Treatment Foster Care Specialist

Archdiocese of St. Louis•University City, MO

6d•Onsite

About The Position

Good Shepherd Children & Family Services provides the highest quality foster care and treatment foster care, adoption, expectant parent counseling, maternity shelter, pregnancy services and advocacy. In response to the call of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, to help those in need, we connect children with families and keep families connected. Under the direction of the TFC Supervisor, the TFC Specialist coordinates services to children placed in Treatment Foster Care. The specialist provides coaching to TFC families, oversees the treatment plan for children placed in the program and oversees the implementation of the treatment plans by the Treatment Foster Families and the clients placed in their home with a primary focus on treatment, stability, and permanency for the youth. This position demonstrates a commitment to connecting children to families and keeping families connected and provides all services in accordance with the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Requirements

Master’s degree in Counseling, Psychology, Social Work or a closely related field preferred; or a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Social Worker or a closely related field with at least one years’ experience in child welfare/social services.
Working knowledge of community resources.
An understanding of family systems, the impact of abuse and neglect; substance abuse; mental illness; poverty; grief and loss; and trauma on children and their families.

Responsibilities

Maintains flexibility in work schedule in order to meet the needs of clients, including availability a minimum of two evenings per week.
Shares in after hours on-call responsibilities for Treatment Foster Care.
Complete an initial therapeutic bio-psycho-social assessment, risk and safety plan as a component of the Intake Assessment, within contracted deadlines.
Complete Initial Treatment Plan by the 30th day of placement, ensuring input from involved team members.
Complete monthly treatment plan review documentation through a monthly progress summary, including progress update information, and ensure input from involved team members.
Prepare comprehensive transition planning throughout the program, and write discharge summaries that include transition process and recommendations within 10 days of discharge.
Provide a minimum of 1-hr weekly contact and support followed by written progress notes as appropriate on each assigned client and a minimum of twice monthly face to face contact in the treatment family home with each assigned client or more frequently as required by the treatment level of the client.
Ensure that documentation for therapeutic services provided is submitted within established time frames. Monthly packets and monthly progress notes are to be completed by the 5th day of the following month.
Participate in all appropriate Treatment Team Meetings by providing treatment review, input, perspective, recommendations and consultation. (e.g. Treatment Meetings, FSTs, TDMs, etc)
Participate in transition and discharge planning for clients and provide transitional TFC services as required/requested.
Participate in continuous program/quality improvement efforts as directed by the TFC Supervisor.
Ensure that clients’ progress is charted, up-to-date and kept orderly according to compliance requirements. (e.g. Catholic Charities, Children’s Division, accreditation, etc.)
Coordinate all psychiatric and psychological evaluations and clinical services. When necessary, (and in cooperation with legal guardian) lead the arranging of psychiatric hospitalizations, monitor the hospital stay, and help prepare the team for the client’s return and/or discharge.
Maintain all confidentiality and HIPAA requirements.
Complete incident reports in FamCare for all critical incidents including hospitalization, involvement with law enforcement, elopement, physical injury, etc and ensure that info is relayed as needed in a timely manner.
Provide appropriate debriefing for all critical incidents.
Serves on internal or external committees as assigned.
Other duties as assigned