Case Worker

About the role

The focus of this position is to develop children and families, increase placement numbers and stability, permanency, and the best outcomes for children and foster families. All actions are geared towards the best interest of the client and strengthening the family unit through providing needed resources—while building and strengthening resource families for long-term stability in foster care ministry—all with a Christ-centered focus. This is a ministry position where the main responsibility is to meet these goals through service while sharing the Gospel in speech and action.

Responsibilities

Foster Placement Specific Responsibilities

• Provide all placement services from the time a child is placed through a child’s final day of care with Connected, including:
  • Placement in an appropriate Connected Foster Home per policy.
  • Monthly meetings with foster parents/placement providers to assess needs and address concerns.
  • Facilitate and participate in case “staffings,” both internal and external.
  • Attend court hearings as approved by your supervisor.
  • Establish necessary services for clients as part of a team with foster placement, therapy providers, and other providers to meet client needs in a timely manner.
  • Plan and calendar a minimum of 1 face-to-face visit per month for each assigned client in the client’s placement.
  • Assist with visitation plans for client(s) and biological or adoptive family according to policy.
  • Serve as the primary point of contact for any and all placement changes, including new placements, discharges, and disruptions from the home.
  • Maintain all child client files for compliance in the electronic record system, including placement packet, assessment, case plan, visitation plan, plan of safe care, all placement documents, monthly note share, record requests, and any ongoing paperwork.
  • Ensure timely completion of all case activity according to licensing and policy due dates, with a 24-business-hour turnaround for client contact notes.
• Foster Home Specific Responsibilities
  • Assess applicant families to meet licensing requirements and alignment with agency mission, including all necessary documentation to license or re-evaluate a resource family.
  • Complete home studies within 90 days of application and conduct ongoing evaluations as required.
  • Facilitate and assist in teaching resource parent ongoing service training classes as needed.
  • Serve as the primary point of contact for any and all placement changes, including new placements, discharges, and disruptions from the home.
• Placement Focused Services
  • Prepare and coach families through their initial placement as new resource families.
  • Establish a trust-based relationship with resource families on assigned caseload to understand their strengths, weaknesses, and needs for placement decisions.
  • Remain aware of placement vacancies in assigned homes and provide updates to supervisors as requested.
  • Fill vacant beds in assigned resource families within the families’ preferences or needs.
  • Maintain files for compliance for all “family” files in the electronic record system, including responsibility for all compliance items for assigned resource families.
  • Ensure timely completion of all case activity according to licensing and policy due dates, with a 24-business-hour turnaround for client contact notes.
  • Establish and implement resource family CEU trainings in partnership with the Connected Team to meet annual minimum requirements for each assigned home.
• Foster Home Recruitment & Retention Responsibilities
  • Respond to, engage with, and document assigned inquiries within 1 business day.
  • Engage with local churches to recruit potential Connected foster families and support systems within the churches that Connected foster families attend.
  • Coordinate with local teams to ensure appropriate foster family needs are met in a timely manner.
  • Develop and coordinate volunteer opportunities.
  • Assist the team in developing and executing one significant well-planned regional fundraiser per year.
• Other Responsibilities
  • Work peer caseloads during absences, vacations, or vacancies as needed.
  • Collaborate closely with supervisors and other caseworkers as part of the Connected team.
  • Participate in the agency-wide on-call rotation and/or training of foster parent applicants throughout the year.
  • Provide crisis de-escalation for clients as necessary.
  • Participate in supervision with your direct supervisor to discuss casework, Key Performance Indicators (KPI), and provide necessary case details as requested.
  • Complete 24 hours of annual Continuing Education Units (CEUs) and submit to supervisor for review.
  • Provide excellent communication to all team members, both internal and external, responding to emails, voicemails, Microsoft Teams, and other communications within a reasonable timeframe.

Schedule

The Caseworker position is expected to provide 40 hours or more per week, including evenings and weekends as needed.