Child Care Licensing Inspector

TX-HHSC-DSHS-DFPS•Lumberton, TX

59d•$4,250 - $5,094•Hybrid

About The Position

Join the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) and be part of a team committed to creating a positive impact in the lives of fellow Texans. At HHSC, your contributions matter, and we support you at each stage of your life and work journey. Our child-care regulation inspectors work as a collaborative team monitoring and investigating child-care facilities throughout the State of Texas. Team members perform facility inspections, conduct investigations in child-care facilities and homes, provide training to child-care providers, and convene pre-application meetings for child-care facility applicants. This position may be filled as CCL Inspector IV or V if applicant has previous experience as identified in the initial screening section.

Requirements

Valid driver’s License.
Knowledge of Texas laws and regulation.
Skill in effective verbal and written communication.
Skill in establishing and maintaining effective working relationships.
Skill in applying emotional intelligence to all situations.
Ability to critically think and identify risk and mitigation measures.
Ability to work with diverse groups of people while promoting respect for cultural diversity in all working relationships.
Ability to de-escalate situations with tact and diplomacy.
Ability to self-start, organize, and manage priorities.
Ability to operate basic office equipment including camera/AV equipment.
Ability to travel.
Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university or experience that is equivalent to a four-year degree. Experience and education may be substituted for one another on a year-to-year basis.
Experience in regulatory services such as inspections and investigations are preferred.

Nice To Haves

Experience in regulatory services including experience as a regulatory inspector.
Experience in performing inspection and or investigation work under limited supervision.
Experience may include establishing the priorities and methods of securing evidence and assessing programs and procedures to improve operations.
Experience in regulatory services including experience as a regulatory inspector or investigator.
Experience in performing inspection and or investigation work under minimal supervision.
Experience in leading, mentoring, and/or supervising a team in some capacity.
Experience may include testifying at administrative hearings or before courts of jurisdiction and developing/delivering specialized inspection training or educational sessions.

Responsibilities

Monitors licensed and registered child-care facilities, documents compliance or noncompliance with standards, and notifies providers of any required corrective action in accordance with CCR policy. Monitoring includes the timely completion of monitoring inspections; follow-up inspections; providing feedback on waivers and variances. Monitors application and permit fees payments; monitors for results of background checks for review and next steps; assesses controlling persons identification; and monitors permit renewals. Effectively plans inspections evaluates all standards in a two-year period; evaluates the federally required standards annually; identifies and cites deficiencies correctly while ensuring risk mitigation; takes photos as required and documents those correctly; ensures the documentation is clear and concise; ensures corrections to deficiencies are appropriate to address risk; and provides useful, purposeful technical assistance to assist operations in improving compliance.
Investigates complaints, allegations of minimum standards violations in licensed child-care facilities and licensed, registered, and listed homes. Investigations are completed timely according to law, rule, and policy expectations. This position must complete investigation initiations and investigation actions timely and accurately within required time frames; and send investigation notifications timely. Documentation reflects that investigations are thorough, address risk to children, and are compliant with laws, rules, and minimum standards. In addition, documentation of findings is sufficient to support the investigation decisions. Completes regulatory tasks associated with DFPS investigations of abuse, neglect, or exploitation in residential childcare operations such as participating in risk assessments; evaluation of information collected during DFPS investigations to cite deficiencies for minimum standards violations timely according to law, rule, and policy; and ensures all actions are completed timely and accurately within required time frames.
Evaluates new applications for child-care facilities to issue permits. Permit applications and issuances are processed according to law, rules, and policy time frames. Documentation accurately reflects the acceptance and issuance decisions.
Identifies risk and recommends referral to Child-Care Enforcement (CCE) when necessary, in accordance with law, rule, and policy, with the focus on provider accountability to ensure the health, safety, and well-being of children in registered child-care facilities. This position is responsible for processing provider plans of action timely and addressing identified risk; conducting inspections to follow up after enforcement actions to evaluate registered child-care facility compliance with the tasks or conditions associated with the action.
Provides training and technical assistance to child-care providers. Attends or presents at provider meetings. Conducts provider trainings that are useful, purposeful, and outcome-oriented, including Pre-Application sessions for new providers, and minimum standard trainings. Networks and collaborates with providers, stakeholders, and the public.
Responds to emergency complaints of high-risk situations in licensed operations.
Performs other duties as assigned and required to maintain unit operations.