Family Engagement Officer

City of New York • New York City, NY

2d

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 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 Division of Prevention Services (DPS) and its network of contracted providers deliver one of the largest and most diverse continuums of community-based child welfare prevention services in the nation and across New York City to improve safety, wellbeing, and permanency for thousands of families and children each year. DPS focuses on systems improvement, innovation, and strategy initiatives that require collaboration with major stakeholders to address urgent or emerging provider and family needs, city or state mandates, and high priority strategic goals of ACS leadership. The Office of Family Engagement team in DPS provides services designed to strengthen and stabilize families, prevent the need for out of home care, expedite permanency and prevent the replacement of child in foster care. In addition, the team provides policy guidance to Children’s Services staff and preventive provider agencies working with children and youth with a variety of education, medical, mental health, and developmental challenges. Specific Duties of the Family Engagement Officer: A Family Engagement Officer plays a vital role in ensuring the health, safety, and well-being of families in need of preventive services. This public facing role requires that each Support Line Specialist responds to inquiries by phone or email to provide necessary supports such as Preventive Services, access to community-based organizations, and concrete resources to support families. You will be responsible for providing timely and compassionate assistance to callers, assessing the urgency of situations, and taking appropriate actions to address the supports needed to support and improve families functioning. The Family Engagement Officer will report to the Deputy Director of the Support team and will be tasked with:

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

• Respond to incoming inquires to the Prevention Support Line and/or the Connect Mailbox in a professional, empathetic, and non-judgmental manner.
• Listen actively and attentively to callers' concerns and questions. Gather pertinent information from callers, including details about the child, and any other relevant circumstances.
• Make clinical assessment as appropriate.
• Provide accurate information about available resources, support services, and intervention options to callers.
• Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders, including child protective services, law enforcement, and community organizations, to coordinate appropriate responses.
• Complete administrative functions, including documentation of call information accurately and thoroughly in the designated database or case management system. Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail to accurately document call information and follow up on cases.
• Attend/participate in ongoing training and professional development activities to stay informed about best practices, legal requirements, and emerging issues in the field of child welfare.
• Ability to work collaboratively as part of a team and independently with minimal supervision.
• Proficiency in using computers and software applications for data entry, case management, and communication purposes.

What This Job Offers

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