Child Welfare Senior Specialist
Position Overview
This position provides experienced professional child welfare services involving psychiatric hospital care programs for children and youth with special needs. It involves facilitating the provision of treatment services, service resources, and support for youth returning to their preadmission or new placement. The position also makes recommendations in partnership with internal and external entities regarding a youth and family's needs outside of DCFS care.
The position manages a system to track referrals, inter-agency engagement, psychiatric hospital engagement, and inter-agency engagement to determine outcomes, analyze data, and identify trends. It provides an opportunity for someone passionate about children and interested in ensuring youth receive appropriate resources and supports, while minimizing the extended use of crisis resources or psychiatric hospitals.
Essential Functions
- Serves as Regional Psychiatric Clinical Specialist
- Makes input into ongoing quarterly clinical staffings
- Reviews management reports regarding psychiatric hospital care program performance and monitors corrective action plans, advising on and directing implementation of appropriate corrective action
- Identifies significant developments, patterns of performance problems, or other program issues and submits reports to appropriate Department staff
- Tracks referrals, intra-agency engagement, psychiatric hospital engagement, and inter-agency engagement to determine outcomes
- Serves as liaison between various agencies, hospitals, and DCFS staff to maintain a supportive network of care and support through relationships with hospitals, providers, and internal or external organizations