarding CHS resources appropriately.
• Team Player – Collaborate and work well with colleagues, contributing to positive morale and spirit within the team.
• Coali…