Family Finder Specialist

Family Finder Specialist

Ready for the next step in your child protection career? Family Finder Specialist may be the right choice for you.

What you will do:

This position performs advanced family finding program efforts to discover, engage, plan, make decisions, and evaluate strategies to locate relatives and fictive kin. Additionally, this position is responsible for providing assistance with the completion of home study assessments on identified potential placements and engaging with the Judicial system, as appropriate, to support placement changes. The position will be working mostly in the northern counties of the Suncoast region – Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco Counties.

Incumbent will:

• Conducts extensive/advanced searches, such as case mining, mobility mapping, internet searches and cold calls, to locate adult relatives and fictive kin.
• Conducts home study assessments on identified potential placements and provides a recommendation the primary worker on placement consideration.
• Collaborate with the child protective investigator to identify and build positive connections between the child and the child's relatives and fictive kin.
• Attends and participates in family finding group decision making which may include conducting a multidisciplinary meeting with all parties involved and prospective family members or fictive kin.
• Establishes and maintains cooperative working relationships with organizations and other agencies involved with child welfare such as community-based care providers, Children's Legal Services, Guardian ad Litem, schools, clinical professionals, and other community agency resources.
• Regularly reviews and identifies any changes to Florida Statutes, DCF Operational Procedures, Administrative Rule and policies. Ensures participants are aware of changes, confidentiality and HIPAA, and identifies potential problems related to case specifics.
• Engages with the Judiciary and Children's Legal Services/State Attorney's Office, as appropriate, the support placement changes.

Other duties as assigned

What you are expected to know:
Knowledge in Florida's Practice Model and Florida's official electronic system of record, Florida Safe Family Network (FSFN). Experience in Microsoft Office, familiar with the child welfare system, excellent written and oral communication skills; strong interpersonal skills relative to diverse populations in academic, public health, and community settings. Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with multiple competing deadlines. Analytical, decision making, and organizational skills.

Licensure/Certification:
Bachelor's Degree;
Valid Florida Driver's License, Certified Child Welfare Professional through the Florida Certification Board

Other job related requirements:
Travel to the Northern Suncoast Region's service centers, including but not limited to:
Tampa, New Port Richet and Clearwater. Successful completion of the Department's approved training in Family Finders methodology.