Independent Living Specialist

Children's Network of Hillsborough•Egypt Lake-Leto, FL

13h•$54,000 - $54,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Children’s Network of Hillsborough is committed to working with the community to protect children and preserve families. General Purpose of Job Assist in the implementation of Quality Management system Develop and implement System of Care (SOC) policies and procedures Prepare and analyze monthly management and performance reports Complete the State and Federal reporting process Complete System of Care training programs Identify System of Care needs and provide technical assistance to supply them Deliver services that assure the safety, permanency, and well being of children in the care of the Children’s Network of Hillsborough Provide performance assessment and feedback at provider Team Meetings Perform programmatic monitoring of contracts Track and report incidents and complaints

Requirements

A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in psychology, social work, sociology or related human services degree.
Official transcripts are a mandatory requirement
Valid driver’s license required, with proof of insurance
Driver’s license check is a requirement
Criminal background screening (fingerprinting) (Local Law Enforcement and FBI/FDLE)
Drug Screening is a requirement
Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations.
Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals.
Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, board of directors, clients, customers, and the general public.
Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees.
Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.
Ability to compute rate, ratio, percentages, ability to draw and interpret bar graphs.
Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form.
Ability to be proactive, as well as handle problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.
This job requires the ability to sit for extended periods; walk; stand; use hands to finger, handle or feel; reach with hands and arms; stoop, kneel or crouch; talk and hear.
This job requires visual acuity sufficient to read and to operate standard modern office machines.
The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.

Nice To Haves

Certification as a credentialed Child Welfare Case Manager preferred.
A minimum of two years experience in child welfare is preferred with extensive knowledge of Independent Living services and requirements.
Must be able to operate standard modern office machinery, including fax, telephone, calculator, computer, scanner, printer, copier and mail machine.
Must be competent with Microsoft Office Suite programs, including Word, Excel, Power Point, Access, Publisher and Outlook.
Must be competent with basic e-mail protocol and procedures including sending, receiving, replying, attachments, and meeting scheduling; excellent written and oral communication skills; effective listening skills; ability to work as a team member, and the ability to work in a multi-cultural environment.
Must possess excellent organizational skills and abide by the highest standards of confidentiality.

Responsibilities

Participate in implementation of Quality Management System
Participate in development of Independent Living policies and procedures
Provide subject matter expertise around EGAP, EFC, PESS and Aftercare
Participate in Quality Review and identification of trends
Facilitate Independent Living training throughout the system of care
Monitor Independent Living activities for youth 13-18 and ensure compliance with state, federal and policy standard
Monitor and tracking of IL activities and assessments to ensure compliance with state requirements
Implement and maintain Quality Improvement systems to: Comply with Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) Meet goals or improve current performance by 2% Increase performance by 5% over current base
Develop and implement System of Care procedures
Develop new policies and procedures as needed
Review existing policies and procedures to ensure consistency and compliance with Federal, State, Region and Local laws/mandates/policies/procedures as well as the agency’s SOC.
Maintain electronic / hard copy of approved policies and procedures
Stay current with Federal and State Laws, rules and best practices
Prepare and analyze monthly management and performance reports
Provide analysis utilizing FSFN reports
All State and Federal reporting requirements will be met in a timely manner, including: AFCAR error reports Independent Living Spending Plan Independent Surveying Instruments (e.g., NYTD, Checklist etc.) Other Reports as required
Participate in all certification / training necessary for the fulfillment of job responsibilities
Assure Child Professional certification is kept current.
Disseminate information from statewide/region meetings/conference calls to local staff to assure best practices are being implemented
Identify SOC training needs and resources
Coordinate training with Staff Development Unit
Identify technical assistance needs
Provide technical assistance on federal and state laws, rules, and programmatic and procedural issues
Provide programmatic expertise for CMO Staff, External and Internal Customers re: independent living services and processes.
Whenever possible, review relevant case information in advance to gain knowledge of the most current issues (Clerk of Court, FSFN, ASK etc.)
Maintain a professional demeanor at all times
Maintain neutrality without alliance to any of the parties
Engage all attendees’ participation in the meeting by requesting their perspective on the matters being discussed
Listen objectively and consider all opinions provided
Step in and mediate immediately if there are obvious personal attacks
Be flexible and balance the need for participation with the need to keep things running efficiently and within the allotted timeframe
Pay attention to group behavior, both verbal and non-verbal
Recommendations / plans that are developed must be aligned with statute, code, policy and require either consensus by all participating attendees or approval by the court
Deliver services that assure the safety, permanency and well being of children
Act as a liaison between DCF, lead agency and CMO’s to ensure youth are linked for all services and supports.
Participate in hearings as a representative of the Children’s Network.
Ensure 100% of children who are under a Independent Living have services in place consistent with the Independent Living continuum of services.
Conduct Quality Management Review on specific cases per directive of QM Director, COO, CEO
Participate in Case Management Organization Team Meetings and others relevant to area of expertise.
Provide performance report and assessment of improvement initiatives.
Other duties may be assigned as special projects may be requested