Foster Care Case Manager

D A Blodgett-St Johns•Grand Rapids, MI

3d•$43,888 - $48,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Foster Care Case Managers play a critical role in supporting children and families within the child welfare system. They begin working with children following a court order that removes the child from their home and continue providing support throughout the child’s time in foster care. In this role, case managers work directly with children, parents, and caregivers while also leading a collaborative, multidisciplinary team focused on ensuring the child’s ongoing safety, well-being, and stability. Their ultimate goal is to help each child achieve permanency—whether through safe reunification with a parent, adoption, guardianship, or preparation for independent living. This highly impactful position requires a unique combination of skills and personal strengths, including compassion, strong organizational abilities, effective communication, and perseverance. While foster care case managers receive regular supervisory support, they must also be confident in making independent decisions, conducting ongoing assessments, and adapting creatively to a wide range of complex and evolving situations. Additionally, this role requires flexibility and a strong commitment to meeting the needs of children and families. Case managers often adjust their schedules to connect with clients in community settings at times that are most convenient and supportive for them.

Requirements

A minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work or a closely related Human Services field as approved by the Bureau of Children and Adult Licensing (BCAL).
Positive acceptance of supervision to learn and be trained in case management, assessment and treatment skills.
Commitment to providing excellent child welfare services.
Experience or training in working with children or adults within individual and family counseling, interviewing, family assessment and crisis intervention.
Valid driver’s license, good driving record and adequate insurance with a reliable vehicle always available.
Possess an understanding and sensitivity to the client’s cultural and socioeconomic characteristics with personal qualities of warmth, sensitivity, and the ability to establish meaningful relationships with people from various cultures.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree is a bonus.
Child welfare experience is a plus.

Responsibilities

Monthly home visits with foster children: while the frequency can vary by case situation, all foster children on your caseload must be visited at least monthly in their residence (e.g. foster home).
Monthly visits with parents of foster children: since the goal for all foster children is reunification (until a judge will order otherwise), this requires monthly visits and additional communication with the child’s parents. You will seek to engage them in treatment plans that help them succeed in reunification with their children.
Timely report writing: About half of the case manager’s job involves computer-based paperwork, most important of which is the quarterly report on each foster child and their family, written for several key readers including the judge and attorneys assigned to the case. So, it’s critical that case managers can communicate effectively in writing and that they are able to do so in a timely manner.
Court testimony: Since all foster children are in the foster care system as a result of a judge’s order, that means that the court has an open Abuse/Neglect case on the children and their families; and that means that the court requires regular (normally quarterly) court appearances by the parents and the case manager to update the court on progress.
Commitment to learn and comply with MDHHS foster care policies and procedures as outlined in the Foster Care Online Manual.
Commitment to learn and comply with applicable rules and regulations from Department of Child Welfare Licensing (DCWL).
Timely completion of computer-based and paperwork reporting.
Cooperate and assist other agency staff (i.e., licensing, medical and adoption personnel) as well as partner agencies with necessary paperwork requirements.
Comply with agency expectations related to general forms (i.e., expense vouchers, service area reports, etc.).
Coordinate and monitor community resources available to clients (i.e., school conferences, psychological/psychiatric evaluations, parenting classes, substance use disorder, sexual abuse and mental health therapy and medical services, etc.).
Attend agency and team meetings, case conferences, adoption planning conferences and in- service training, etc.
Develop and implement initial and updated service plans, parent-agency agreements, aftercare treatment plans, and counsel parents in the completion of these plans.
Participate in required case-related activities such as testifying at court hearings, pre- hearing conferences and Family Team Meetings (FTM), and Foster Care Review Board meetings.
Safely transport youth.
Must be available at night and weekends, in addition to our on-call team.
Other responsibilities shall include those set forth in agency personnel policies or as assigned by the supervisor, management, and leadership.
The ability to work more than 40 hours per week to achieve Agency objectives on a timely basis.