Bilingual-Lead Case Manager, Transitional Foster Care

Catholic Charities West Michigan • Grand Rapids, MI

1d • $46,150 - $54,319 • Onsite

About The Position

The Transitional Foster Care (TFC) Lead Case Manager is primarily responsible for coordinating case management and safe and timely release services and ensuring that case managers complete relevant training on child welfare topics. This position is also responsible for training and supervising the case manager staff. This position ensures that child-facing services are provided on-site and in a confidential manner. The Lead Case Manager ensures all case management activities are conducted in accordance with Policy, with an emphasis on the Best Interests of the Child, timely family reunification, child safety, and regulatory compliance.

Are you passionate about discovering new ways to help empower people and make a difference in their lives? If you’ve got what it takes to support us in our mission to provide help and create hope through innovative, collaborative, and diverse programs within the community, then we’ve got the right opportunity for you.

About Catholic Charities West Michigan
Catholic Charities West Michigan (CCWM) is a community-based agency providing programs in Western Michigan and offering a variety of services in family preservation, behavioral health, child welfare, and community outreach.

CCWM is committed to ensuring a diverse workforce and a work environment whereby all staff are treated with dignity, respect, and fairness.

CCWM encourages persons of diverse backgrounds and faiths to apply for employment.

Requirements

• A master’s degree in behavioral sciences or social services fields; OR a bachelor’s degree AND 3 years of progressive employment experience that demonstrates supervisory and case management experience is required.
• A minimum of 3 years of progressive employment experience that demonstrates supervisory and case management experience in child and family services with a bachelor’s degree is required.
• Valid CPR and First Aid certified upon hire or within 60 days of hire is required.
• Ability to service a different group of clients, to include refugees or other minority families.
• Demonstrated leadership skills in alignment with agency and program values, while also exhibiting a team-player attitude.
• Ability to communicate clearly, effectively, and concisely, both orally and in writing.
• Ability to work independently and exercise good judgment.
• Ability to relate to diverse populations and cultures while communicating with clients and the public in a courteous and effective manner.
• Adheres to all agency and departmental safety procedures including reporting any unsafe practices, equipment and environment, and take an active role in correcting the unsafe practice, equipment or environmental through proper notification channels.
• Ability to work effectively on a multi-disciplinary treatment team.
• Ability to build rapport with clients to help them adjust to new life circumstances.
• Ability to provide excellent and compassionate customer service.
• Ability to work independently and exercise good judgement, and a high level of confidentiality.
• Computer and typing skills sufficient to perform essential job functions.
• Drives for Agency business.
• This position requires reliable transportation.
• Must have a valid driver’s license and good driving record with zero work restrictions.
• Must have personal auto insurance as required by law with minimum bodily injury coverage limits of $250,000 per person/$500,000 per incident or $500,000 combined.
• Must be willing to work irregular hours including evenings, holidays, and weekends.
• Successfully document preference to receive or decline Hepatitis immunization.
• Must show documentation proof of immunity to vaccine-preventable diseases transmitted by the respiratory route.
• Must submit to agency approved background checks.

Nice To Haves

• Bilingual Spanish/English fluency is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Ensures that child-facing services are provided on-site and in a confidential manner.
• Completes trauma-focused initial intake assessment within 24 hours of arrival and ensures youth feel safe and are well orientated to the agency and foster home.
• Promptly coordinates contact of youth sponsors immediately upon arrival
• Ensures that all assigned youth receive mandatory services while in care to include but not limited to mental health, medical, recreational, educational, and other supportive services in accordance with the time expectations of the program.
• Maintains accurate, and current information on foster children in care, while ensuring contractual and agency’s internal documentation practices and reporting requirements are met.
• Ensures timely, accurate, and complete documentation in required data systems in accordance with contractual documentation standards and required timelines.
• Attends weekly treatment team and General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) meetings with supervisor to consult on cases, to review case plan and direction and to evaluate client participation and progress.
• Collaborates with Federal Field Specialists (FFS), Case Coordinators, Legal Service Providers (LSPs), Child Advocates, and other stakeholders to coordinate services and resolve complex case issues.
• Reviews home visit reports on day 10 and every 30 days of time in care thereafter. May complete home visits as needed.
• Reviews sponsor assessments, release recommendations, and home study referrals to ensure decisions support the best interests of the child and comply with policy.
• Maintains effective communication with community agencies or individuals involved in service provision.
• Attends internal and external training and applies newly gained knowledge in providing services.
• Attends and prepares for required court hearings (if applicable).
• Keeps current on community resources and refers families for support, as needed.
• Provides coverage support for case manager staff within the program, as needed.
• Facilitates training for case manager staff related to case management services for client's educational, therapeutic, medical, and legal needs.
• Provides ongoing coaching and quality assurance feedback to case managers to improve documentation quality, case planning, and compliance.
• Maintains and updates the TFC documents and forms, as necessary to ensure continuous compliance.
• Conducts routine quality assurance reviews of case files to ensure required assessments, service plans, case reviews, release documentation, and reporting requirements are completed accurately and within established timelines.
• Creates and implements new staff training for case management staff, as needed.
• Maintains a caseload in compliance with contract terms and agency expectations.
• Participates in client file reviews, as needed.
• Implementations of case management and case support teams on an on-going basis.
• Provides informal peer-to-peer mentorship to new case managers to include but not limited to providing encouragement, while also promoting positivity, accountability, and modeling professional demeanor.
• Oversees the case manager staff training completion compliance in accordance with Catholic Charities West Michigan (CCWM), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), and provider.
• Monitors compliance with program policy guide requirements, federal regulations, licensing standards, and agency policies.
• Effectively promotes the sanctuary model of care within case management staff.
• Attends weekly treatment meeting to discuss cases and treatment plans within the team.
• Meets with stakeholders weekly (GDIT, FFS, Child Advocates if applicable) to discuss cases, treatment plans, and receives guidance as needed.
• Stays up to date on contractual, accreditation, and agency policies and procedures.
• Maintains accurate, up-to-date information on clients in care while meeting contractual and CCWM's documentation and reporting requirements.
• Stays abreast of all agency, federal, and state regulatory requirements related to social services.
• Identifies compliance concerns, develops corrective actions, and participates in Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) activities, internal audits, and monitoring visits.
• Reviews all documents: Individual Support Plans (ISPs), Case Reviews, Unaccompanied Child/ren Assessments, Case Status Pages, Release Requests, Home Study Requests, Client Level Events (CLEs), and any other case management documents necessary.
• Reviews case documentation for accuracy, completeness, timeliness, and compliance prior to submission.
• Ensures appropriate safety planning for youth, including identification and response to concerns involving trafficking, abuse or neglect, behavioral health crises, runaway risk, and mandatory reporting requirements.
• Ensures coordination of legal services, including Know Your Rights presentations, legal screenings, immigration court coordination, and communication with Legal Service Providers.
• Assists with monitoring visits, licensing reviews, corrective action plans, and implementation of quality improvement initiatives.
• May drive for agency business using own vehicle.
• Transports clients on an as needed basis using agency fleet.
• Performs other special assignments at supervisor’s request.

Benefits

• Provides day-to-day leadership, coaching, mentoring, training, and operational oversight of Case Managers.
• Formal personnel management responsibilities may be assigned at the discretion of the Director.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level