Family Engagement Facilitator

City of New York•New York City, NY

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. ACS manages community-based supports and foster care services, and provides subsidized child care 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 Division of Youth and Family Justice (DYFJ) provides a wide range of services and programs for youth at every stage of the juvenile justice process. Our goals are to (a) build stronger and safer communities and advance public safety by preventing juveniles from entering the New York City's juvenile justice system, (b) provide therapeutic treatment and services to youth in our custodial care, and (c) help juveniles access the tools they need to leave the justice system for good. We strive to help families and young people by providing supportive services that are responsive to the needs of individual youth and families. Non-Secure Placement (NSP) - Youth reside in small, home-like residential facilities, operated by contracted providers, in or near the five boroughs where they are close to resources that can support their treatment and transition back into their communities. DYFJ oversees a network of five contracted providers that operate a total of 7 non-secure detention facilities across New York City. Limited Secure Placement (LSP) - ACS contracts with non-profit providers to operate LSP group homes in or near the five boroughs. Each LSP group home serves between 6-20 youths. The LSP residences will both serve general and specialized high-level youth by providing services to meet each youth's needs. ACS contracts with community-based providers to operate 25 non-secure and 6 limited secure placement programs. In addition, LSP homes have more restrictive security features compared to NSP group homes to ensure the safety of residents, program staff, and local communities.

Requirements

A Masters Degree in Social Work from an accredited school of social work and 1. A valid New York State Registration as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and at least one year of full-time, satisfactory, post-graduate experience that includes substantial experience in one or more of the following modalities of practice: facilitation of family team conferences or family group decision-making meetings utilizing a conferencing model which emphasizes family engagement and consensus based decision-making; clinical group work with children, youth, parents or individual families; or the conduct of professional training on topics related to child and family services; or 2. A valid New York State Registration as a Licensed Master of Social Work (LMSW) and at least three years of the experience required in "1" above. Up to two years of this experience may have been in the supervision of social work practice areas described in "1" above; or 3. At least three years of the experience required in "1" above. A valid New York State Registration as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) or Licensed Master of Social Work license (LMSW) must be obtained within one year of appointment.
Note: Employees who fail to obtain their LCSW or LMSW within one year after appointment may have their probationary periods extended for no more than six months. Failure to obtain the LCSW or LMSW by the end of the probationary period will result in dismissal.
Note: At least one year of the required experience described in "1", "2" and "3" above must have been obtained in the last five years.

Responsibilities

Facilitate planning and support meetings and end of placement conferences using Children’s Services Family Team Conference Model, facilitating at least two Planning/Support Meetings per day throughout the five boroughs.
Actively participate in planning conferences and service termination conferences to ensure service plans and decisions reflect ACS’ values and principles and standards for best practice.
Ensure all concerns are fully identified and addressed, all goals and service plans are developed and implemented in the planning and support meetings and end of placement conferences.
Conduct and participate in meetings with youth and families, community-based organizations, and neighborhood networks (e.g. by providing information, facilitating agenda, and encouraging relevant discussion) in furtherance of service plans and treatment goals of youth and families.
Collaborate and coordinate with internal divisions and ACS-contracted provider agencies to guarantee open communication on individual cases.
Provide recommendations to ACS-contracted Non-Secure and Limited-Secure residential and aftercare providers regarding referrals and available resources.
Collaborate and strengthen partnerships with a variety of community representatives to ensure their involvement in planning and support meetings and ACS-contracted provider agency team meetings.
Complete administrative functions, including the timely documentation and data entry.
Consistently apply and uphold state and city law, regulations, and policy related to delivery of juvenile justice services.
Collaborate with DYFJ’s Office of Planning, Policy and Performance concerning provider agency performance.
Attend inter/intra-agency meetings to share information and develop policies and procedures.
Provide ongoing trainings with a focus on establishing goals with youth, families, and providers and confer with ACS staff on goal development.