Native American Tribal Liaison

Siouxland Human Investment Partnership•Sioux City, IA

10d

About The Position

The Native American Tribal Liaison works as a Family/Tribal Liaison for the MYFI Project. This role involves working through the entire life of a case, developing the team's knowledge of available Native and community resources to meet families' needs and facilitate the building of informal support systems. The liaison will maintain an up-to-date tribal contact list, track flexible/emergency family resources, and complete activity reports. They will also be involved with all CPS cases involving Native Americans, contacting the CPW within the next business day of notification. Duties include working with Tribes to determine eligibility/enrollment, facilitating information exchange with DHS, assisting tribes in understanding DHS and court structures, promoting tribal involvement, requesting home studies, and performing activities to enhance service delivery compliance with ICWA. The liaison will also work with families to complete Ancestry Charts, gather background information, identify relative placement options, assist with enrollment, conduct home visits, attend court hearings and family meetings, make referrals for culturally appropriate services, facilitate linkage to Native resources, and develop cultural plans. Case documentation is required within 5 days of all activity. For placement families, the liaison educates non-native placements about native culture and provides support to foster homes. During transfer activities, the liaison attends handoff meetings and provides completed packets. In community work, liaisons participate in committee work, speak at trainings, arrange cultural events, and coordinate DHS/Tribal meetings. They also assist in planning and implementing cultural activities for Native children. Liaisons attend CPS staff meetings and participate in monthly supervisory conferences. In the Ongoing Service Phase, liaisons attend handoff meetings, advocate for families, attend meetings and court hearings, facilitate resource linkage, provide transportation in some instances, and meet with families independently. They also perform cultural planning when a child is placed out of home and update the Ancestry Chart. Liaisons will have contact with the tribe before every court hearing to encourage participation and attendance. Case documentation is required within 5 days, and a data tracking sheet must be updated weekly.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent required.

Responsibilities

Work through the entire life of a case as a Family/Tribal Liaison.
Develop team knowledge of Native and community resources to meet families' needs.
Facilitate families building informal support systems.
Maintain an up-to-date tribal contact list.
Track flexible/emergency family resources.
Complete activity reports as requested.
Be involved with all CPS cases involving Native Americans.
Contact the CPW no later than the next business day of notification for new Native American cases.
Engage in communication with Tribes at the onset of a case.
Assist in determining tribal eligibility/enrollment status.
Facilitate the exchange of information with DHS.
Assist tribes in understanding DHS and State court structure and vice versa.
Promote tribal involvement with services, court, and family team meetings.
Request tribes initiate home studies and follow up with relatives on reservations.
Perform activities that enhance service delivery compliance with ICWA.
Complete the Ancestry Chart with the family within 20 working days of intake.
Contact each family monthly.
Gather family background information to document Native American heritage and clarify enrollment status and ICWA applicability.
Provide information on potential relative placement options and assist in sending letters to relatives upon removal.
Complete relative logs.
Work with family and tribe to complete tribal enrollment as needed.
Make inquiries regarding enrollment status/eligibility.
Conduct home visits.
Attend court hearings.
Attend family focused meetings and/or family interaction meetings.
Make referrals and get releases for culturally appropriate services.
Facilitate linkage to Native resources for Native families.
Assist families in mobilizing resources to meet identified needs.
Develop a cultural plan with birth and placement families, and link families to community resources.
Document all activity on a case within 5 days (attempted contacts, phone calls, face to face).
Educate non-native placements about native culture.
Provide support to foster homes as requested by CPW.
Attend transfer (handoff) meetings for cases being assigned to ongoing services.
Give a copy of the completed packet to the SW2 for placement in the file.
Participate in committee work (e.g., CINCF, FAC, Foster Parent Recruitment).
Speak at trainings as approved by supervisor.
Arrange and coordinate cultural events.
Arrange DHS/Tribal meetings and tours.
Assist in planning and implementation of cultural activities.
Attend CPS staff meetings, as needed.
Take part in monthly supervisory conferences.
Attend 5-day meeting with FSRP and DHS social worker.
Meet with families to advocate and be a support in obtaining outcomes outlined in their Family Case plan.
Attend and participate in meetings on assigned cases as needed.
Provide transportation in some last resort instances.
Meet with family independent of the social worker.
Do cultural planning when a child is placed out of home.
Update the Ancestry Chart as new information is obtained.
Have contact with the tribe before every court hearing.
Assist in arranging telephonic appearance when needed.
Send reminder calls regarding upcoming court hearings.
Update data tracking sheet weekly.