Resource Family/Foster Care Licensing

State of Maine • Augusta, ME

11d • $22 - $30 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is seeking a Community Care Worker to ensure resource family home applicants meet required standards for licensing. This role involves supporting families through the approval process for foster, adoptive, and/or permanency guardianship services. The position emphasizes prioritizing kinship placements and explaining the resource approval process to these families, actively supporting them through the necessary steps. This work requires frequent overtime, emergency kinship coverage, and travel within the geographic area served by the District Office.

Requirements

• A Bachelors Degree in Social Services or a Behavioral Science area -OR- a four year combination of education, training, and/or professional experience providing services to and working directly with children and/or families.
• Experience must demonstrate proficiency in public contact work, information gathering, analysis, documentation, and collaboration.
• Knowledge of motivational interviewing and information gathering methods and techniques.
• Proven ability to gather and analyze information, reach valid conclusions, and make sound recommendations (please provide specific examples representative of your experience).
• Ability to develop and conduct recruitment and training workshops and meetings.
• Strong oral and written communications skills.

Responsibilities

• Conducting home studies, foster home investigations to determine possible violations, or kinship assessments for relatives and fictive kin placements.
• Assisting in securing placements for youth entering care through OCFS utilizing available resources and best placement practices.
• Providing information to teams about strengths an approved resource family can contribute toward meeting the needs of a specific child.
• Providing ongoing support to resource family applicants and approved resource families.
• Recruiting and providing training and support to resource families.

Benefits

• 13 paid holidays
• 12 days of sick leave
• 3+ weeks of vacation leave annually
• Health Insurance Coverage (State pays 85%-100% of employee-only premiums)
• Health Insurance Premium Credit (Participation decreases employee-only premiums by 5%)
• Dental Insurance (State pays 100% of employee-only dental premiums)
• Retirement Plan (State contributes 14.11% of employee's pay towards MainePERS)
• Six weeks of fully paid parental leave for all employees welcoming a child
• Additional unpaid leave may be available under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

What This Job Offers

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