Senior Care Manager (may underfill as Care Manager) - Placement Care Resource Specialist
About The Position
Join Waukesha County Child and Youth - Family Services and be part of meaningful work that strengthens families, protects children, and builds lasting community connections. Our team provides high-quality, professional services to children, youth, and families throughout Waukesha County. We are committed to keeping children safely connected to their families and communities whenever possible by using family strengths, natural supports, and collaborative partnerships. Our work is guided by respect, compassion, confidentiality, and a shared commitment to helping families move toward safety, stability, independence, and long-term success. The Placement Care Resource Specialist plays a key role in coordinating and strengthening a standardized, team-based placement support process for youth with complex needs. This position partners with care managers, supervisors, legal partners, shelter care, out-of-home care providers, and system partners to assess placement needs, explore the full continuum of resources, and support placement matching when standard referral pathways may not be enough. Using a youth-centered, trauma-informed, and strength-based approach, this role helps coordinate placement searches, supports timely decision-making, strengthens provider relationships, promotes least restrictive placement outcomes, and provides consultation on complex placement planning, eWiSACWIS documentation, and shelter care coordination.
Requirements
- Experience or knowledge related to child welfare, out-of-home care, placement planning, or youth services.
- Experience providing services under Wisconsin Statutes Chapters 48 and/or 938.
- Strong communication, coordination, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
- The ability to build effective relationships with staff, providers, legal partners, families, and community resources.
- A family-centered mindset and the ability to build trust with youth, families, and partners.
- A bachelor’s degree from a recognized college or university in sociology, social work, psychology, nursing, criminal justice, or a closely related field.
- Two years of responsible work experience in social work, counseling, nursing, criminal justice, or a closely related field.
- Valid driver’s license.
Nice To Haves
- A master’s degree in social work, nursing, psychology, criminal justice, or a closely related field may substitute for one year of the work experience.
- Social work certification may substitute for one year of work experience.
Responsibilities
- Coordinate placement searches for youth with complex care needs across the full continuum of resources.
- Prioritize family, relatives, kin, fictive kin, and the least restrictive safe placement options whenever appropriate.
- Review assessments, case documentation, and youth needs to support informed placement recommendations.
- Partner with care managers, supervisors, legal partners, shelter care, providers, and system partners to support timely placement decisions.
- Strengthen and maintain relationships with out-of-home care providers and placement resources.
- Support placement stability, continuity of care, permanency considerations, and individualized planning.
- Facilitate team-based placement staffings, provider meetings, and decision-making meetings with clear next steps and accountability.
- Support placement-related documentation, referrals, court documentation, and eWiSACWIS entries.
- Track and analyze placement data, provider responses, outcomes, trends, and workflow needs.
- Serve as the Health and Human Services liaison to shelter care.
- Help improve placement workflows, escalation pathways, staff roles, documentation standards, and quality improvement efforts.
Benefits
- excellent health/dental/vision
- life insurance
- generous paid time off (vacation, 10 holidays, 3 floating holidays, ample accrued sick time that rolls over each year)
- an exceptional pension plan with employer match and lifetime retirement payment
- an optional tax advantaged 457 retirement savings plan
- pay for performance system
- performance-based merit increases
- non-base performance awards
- balanced work-life culture
- exceptional employee wellness program that offers a variety of programs and tools to help promote an employee's wellness and health, including an on-site health & wellness clinic.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
