Runaway and Homeless Caseworker

Youth Service Bureau of Illinois Valley • Ottawa, IL

9d

About The Position

The Runaway and Homeless Caseworker carries a caseload and provides direct services to youth and families according to service plans. The caseworker accepts clients referred by the Director of Community Services, assesses their needs, develops service plans with clients and families, maintains required documentation and confidentiality, and provides advocacy, counseling, shelter-care support, and referrals. The role includes coordinating with community resources and agencies, participating in client and team staffings, and handling daytime crises that cannot be managed by the crisis intervention worker. The position also participates in a 24-hour emergency on-call rotation and supports foster parents when youth are placed in emergency shelter care.

The caseworker is expected to maintain regular contact with youth and families, provide specified monthly direct-service and family-counseling hours, and work toward client functioning, permanency, and safety goals. Additional responsibilities include maintaining up-to-date case files, documenting contacts, completing reports and time sheets, attending meetings and training, representing the organization at community events as directed, participating in quality improvement activities, and joining quarterly client focus groups.

Youth Service Bureau of Illinois Valley values inclusivity, fairness, and justice and recognizes and respects the qualities and identities that make each person unique.

Responsibilities

• Accept clients from the Director of Community Services and begin services within prescribed guidelines.
• Complete assessments of assigned clients.
• Develop service plans with clients and their families.
• Ensure required documentation is properly signed and maintained in client files.
• Maintain regular contact with youth and families to provide advocacy, counseling, and shelter-care services.
• Obtain releases and consents and safeguard the confidentiality of records.
• Participate in inter-agency staffings for clients, YSB staffings, and team meetings.
• Refer clients to appropriate community resources and specialized services, and coordinate cases with those resources.
• Participate in a 24-hour emergency on-call rotation.
• Handle daytime crisis cases that cannot be handled by the crisis intervention worker.
• Provide support and assistance to foster parents when youth are placed in emergency shelter care.
• Meet or exceed contact standards of at least two monthly contacts with each youth and at least two monthly contacts with each parent or family, with each contact lasting at least 30 minutes.
• Work toward the stated client outcome targets: 70% meeting functioning goals, 90% meeting permanency goals, and 90% meeting safety goals.
• Provide 125 hours of direct service per month and 25 hours of parent/family counseling per month.
• Develop knowledge of community resources and cultivate cooperative professional relationships with allied agencies and referral sources.
• Maintain an up-to-date case file for each youth and document all contacts.
• Report itinerary daily and complete weekly time sheets.
• Attend staff meetings and training sessions and participate in the annual evaluation.
• Represent YSB at local community events as directed.
• Complete case notes and monthly, court, and other required reports.
• Actively participate in YSBIV's continuous Quality Improvement program.
• Participate in client focus groups quarterly.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Education Level: No Education Listed