Foster Care Licensing Specialist

About the role

The Foster Care Licensing Specialist plays a vital role in recruiting, supporting, and preparing foster families to provide safe, stable, and nurturing homes for youth in care. This role is ideal for a professional who thrives in community engagement, foster parent recruitment, licensing coordination, and relationship building while helping increase awareness of the need for foster families.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate and engage in recruitment and awareness activities to recruit prospective foster/adoptive parents and build community awareness relations
• Develop and implement proactive, strategic recruitment plans designed to attract and certify qualified candidates, while maintaining a pipeline of both active and passive candidates for future training and certification
• Respond to foster parent inquiries within 24 hours via phone
• Understand and follow all agency and state licensing requirements and always ensure foster parents’ compliance with regulations
• Aid in and complete the certification process with foster parents, including the completion of required documentation
• Complete parent interviews, background clearances, and home inspections to evaluate suitability, safety, and well-being of youth placed in the homes
• Maintain foster parent files in compliance with agency and state regulations
• Aid in the placement process and successful matching of youth and foster parents based on the needs of referred youth and the level of training, strengths, and expertise of the foster family
• Provide support to all members of the treatment team, including case manager, therapist, foster parents, and youth to ensure needs are met and ensure placement stability
• Ensure safety and well-being of all youth in care by observing for signs of abuse and/or neglect
• Travel to affiliate locations; frequent travel associated with recruitment events required
• Participate in the developmental implementation of Corrective Action Plans for foster parents in conjunction with the program supervisor
• Conduct Monthly Foster Parent record reviews; 25% each month
• Create and maintain child files and complete monthly reports for each child, as needed

Qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in social work, psychology, childhood education, education counseling and psychology, or other human service, behavioral science field or public administration field
• Minimum of one year of work experience in a Child Placing Agency, the Department of Family and Children Services, or Non-Profit Agency
• One to two years of Experience in Resource Development/ Foster Parent Recruitment and Retention preferred
• One year of marketing, fundraising, and event coordination preferred
• One to five years’ experience in full cycle recruiting in a fast paced, professional oriented environment preferred
• Complete Tier 1 and Tier 2 State Assessor training and maintain Assessor certification
• Possess a strong recruiting mentality and a general understanding of a recruiting life cycle from sourcing/lead generation to filling positions
• Have a strong understanding of vast recruiting strategies, including social media platforms
• Show strong attention to detail, highly organized, highly energetic, and positive and encouraging attitude
• Be able to remain client focused and use independent judgement in problem solving
• Show strong interpersonal skills
• Show strong project management, new business development and client retention skills
• Have a documented track record of achieving targeted objectives
• Possess critical thinking skills, supported by intellectual curiosity and sound business judgment
• Show outstanding telephone presence and superior written communication skills; team player and natural leader

Skills

• Strong recruiting mentality and a general understanding of a recruiting life cycle from sourcing/lead generation to filling positions
• Knowledge of vast recruiting strategies, including social media platforms
• Attention to detail, highly organized, highly energetic, and positive and encouraging attitude
• Interpersonal skills
• Project management, new business development, and client retention skills
• Critical thinking skills, supported by intellectual curiosity and sound business judgment
• Outstanding telephone presence and superior written communication skills; team player and natural leader

About Our Line of Business

StepStone Family and Youth Services, an affiliate of BrightSpring Health Services, provides the full spectrum of support to children in need of alternative, safer, and more positive living environments with residential and family services. StepStone connects children and youth who need homes with foster families, as well as foster care training, respite care and support services. For young adults transitioning from foster care to independent living, StepStone provides personalized guidance and training on basic life skills, including money management and education. For more information, please visit www.stepstoneyouth.com. Follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn.