Conference Facilitator

City of New York•New York, NY

2d•$84,863 - $114,446

About The Position

The Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) protects and promotes the safety and well-being of children and families through child welfare and juvenile justice services and community supports. The Office of Family Team Conferencing facilitates conferences and related work in support of Child Protection divisional best practices, including processing out-of-home foster care placements for children considered unsafe or at risk in their natural environment. Its work focuses on family support, well-being, child safety, risk, and permanency. Child Safety Conferences help develop appropriate safety decisions and plans to prevent removal when safe, or determine suitable out-of-home placements that protect children from imminent danger and harm while exploring family and fictive-kin resources to support placement and permanency. The Child and Family Specialist facilitates Family Team Conferences, addresses issues raised by children, families, provider agencies, divisional partners, and Family Court, and uses a stakeholder-inclusive decision-making process to make recommendations for referrals and resources. The role also includes conference documentation and reporting, expedited kinship home study packages, requests for support and reimbursement funds, consultation with interagency resources, case conferencing, and consultation on case decisions, service plans, legal posture, court orders, and caregiver protective capacity. Conferences may take place in the family’s natural community when appropriate, necessary, and safe. The selected candidate will be offered a salary between $84,863 and $97,593. The posting also lists compensation of USD 84,863–USD 114,446 and a salary band of $100,000 to $125,000. Candidates are advised to take and pass the next open competitive civil service examination for the title to avoid being displaced when the eligible list is established; permanent Child and Family Specialists are encouraged to apply.

Requirements

Master's degree in Social Work from an accredited school of social work.
For the LCSW pathway: valid New York State registration as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and at least one year of full-time, satisfactory, post-graduate experience in qualifying practice areas.
Qualifying experience includes facilitation of family team conferences or family group decision-making using a family-engagement and consensus-based conferencing model; clinical group work with children, youth, parents, or individual families; or professional training on child and family services topics.
For the LMSW pathway: valid New York State registration as a Licensed Master of Social Work and at least three years of qualifying experience described in the LCSW pathway; up to two years may be supervision of those social work practice areas.
Alternative experience pathway: at least three years of qualifying experience; a valid New York State LCSW or LMSW license must be obtained within one year of appointment.
At least one year of required experience must have been obtained within the last five years.
Employees using the alternative licensure pathway who do not obtain an LCSW or LMSW within one year may have probation extended by no more than six months; failure to obtain the license by the end of probation results in dismissal.

Responsibilities

Attend and facilitate scheduled Family Team Conferences focused on child safety, risk, well-being, permanency, and family support, ensuring placement and discharge decisions reflect Children's Services commitments, values, and principles.
Address critical issues and concerns raised by children and families, provider agencies, divisional partners, and Family Court during conferences.
Use a decision-making process involving key stakeholders, children, families, service providers, and community resources; recommend referrals and resources when appropriate.
Prepare and complete timely conference documentation, data, action plans, and other Family Team Conferencing reports.
Complete expedited home study packages (5300 series) for kinship resources in the community.
Submit DOAS requests for items to support children in kinship resource homes.
Request emergency funds or miscellaneous reimbursement payments for kin resources caring for children.
Interface with interagency critical support resources, including the clinical consultation team and investigative consultants, to identify issues, barriers, and concerns related to children's safety.
Provide case conferencing and consultation to reexamine decisions and ensure the appropriateness of service plans.
Consult with the FCLS attorney regarding case legal posture and relevant court orders when assessing family readiness for change and caretaker protective capacity.
Provide conferences in the family's natural community when appropriate, necessary, and safe.