Per Diem Adoption Social Worker

RFK Community Alliance•Lancaster, MA

1h•$34 - $40•Hybrid

About The Position

RFK Community Alliance has an exciting opportunity for a Per Diem Adoption Social Worker to join our Bright Futures Adoption Center team! This is a statewide opportunity, although our offices are based in Lancaster. We seek a licensed clinician with the compassion and skills to complete child and family adoptions assessments as a member of our adoption program’s clinical team. Bright Futures Adoption Center, a program of RFK Community Alliance, has a private, domestic Infant Adoption Program and a public adoption program, the Adoption and Permanency Program. The Adoption and Permanency Program has two distinct parts, a Family Resource and Development Program and a DCF Assessment Program, both through a contract with the Department of Children and Families (“DCF”). Bright Futures works with children and families of all races and ethnicities, with a special focus on working with children and families of color. In addition to welcoming all types of families to adoption, we believe in providing children with access to information about themselves at the time of placement and over the course of their lifetime.

Requirements

Master's degree in social work
LCSW or LICSW
Two years of clinical experience working with children and families
Access to a car and travel as needed
Knowledge of adoption-related issues, including loss, identity, intimacy/relationships, guilt, grief, rejection, and control.
Culturally aware and familiar with child protective services.

Responsibilities

Perform single source child and family adoption assessments referred to Bright Futures Adoption Center by the Department of Children and Families (“DCF”) with a minimum performance requirement of one assessment per month.
A child adoption assessment includes meeting in person with the child and the child’s then-current caretaker (foster family, pre-adoptive family, congregate care provider etc.), reviewing the child’s complete DCF electronic file, collecting supporting documentation, interviewing collaterals, and writing a comprehensive child assessment report that summarizes the child’s placement and legal history, information about the child’s birth family, the child’s developmental, educational, psychological, behavioral strengths and needs, the child’s understanding of adoption, any possible placement resources/options for the child, and makes recommendations based on the information obtained during the assessment process.
A family adoption assessment will include, but not be limited to, meeting in person with the pre-adoptive parents and others in their household, visiting the family’s home, collecting all supporting documentation, and writing the family assessment report in accordance with Massachusetts’ laws and regulations and all applicable DCF and Bright Futures’ policies.
All child and family adoption assessments must be completed in a timely manner and take an estimated 25 – 30 hours. DCF requires that all single source child and family adoption assessments be completed within 45 working days of acceptance of the referral by Bright Futures.
Work closely with the DCF Assessment Program Director, the Clinical Director, Clinical Supervisor and other staff and attend a one-hour monthly staff meeting (third Thursday of the month). These are mostly virtual, with in-person meetings twice annually.
Attend fair hearings or clinical review team meetings or appear in court if subpoenaed in connection with a child or family assessment that the clinician has completed.