DDU Specialist

City of New York•New York City, NY

About The Position

THE SELECTED CANDIDATE WILL BE OFFERED A SALARY BETWEEN $62,868.00-$72,298.00. 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. ACS manages community-based supports and foster care services and provides subsidized childcare vouchers. ACS child protection staff respond to allegations of child maltreatment. In juvenile justice, ACS oversees detention, placement and programs for youth in the community. The Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) Office of Child and Family Health (OCFH) delivers direct medical services to children entering foster care and ensures that the health care provided is comprehensive and appropriate. OCFH also offers individualized case consultations and training to ACS staff and foster care agencies on a variety of health-related topics and provides clinical expertise in developing medical and mental health policies, programs, and initiatives that support best case practice agency wide. The Developmental Disabilities Unit (DDU) engages in activities to help individuals (children/parents), suspected or diagnosed with an intellectual and/or developmental disability (I/DD) receive the community-based services, supports and care to which they are entitled while in foster care. Pivotal to the DDU’s expansion of duties is the recently settled Josefina Class Action Lawsuit which mandates that all ACS staff and contracted providers must ensure that identified parents/class members with a suspected or documented I/DD diagnosis be referred to the ACS OCFH DDU’s Essential Parenting Supports- Parenting Skills Training Program. Reporting to the Parent Resource Manager and/or the Executive Director of the Developmental Disabilities Unit, the Developmental Disabilities Unit (DDU) Specialist (CS Title: Community Coordinator) will have the following responsibilities in support of the Essential Parenting Supports, Parenting Skills Program:

Requirements

A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and two years of experience in community work or community centered activities in an area related to the duties described above; or
High school graduation or equivalent and six years of experience in community work or community centered activities in an area related to the duties as described above; or
Education and/or experience which is equivalent to "1" or "2" above. However, all candidates must have at least one year of experience as described in "1" above.

Responsibilities

Conduct community meetings and provide trainings to community-based organizations regarding Developmental Disabilities Unit’s function, NYS Office of People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) eligibility requirements, supports and resources involved in providing appropriate permanency and service planning for this special needs population.
Conduct community outreach and serve as a DDU representative to community organizations on ID/DD related issues and services including representing ACS in community-based meetings and conferences.
Provide guidance on the appropriate requirements to social service staff at community based organizations to adequately complete psychosocial assessments to aid the OPWDD eligibility process.
Maintain resource directory library of community services and resources for parents and families of the developmentally disabled
Provide related technical assistance regarding general and specific issues impacting the intellectual and/or developmental disability (I/DD) population, for community based organizations and across divisions at ACS.
Review lists of identified parent/ children screened for or suspected of developmental disabilities, clinical documents submitted by child/case planners and assembling materials from community-based providers so that completed referrals may be forwarded to OPWDD for eligibility review.
Document decisions, recommendations and/or issues in Connections and/or the programs internal database.
Track and communicate regularly with the local Developmental Disabilities Regional Office on status of referrals, acceptances, rejections and fair hearings.
Assist in the maintenance of the unit’s database of list of parents /children awaiting an OPWDD state services.
And other duties as assigned