FGC Spec I

Texas Health & Human Services Commission • Houston, TX

1d • $4,523 - $7,254 • Onsite

About The Position

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) works to build on strengths of families and communities to keep children and vulnerable adults safe, so they thrive. We do this through investigations, services, and referrals. The purpose and goal of the Family Group Decision Making program is to utilize the FGDM model to involve families and children in service planning and decision making. It promotes the various models of the FGDM process used by CPS, which include Family Group Conference, Family Team Meeting, and Circle of Support Meetings. The program employs a variety of practices to engage families and children while seeking greater involvement from relatives, service providers, and other community organizations to provide better results for reuniting children with their families.

Requirements

• Must hold a current, valid Type C Texas Driver's License.
• The selected candidate will be expected to successfully complete a 32-hour FGDM Certification Course which may be held outside the region.
• Applicants must have a minimum of five (5) years of cumulative experience within Child Protective Services (CPS), specifically across Family-Based Safety Services (FBSS), Investigations, Conservatorship (CVS), and/or roles demonstrating progressive responsibilities such as Subject Matter Expert (SME) or other CPS specialty positions (for example, Program Specialist). The required five years may be made up of any combination of these roles.
• Skill to facilitate meaningful discussion between persons with adverse interests.
• Skill to quickly build rapport with persons in crises situations.
• Ability to coordinate various activities in an efficient and effective manner.
• Knowledge of DFPS agency policies and procedures.
• Knowledge of successful documentation and deadlines for CPS cases.
• Ability to handle sensitive and confidential information and to protect the privacy and identities of CPS families.
• Ability to abide by the agency leave policy and attend work regularly.
• Ability to work collaboratively, in a coordinated way, to serve families.
• Skill in establishing and maintaining effective working relationships.
• Ability to maintain a neutral and non-judgmental stance during conference discussions.
• Ability to build a network of a wide array of community resources.
• Ability to successfully coordinate meetings.
• Ability to organize and use time management skills wisely.
• Ability to perform ethically and follow supervisory instructions.
• Ability to work some weekend/evening hours.
• Ability to operate a personal computer and use IMPACT.
• Ability to travel.

Nice To Haves

• For this posting, "SME" refers to individuals recognized as Subject Matter Experts in CPS/CPI, and "progressive responsibilities" means positions other than FBSS, Investigations, or CVS caseworker/supervisor that involve working directly or indirectly with these service areas (such as Program Specialist and other CPS specialty roles).

Responsibilities

• Coordinating and facilitating a minimum of eight Family Group Conferences, Family Team Meetings, WRAP Meetings, COS Meetings, PC Meetings per month with families in various stages of service with CPS.
• Keeping detailed records of efforts to reach families who have experienced custody for the purposes of offering FGCs and other types of meetings.
• Utilizing experience and expertise gained in the practice of Child Welfare to improve outcomes of children placed in CPS care.
• Working in conjunction with contractual providers in promoting FGDM concepts to both staff, stakeholders, and families.
• Making face to face contacts with parents and/or youth (as necessary).
• Preparing all participants for the Family Group Conference, including CPS staff.
• Coordinating and confirming conference logistics and set up.
• Following an established agenda and maintaining focus during the conference.
• Maintaining group dynamics and encouraging family participation.
• Maintaining current knowledge of FGDM trends and practices.
• Working with the DFPS Disproportionality Initiative to reduce the numbers of minority children in care.
• Modeling advocacy and mediation strategies for both CPS clients and CPS staff.
• Providing consultation, training and education to CPS staff and external entities to coordinate, improve and strengthen the FGDM program.
• Following CPS policy and philosophies governing Family Group Decision Making.
• Demonstrating a clear understanding of assigned roles and maintaining an independent role.
• Respecting and incorporating culture and family traditions within the conference process.
• Maintaining a working knowledge of community resources including developing and maintaining a working relationship with internal and external stakeholders.
• Ensuring timely completion of Family Group Conferences each month.
• Maintaining accurate and timely documentation in IMPACT of conferences held each month.
• Provide on-going training and/or mentoring to CPS staff on the FGDM model.
• Preparing training and presentation materials as assigned.
• Presenting information to groups and performing public speaking as assigned.
• Completing other FGDM meetings such as Circles of Support or Family Team Meetings when required.
• The Family Group Conference Specialist will complete all conferences as assigned.
• Facilitate a quick response to families who have experienced removal of their children by CPS.
• Work from a changing and fluid list of families experiencing CPS removal and offering Family Group Conferences to facilitate the permanency planning process.
• Working with Investigations, Alternative Response, and FBSS to prevent custody by holding meetings to maintain child protection.
• Engage and prepare all participants, including the wider family circle, the informal support network, and professionals/service providers, for their roles in the FGC.
• Create an environment in which honest and respectful dialogue occurs between agency personnel and family groups.
• Display sensitivity to cultural differences and recognize the legitimacy of the customs, values and beliefs of every culture.
• Exhibit flexibility and the willingness to change to meet the demands of the FGC Program unit and during the Family Group Decision Making process.
• Coordinates the logistics of the Family Group Conference-20%.
• Contacts and interviews the parent(s) and/or other family members who are referred to a family conference to explain the purpose and process of the family conference-20%.
• Facilitates or co-facilitates Family Group Conferences that are assigned to the program-20%.
• Mines cases for critical information and history of families involved in the various stages of CPS-15%.
• Determines whether the parent or other family members agree with the terms and conditions of the conference including who may attend the conference and when required, assists the family with documenting their plan-5%.
• Completes and maintains the referral and family group conference contacts in IMPACT-5%.
• Maintain other records of the family group conference process as required by regional policies-5%.
• Trains and develops agency personnel on the family group conference process-5%.
• Performs other duties as assigned-5%.

Benefits

• 100% paid health insurance for you, and 50% paid for eligible family members
• Retirement plans with lifetime monthly payments after five years of state service
• Options to save even more with 401(k) and 457 plans
• Paid vacation, holidays, and sick leave
• Optional dental, vision, and life insurance
• Flexible spending accounts for added tax savings on health and dependent care
• Employee discounts on things like gym memberships, electronics, and entertainment
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed