Foster Care Program Coordinator - Columbia, SC

Growing Hope•Columbia, SC

2h•Onsite

About The Position

The Program Coordinator, Foster Parent Support and Operations helps keep program operations organized, responsive, and consistent in support of foster parents, staff, and children served. This position plays a central coordination role across program administration, practice guidance, quality improvement, communication, and recruitment support. The Coordinator assists with treatment planning and service documentation workflows, supports internal tracking and authorization processes, develops practical tools and guidance for caregivers and staff, helps respond to routine operational questions, and supports foster parent recruitment and engagement efforts. This role is designed for someone who is highly organized, detail-oriented, solutions-focused, and able to translate program expectations into clear, usable systems and supports. This position is especially important in a growing program environment, where strong infrastructure, timely communication, consistent workflows, and caregiver support are essential to quality service delivery and placement stability. As foster parent and placement capacity grows, programs need more than goodwill and responsiveness. They need reliable systems, clear tools, coordinated follow-through, and consistent support for both staff and caregivers. This role helps strengthen that foundation by supporting timely and organized case planning and service documentation, improving consistency in workflows, templates, and practice guidance, helping staff and foster parents get answers and support more quickly, identifying patterns and recurring needs that can inform training and quality improvement, supporting recruitment and community engagement efforts that expand program visibility and caregiver interest, and helping the program scale in a thoughtful way while maintaining quality, clarity, and responsiveness.

Requirements

Strong organizational skills with the ability to track multiple workflows and follow through consistently
Strong written communication skills, including the ability to draft clear, user-friendly guidance and communication materials
Ability to interpret policies, expectations, and operational needs and translate them into practical tools and processes
Ability to review data, recognize patterns, and identify opportunities for improvement
Strong interpersonal skills and ability to communicate professionally with foster parents, staff, and community partners
Ability to triage routine concerns appropriately and maintain sound judgment about when to escalate issues
Ability to maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive information with discretion
Comfort using spreadsheets, shared drives, tracking tools, and common office software
Ability to work independently while also coordinating effectively across teams
Ability to represent the program professionally in community and recruitment settings

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in human services, social work, healthcare administration, public administration, education, communications, or a related field
Relevant professional experience in child welfare, foster care, behavioral health, healthcare administration, human services, program coordination, or operations may be considered in place of formal education
Experience with administrative coordination, documentation tracking, workflow support, or program operations
Experience drafting practical written materials such as guides, checklists, newsletters, or training supports
Experience working with foster parents, caregivers, staff teams, or family-serving systems

Responsibilities

Assist with coordination of key case planning and service documentation, including support with IPOC development, collection of required forms, and tracking of service authorization needs
Assist with maintaining internal tracking tools related to treatment planning, assessments, and service authorization status
Provide administrative support for program processes, workflows, and cross-team coordination
Help maintain organized files, trackers, templates, and shared resources to support program efficiency and compliance
Support follow-up on routine documentation and workflow needs to help ensure timely completion of required tasks
Provide back-up support for placement coordination as needed
Perform other duties as assigned
Draft practice guides, one-pagers, checklists, and reference tools for foster parents and Family Support Specialists
Help translate policy, contract, and program expectations into user-friendly guidance for staff and caregivers
Assist in building standardized workflows, templates, and tools to improve consistency across the program
Support the development and maintenance of practical operational resources that reduce confusion and strengthen follow-through
Help identify opportunities to simplify and streamline recurring program processes
Pull and review data for trends, recurring needs, and opportunities for improvement
Assist with tracking patterns related to caregiver questions, service needs, case concerns, and workflow barriers
Identify themes that can inform guidance, training, quality improvement efforts, and operational adjustments
Support basic reporting and internal monitoring related to program operations, caregiver support, and service coordination
Help ensure data and tracking tools remain current, accurate, and useful for decision-making
Serve as an initial point of coordination for routine questions and operational concerns from staff and foster parents
Triage non-emergent concerns and route matters to the appropriate staff member
Help ensure caregivers and staff receive timely follow-up, clear communication, and appropriate next steps
Serve as the on-call staff member when needed, consistent with agency expectations and coverage structure
Research and assist in maintaining a calendar of events and a resource library available to foster families
Support day-to-day responsiveness in ways that strengthen caregiver engagement and staff coordination
Draft recurring caregiver and staff communications, including newsletters, reminders, educational content, and resource highlights
Develop draft knowledge check questions and educational materials for foster parents and Family Support Specialists
Help prepare content for staff development, caregiver education, and broader program communication efforts
Support the creation of clear, accessible, and practical materials that reinforce program expectations and caregiver confidence
Assist with organizing communication content, schedules, and resource dissemination
Represent the program at selected recruitment and community engagement events
Support foster parent recruitment efforts through event participation, preparation of materials, and follow-up coordination as assigned
Assist with development of recruitment materials and public-facing informational resources
Help identify and organize outreach opportunities that support foster parent recruitment and program visibility
Support relationship-building efforts that increase community awareness of the program and its mission
Perform all other duties as assigned to support the mission and success of the agency.