Youth & Family Support Services Worker

Racine County (WI) • WI 53403, WI

100d

About The Position

This position is responsible for recruitment of potential foster homes in Racine County, licensing of those homes, re-licensure of existing foster homes, investigation of foster home complaints and concerns and matching/placement of children into appropriate foster homes, and certifying kinship care providers.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in a Human Services field (child development, criminal justice, educational psychology, vocational rehabilitation, guidance and counseling, psychology, social welfare, social work, or sociology).
• Two (2) years' work experience in making independent decisions and meeting deadlines.
• Have and maintain a valid Wisconsin driver's license.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships within the agency, contracted partner agencies, other social service agencies, courts, schools, professionals and the community.
• Ability to work with and understand the needs of a widely diverse client population including but not limited to people experiencing problems with: abuse/neglect, AODA, mental illness, varied disabilities, parenting skills, self-esteem, problem solving skills, living arrangements, interpersonal relationships, economics and money management, self-care skills/limitations, mobility, education/training/employment.
• Ability to utilize motivational interviewing techniques.
• Ability to utilize effective time management and workload management techniques.
• Good understanding of child development.
• Ability to work at a high level of efficiency with minimal direction.
• Punctual and possesses a great work ethic.

Responsibilities

• Recruitment of potential foster parents at assigned community functions.
• Licensure of foster homes and certification of kinship providers for children according to State and Federal standards and HSD policies.
• Processing of referrals from staff and matching of children to available homes.
• Problem-solving with foster parents and investigation of licensing violations.
• Consultation with referring staff.
• Mediation of problem areas between agency staff and foster parents.
• Advocacy and ongoing support services for foster parents and relative providers to ensure placement stability.
• Re-evaluation of foster homes prior to license expiration or when there are substantive changes in foster home household; amend or re-license to assure compliance.
• Representation of the agency as necessary in court and fair hearings.
• Maintenance of foster home records and unit statistics.
• Interface with the Racine County Marketing Team to create print and electronic marketing pieces.
• Identify, implement and evaluate new sources for Foster Care exposure.
• Maintain up-to-date information on Foster Care website, Facebook page and other social media outlets.
• Provide support for strategic plan and process.
• For the purpose of recruiting foster families, establish and maintain community contacts such as: schools, community organizations; faith based organizations; service groups; business leaders.
• Participate in staff meetings, trainings, workshops and outreach events.
• Perform any other functions as needed by management and agency to meet marketing goals.
• Conceptualize, develop and design materials to effectively achieve desired outcomes.
• Evaluate and measure performance of marketing efforts using metrics and analytics.
• Complete tasks and projects within prescribed timeline.
• Flexibility to work evenings & occasional weekends as needed, including responding to after-hours calls on a rotating basis.
• Establish a system of assessing the satisfaction of foster families that can be used to identify training, support and treatment needs.

What This Job Offers

• Industry: Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support
• Education Level: Bachelor's degree
• Number of Employees: 251-500 employees