Youth & Family Specialist

Ascentria Care Alliance Careers•Waltham, MA

About The Position

The Youth and Family Specialist works within Child and Family Services, supporting youth in home-like settings and helping them achieve permanency, while also recruiting and supporting foster families. Specialists may serve in different roles for an individual youth and foster family, and collaborate closely with schools and educational teams, child welfare staff, Family Networks lead agencies, therapists, lawyers, court personnel, community members, and internal agency partners. The position provides clinical case management across multiple systems and settings for foster children, foster families, and biological families. Depending on training, the specialist may provide counseling, coaching, mediation, and guidance to children and families. The role also supports foster-family recruitment, qualification, training, matching, and ongoing regulatory compliance. The specialist maintains case records and required documentation, participates in meetings and training, and responds to assigned on-call crises.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Social Work or a related field (specified for both Massachusetts and New Hampshire).
Ability to work within the agency’s mission.
Significant experience working with children with social, emotional, or physical problems is desirable.
Ability to use sound independent clinical judgment and make decisions in the best interests of children and families.
Ability to work flexible hours and be available for emergency situations.
Ability to manage client behavior, foster independence, and maintain perspective and a sense of humor.
Ability to handle people and situations with compassion, diplomacy, and tact.
Ability to work independently, set priorities, organize resources, and complete tasks in a timely manner.
Ability to provide documentation including a valid driver’s license, evidence of automobile insurance, and a clear criminal-record check.
Ability to work cooperatively in a team and calmly problem-solve unexpected or unpredictable circumstances.
Knowledge of federal, state, and local regulations, protocols, and/or procedures.
Computer skills.
Ability to travel to meet client needs.
Excellent interpersonal and written communication skills.
Ability to use independent judgment and discretion, investigate and analyze information, and draw professional conclusions.
Ability to complete mandatory training, including 20–30 hours of specialized training annually in areas such as ethics, current practice, and the needs of the service population.

Nice To Haves

Bilingual ability.
Mediation and conflict-resolution skills.
Word-processing and computer skills.
Openness to new ideas and a desire to grow professionally.
Flexibility in thinking and scheduling.

Responsibilities

Treat clients, families, and collaborators in a respectful, nonjudgmental manner using a human-centered, strengths-based, and trauma-informed approach.
Build trusting and safe relationships with clients and encourage their personal growth.
Advocate for youths’ needs to ensure equitable and quality care.
Provide clinical case management to foster children, foster families, and biological families across multiple systems and settings.
Depending on training, provide individual or group counseling, coaching, mediation, and guidance to children and their biological and/or foster families.
Facilitate supervised family visits and provide parent coaching as appropriate.
Use discretion and independent judgment when assessing and making decisions in the best interests of children and families.
Perform assigned on-call duties and respond independently to crises by phone and/or in person, maintaining a calm and professional approach and assuring safety.
Facilitate treatment meetings and foster-care reviews, invite appropriate attendees, and support effective interagency collaboration.
Coordinate dental, medical, psychological, and community support for youth.
Ensure educational needs are met, including advocating for special education services.
Attend meetings called by collaborators and support a team approach to serving children, youth, and families.
Support and participate in strategic plans for program-specific foster-care recruitment and recruitment across Children and Families Services.
Continuously recruit qualified foster homes to meet clients’ needs.
Support foster families through recruitment and training.
Participate in the matching process and prepare foster parents to work with the child or youth and the family of origin.
Promote the program through community networking and positive representation on internal and external committees and with government entities.
Maintain relationships with state or private funding sources and authorities regulating foster homes or child-placing agencies.
Maintain expertise on foster-parent qualification and renewal requirements, including record checks, evaluations, and file updates.
Complete documentation required by state licensing regulations on time, including home studies, background checks, annual foster-care reviews, and waivers.
Perform other related duties that support program or agency goals.
Document all contacts and incidents and keep files up to date.
Develop and complete assessments, home studies, service plans, progress notes, and other necessary documentation.
Provide written and in-person updates to the court.
Maintain organized, current case and foster-care files in accordance with contractual standards and state and federal law.
Keep the supervisor informed about incidents or concerns involving clients and foster families.
Attend weekly staff meetings and other meetings or events required by the agency.
Complete mandatory training on time to meet certification standards, including 20–30 hours of specialized training each year.