RTC - Director Of Social Services

Director of Social Services

Founded as an orphanage in 1831, Rising Ground has been at the forefront of evolving community needs. Driven by the belief that each of us can thrive when life has hope and opportunity, Rising Ground provides caring support and proven paths to positive change, helping children, adults, and families rise above adversity, and each year, Rising Ground is a positive force in the lives of more than 72,000 individuals annually.

We do this through 101 programs across 138 sites, throughout New York City and Westchester. Our strong belief and commitment to diversity is shown not just through our work with supported persons but is integral to the building of a strong staff that reflects the communities we serve. Rising Ground is headquartered in New York City.

The Director of Social Services provides strategic leadership, clinical oversight, and administrative supervision across four program areas:
Residential Treatment Center (RTC), Youth Reception Center (YRC), Supervised Independent Living Program (SILP), and Justice for Youth and Families (JYF).

This role is based at the RTC in Yonkers, which serves as the primary site with regular travel to other sites. The Director is responsible for direct supervision of RTC Social Workers, Case Planners, and Case Workers, while providing supervisory oversight to a Social Services Supervisor who oversees both the SILP and YRC programs, as well as the Social Services Supervisory team within the JYF program.

The Director of Social Services ensures that all casework practices are trauma-informed, developmentally appropriate, family-centered, and fully compliant with all regulatory requirements. The Director provides oversight and guidance to support the distinct goals of each program model, including clinical treatment, stabilization, and comprehensive case planning and permanency, and assessment and service coordination in accordance with regulatory requirements.

Key responsibilities include:

• Providing leadership and supervision to social services staff across the Residential Treatment Center (RTC), Youth Reception Center (YRC), Supervised Independent Living Program (SILP), and Justice for Youth and Families (JYF) programs.
• Ensuring effective staff supervision, performance management, professional development, and adherence to best practices in social services.
• Overseeing the delivery of case management, treatment planning, family engagement, permanency planning, and discharge services across all programs.
• Ensuring timely, accurate, and compliant completion of all required documentation, including Connections records, FASPs, court reports, psychosocial assessments, and progress notes.
• Monitoring compliance with ACS, OCFS, LDSS, CSE, and other regulatory and contractual requirements.
• Collaborating with clinical, educational, residential, legal, and community partners to support positive youth and family outcomes.
• Supporting permanency planning, visitation, independent living preparation, transition services, and community reintegration efforts.
• Providing oversight of complex cases, crisis intervention, court involvement, and cross-system coordination with external stakeholders.
• Maintaining audit readiness, quality assurance standards, case record integrity, and incident reporting compliance.
• Participating in agency leadership initiatives, quality improvement efforts, intake coordination, and strategic partnerships to enhance program effectiveness and service delivery.

Other related duties as assigned by supervisor.

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

• Master's degree in Social Work or related field required; LMSW preferred.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in child welfare, juvenile justice, or residential treatment, including 2–3 years in leadership/supervisory roles.
• Knowledge of OCFS, ACS, DSS regulations, permanency planning, and court systems.
• Experience in RTC, YRC, SILP, and juvenile justice programming.
• Stro…