CHILD WELFARE SENIOR SPECIALIST
Agency: Department of Children and Family Services
Location: Champaign
Salary: Anticipated starting salary (effective 7/1/2026) $7,602/month. Full range $7,602–$11,110/month.
This is a full-time, salaried, union position covered by the RC063 collective bargaining agreement.
About the role
Under direction, this position provides experienced professional child-welfare services involving psychiatric-hospital care programs for children and youth with special needs. The role facilitates treatment services, service resources, and support for youth returning to pre-admission or new placements, based on service intensity. The position partners with internal and external entities to recommend needs for youth and families outside DCFS care, manages a tracking system for referrals and inter-agency engagement, analyzes data, and identifies trends. This role is ideal for someone passionate about ensuring youth receive appropriate resources and supports while minimizing extended use of crisis resources or psychiatric hospitals.
Responsibilities
- Serve as Regional Psychiatric Clinical Specialist.
- Monitor and assess psychiatric-hospital care programs to ensure compliance with state regulations, best-practice care, and standards regarding clinical capacity, admission requirements, and overall performance.
- Provide input into ongoing quarterly clinical staffings.
- Review management reports on psychiatric-hospital care program performance and monitor corrective action plans; advise on and direct implementation of appropriate corrective actions.
- Identify significant developments, patterns of performance problems, or other program issues and submit reports to ensure DCFS management and agency managers are aware of deficiencies and program weaknesses.
- Track referrals, intra-agency engagement, psychiatric-hospital engagement, and inter-agency engagement to determine outcomes.
- Serve as liaison between various agencies, hospitals, and DCFS staff to maintain a supportive network of care and support.
Benefits
- Competitive compensation plan.
- Excellent benefits package.
- Pension program.